Phish Fans' Colorful Roadshow December 30, 2003 - Miami Herald By Evan Benn It's the third day of Phish's Miami run, and the jam band's die-hard fans are showing no signs of tiring. Like most popular bands, Phish, which is in the middle of playing four concerts culminating in a New Year's Eve show, has devoted fans. But few bands inspire this kind of devotion. A sizable number of the 18,000 who saw Monday's concert at AmericanAirlines Arena camped out in their cars at a parking lot-turned-minicity across Biscayne Boulevard. Many more will head over to that makeshift marketplace today to continue what they've done the past two days: drink beer, mingle with friends and kill time, perhaps by lighting up something stronger than a cigarette, until their favorite band takes the stage again. For Phish fans, this is the life they love. For everyone else, the idea of seeing the same band four nights in a row -- often dropping everything and going anywhere to do so -- is baffling. ''I can't remember the last time Phish played one city for four straight nights,'' said Jeremy Herrig, a 24-year-old law student from Eugene, Ore. He said he finished finals and flew to South Florida to see his 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th Phish shows. Fans are drawn to Phish for its onstage improvisation, Herrig said -- the band members play without predetermined set lists, and they likely won't repeat a song in the nine sets they play here. ''The reason to see a Phish event like this is the hope that you'll hear the rare songs they never play,'' Herrig said. ``It's sort of like playing the odds.'' NEW YEAR'S EVE In addition, Phish, with its mix of jazz, blues, bluegrass and rock 'n' roll, is known for far-out New Year's Eve antics. Phish rang in 2000 at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation by playing from midnight to sunrise for more than 75,000 fans in the Everglades. Last year, at Madison Square Garden in New York, dancers wearing glow-in-the-dark rings filled the stage while machines pumped fake snow onto the crowd. ''No two concerts are ever the same, that's the great thing,'' said Hisham Salama, 21, of Chapel Hill, N.C. ``But everyone's really looking forward to New Year's. There's always something extravagant right at midnight.'' SMOOTH ROAD Music critics compared Phish's intensely devoted fans to the ''Deadheads,'' the aficionados who followed the Grateful Dead from show to show. AmericanAirlines Arena officials said the crowd Phish attracted to Miami is respectful and laid-back. The tent city across from the venue resembles an all-day tailgate party, said Alex Diaz, the arena's general manager. A majority of concertgoers bought tickets for multiple shows, and this four-day run is the largest event the 4-year-old arena has hosted by a single band, Diaz said. Organizers hired more staff and security to work the event because of the large crowd, but Diaz said so far everything has gone smoothly. Monday afternoon, Katja McClure, 24, gave a neck massage to Brian McClure, 25, outside their van in the parking lot across from the arena. The couple drove from Charlotte, N.C., with everything they needed for four nights of music -- except tickets to the concerts. They hoped to raise enough money selling Heinekens, Coronas and Gatorade to buy tickets from a generous soul. ''We're almost there,'' said Katja McClure, sporting a head of dreadlocks. ``I think we're going to get lucky tonight.'' Craig Vaiman, 21, came from East Brunswick, N.J., this week to visit his grandparents, but he bought a ticket on eBay to Sunday's concert -- his first Phish show. ''I wanted to check out what the scene was like,'' Vaiman said. He said the concert was unlike any other he had seen, both in musical style and the carnival-like atmosphere. ''The Phish experience is definitely a different form of lifestyle,'' Vaiman said. ``It's not trendy and it's not mainstream, but it is a part of pop culture.'' Vaiman compared Phish's typical two-set show, which is split up by a short intermission, with another form of cultured entertainment. ''It's a hippie version of going to the theater,'' he said. Article Copyright © 2003 Miami Herald