It (thing)

This is Phish's 6th major festival and it took place in Limestone, Maine the site of the festival Lemonwheel. The festival was attended by an estimated 60,000 people. Tickets cost 137.50$ and included camping.

In addition to featuring 6 sets of Phish, there was also a special midnight set on the first night where the band played a completely improvisational ambient jam from the top of the former Limestone Airfield's Control Tower.

There was a radio station set up for the show broadcasting on 96.1 FM called The Bunny. The station simulcast the show, played tunes before and after and had information pertaining to traffic and other useful topics for people coming to the show. The Bunny aired 24 hours a day from Friday, August 1 at 6 AM through Monday, August 4 at 2 PM.

(from Phish.com)"If you tune in before or after these times and you hear Jewel, don't freak out, you're hearing WQHR, a lovely adult contemporary radio station that we're hijacking for the weekend."

There was also a "THE RUNAWAY JIM MEMORIAL 5K ROAD RACE staged at the festival. The winners were brought up on stage and feted during the show.

The Phish organization also set up a multimedia pop art area known as Sunk City (which reportedly really did sink due to an intense rainstorm that hit the site the day before the festival started) where there were art installations set up. One included a man who handed out roughly 10,000 rolls of masking tape.


Set Lists for the shows:

08/03/03

Set 1: Daniel (Saw the Stone), Saw It Again, Punch You in the Eye, Army of One, Chalkdust Torture, Wilson*, Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove

Set 2: Mellow Mood, Ghost** > Mist, Pebbles and Marbles, You Enjoy Myself > Chariots of Fire^, Loving Cup

Set 3: 46 Days, Julius, Lizards, Secret Smile, Run Like an Antelope^^

Encore: Good Times Bad Times#

* - Trey said something to the effect of: "Hey, Kevin, there's a post-able version of 'Wilson.' Ladies and gentlemen, the Shortest 'Wilson' Ever! I'd like to dedicated that to our archivist, Kevin Shapiro... And now: the longest 'Bittersweet Motel' ever - I'm kidding!" Then the crowd started an enormous chant for 'Fluffhead.' After conferring with the band, Trey said, "Mike says no" - and the band launched into 'Mike's Song'
** - with massive glowstick war
^ - Phish played the song in the background as the winners from the '100th Running of the First Annual Runaway Jim 5K' were brought up on stage and announced by Trey with photos on the video screen (the women's second-place finisher was actually Trey's neighbor "from right down the road" and the men's winner, from nearby Presque Isle, had a time of 15min for the 5k)
^^ - after the "downshift," Trey thanks the crew and the crowd; when the band returns to the song, they skip the "Rye rye rocco/Marco/Spike" lyrics section
# - with fireworks behind the stage during the close of the song

08/02/03

Set 1: AC/DC Bag, Ya Mar > Runaway Jim, Reba*, Birds of a Feather, Meatstick**, Two Versions of Me, Vultures, Limb By Limb, Cavern

Set 2: Down With Disease > NICU -> Brother, Lawn Boy, Discern, Waves^, David Bowie

Set 3: Rock & Roll -> Seven Below -> Scents & Subtle Sounds^^ > Spread It Round, Bug

Encore: Dog Log, The Mango Song

"Set 4": The Tower Jam#

* with whistling
**Trey: "we'd like to honor that request" (referring to loud crowd chant for the song), and sung with Japanese lyrics
^ with ambient jam
^^ with Seven Below teases

#An all-improvised (and unannounced, though heavily rumored) set from the roof of the old air-traffic control tower, taking place about 2-3am, with special lighting by Chris Kuroda. Featured many teases, accompanied by dancers on rappel lines down the tower's sides.