Archive - Feb 1, 2009

Everyone knew that it wouldn't be easy to secure tickets to see Phish this summer, but I'm not sure anyone realized beforehand how unprepared Live Nation was for the influx of hippies hitting their website as soon as the tickets went on sale this past weekend. I heard rumors that the website had over a million hits in the first minute of sales – jebus! We, fortunately, didn't have too many problems securing our tickets, and got everything we needed, but scores of others do not share our good fortune. Message boards were flooded with complaints of being shut out of every show, and these same people must have also filled up the band's inboxes, judging from the statement below that appeared on Phish's website today.

We have heard from many fans regarding this past weekend's onsales, particularly the shows that went on sale via Live Nation's website. Many of you experienced extremely long wait times, error messages, and quite simply, an inability to get through and purchase tickets. Clearly, the system was unable to handle the extraordinary demand. We're very sensitive to making the process of getting Phish tickets as straightforward as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your continued support and patience.

For us, I feel that persistence paid off in the long run. We kept at it each morning for several hours on both the phone and internet, and eventually secured our tickets. I'm not in the same boat as most of you, so I'm wondering if those that didn't get what they wanted accept Phish's apology. Feel free to let us know in our comments section below.

Damn Steelers.

While Houston isn't exactly known for its musical prowess (yet!), there's still one event that we here at BOT truly look forward to every spring and fall. Our friends over at Free Press Houston have been working diligently over the past few months, putting together a solid lineup of over 100 local and regional acts to perform at the spring 2009 edition of the bi-annual free outdoor event. Spanning the blocks surrounding Taft and Westheimer in the eclectic Montrose neighborhood, this year's festival is stepping it up from previous events by also featuring a multi-venue night portion which is set to include solid acts like Austin's hip-hop extraordinaire Devin the Dude, Dallas-bred indie darling St. Vincent and a return from last fall's headliner HEALTH.

Check out the full line-up after the jump

On the heels of the second season premiere of their critically acclaimed HBO comedy, Flight Of The Conchords have released a significant chunk of tour dates that will keep them busy through the spring. Starting at Coral Gables, Florida's BankUnited Center on April 7th, they will be wending their way through the East and Midwest with a brief break after their April 28th show at Chicago's Arie Crown Theater. After two quick shows in Texas at Dallas' Nokia Theater and Houston's Jones Hall, the New Zealand-bred acoustic folk comedy duo will then tour the West throughout the month of May.

Check out the full list of dates and a few classic FOTC vids after the jump