A Career in Production Lighting: Phish
Hello, my name is Ralph Curtis and welcome to my Blog.
Phish, is a small band out of Vermont that played the college circuit in the 90's. They started to develop a dedicated following of college kids throughout New England, and as the band grew in popularity so did the number of people who followed them. They were quickly becoming the 90's version of the Grateful Dead in numbers and Jam style.
Capron was involved with the group on a smaller scale until the last tour in '96, when Phish had decided to put on their first large scale outdoor festival at the end of said tour. It was at this point Capron was contracted to handle power, distro and support lighting for the the groups outdoor festivals.
"The Clifford Ball" was held at Plattsburgh Airforce Base in Plattsburgh New York August 16th and 17th 1996. This would be the first of 6 Festivals that I would work for the Band culminating with the "IT" Concert held in Limestone Maine in 2003.
The venues chosen for all of the concerts were defunct or closed Airports, with the exception of the 2000 Millennium concert "The Big Cypress" which was held at the Seminole Indian Reserve in Florida. The Layout for all of the festivals were basically the same, The stage would be set up on the leading edge of a grass field or at the threshold of a particular runway, or a taxiway intersection. The concrete itself was backstage areas, The grass area in front was used for the crowd venue extending several hundred feet, resembling a gigantic Fish bowl, go figure...
The runway themselves were used for parking-camping, bathrooms, showers, med tents, yada yada. and With some variation all of the concerts sites were set up the same.
Capron responsibilities encompassed the entire concert site, stage, production area, venue, camping area and venders. We would get a contract for what was needed from the Bands production company, "Great Northeast" which contained all of the specifics: Stage power requirements, a layout of the entire concert site including venue, backstage, number of venders their locations and power requirements, artistic design areas, the camping and parking areas. We also received: numbers of tents, inside and outside of the venue, distances, location and numbers of administration areas, medical locations catering, maintenance, and of course, the band compound.
The crew from Capron that was picked for these shows wasn't very large, considering the size of the event. There was a master electrician, 2 main line electricians and the odd duck, me. The bulk of our extra man power came from a local stagehand labor company using freelancers we all knew and worked with often, so it was basically like working with family. There were only 3 of us from Capron who were constant at all of the 6 Phish Festivals I participated in. The rest of the Capron team were people who were available to take the time off to do the event as the commitment was lengthy. The load in and set up for all of these festivals took well over a month.
For Capron, the set up for these Phish festivals damn near emptied the warehouse in Needham as far as power and industrial lighting goes. Our power distribution was in 3 phase, so it made life very easy. Needless to say we used miles of feed cable from #6 to 4/0s, as well as most of our TL5 (Twist Lock 5 wire cable), most all of our A/C stringer quad boxes, breakout cables, extension cables, we even used stage pin cables with Edison adaptors on either end. The amount of gear was tremendous.
(Image of a portion of cables used )
Capron utilized 3 phase power to its utmost like most production companies, because of this, Capron designed and built all of their distribution equipment from cables to breaker panels and transformers. We used dozens of distro panels and disconnects, cam lock splitters and 4way boxes. Our main cables for power break-outs as mentioned before were the TL5 Twist-lock connectors. These were perfect for us because 5 wire cable carried 3 hots a neutral and ground. So you could run a single cable into an area and have 3 separate power circuits of 20 or 30 amps depending on the need.
The number of generators used for these events were staggering, remember we were powering an extremely large area so having a central point of power was impractical and logistically impossible.
The Stage itself required a dedicated power source, we used our 800amp twin pack just for this, image below:
This unit powered everything on stage and on stage only as having that dedicated power source was paramount. The backstage area was powered from separate generators in strategic positions, as you can imagine there was a lot of infrastructure to take into account most of which was completely spread out. Production catering tent, Band catering tent, Band living area, Office trailers for each department. Medical tent, Media tent. Back stage was a small town to say the least.
Inside the Venue we used four XQ125's generators, one at each one of the four delay towers, I also used these 4 generators to power my house lighting positions. I will talk about that a bit later.
For other areas located throughout the festivals site we used a fleet of smaller generators rented from a host of rental companies from the region we were in. Majority of these gennies came in on scheduled deliveries and offloaded from flatbed trucks on site.. One particular Festival I counted 53 small generators used for the outlying areas not involved with the production.
My responsibility at these festivals was mainly to install all of the support lighting required through out the entire concert site. With the exception of the bands actual stage lights and the lighting used for the artistic productions, I was free to do my thing. There were no examples for me to follow here, no guide on how to light a festival, so I came up with a lighting concept from scratch. I just did what made sense and I used what structures and positions that were available to me, this wasn't difficult.
( utilizing house mix and delay stack for lighting positions)
As I said, for later festivals I used the metal halides to do all this basic illumination. My method for lighting was simple, just before the stage and canopy went up, I had the stage riggers hang wide angle Halides off the outside upstage canopy edge, to wash out the back stage areas. I use 4 more wide's over the stage for work lights and then had the riggers mount 5 mediums along the down stage edge to wash the area between the stage and front of house position. Once the canopy was raised I came back with the riggers at night to do the focus. Within the venue itself, I used the 4 delay towers to light up the rest of the field using a mixture of narrow, medium, and wide angle reflectors. On the first set of delays I hung mediums and wide's, as the "Fish Bowl" was just starting to open up in size. On the last set of towers, I used mediums and narrows to get farther throws. I used the XQ125s at each delay to supply power for the lights, since were off during the show there was no chance of static in the PA.
Another task I was charged with at these festivals was to provide lighting for all the tents that were installed around the entire festival site. One event I counted over 65 tents that were scheduled to be put in place, not counting the random "Oh we need" last minute tents that cropped up.
The tents were of various sizes, thankfully, they didn't go up all at once so I had plenty of time over the month to do my installs. In between tents, I would help out the electricians and tie-in office trailers, distro panels and run cables to get power drops where needed. The tent sizes went from 40x60 Beer Tents and Catering, to 10x10 pop-ups they used at the ticket entrance areas or make shift Medical Stations.
Usually there were one or 2 people from the labor company helping me out on the larger 40x40 or 60x40 tents, but the 20x20's and 10x10's I just banged those out alone as I was in my element so it was no big deal.
The image to the left, was from the Big Cypress in Florida, these were 2 matching 20x40's I was finishing up the cable runs and burying cables to keep it neat and safe.
When we got the contract from GNP for these concerts, it always had a list of all the tents requested, along with the sizes. I would take the contract and put together a load list of what type of fixtures I would need how many and what wattage for each individual tent.
I used Pars of all sizes, 25's 36's to 64's, There were par 38's and every clip light imaginable, flood lights, Mole Richardson fixtures with dichroic bulbs and all HPS and Metal Halide fixtures we had, we even rented some fixtures to fill in the gaps. my lists were always tremendous, and I used almost every single fixture I brought with me. We used Musco Towers and pop-up portable lights to put in areas like the campground and parking spaces, anywhere there was major crowd egress far away from the concert venue.
Also within the contract were lists of venders, the tents they had and their power requirements. So basically, we would set up a genie nearby a vendor cluster, make a 3-phase power drop and I would power my fixtures from that.
Story:
When we did the "Clifford Ball" in Plattsburg N.Y., we witnessed the size of the crowd that attended. Ticket sales said it was upwards of 68,000 people. This was the first major festival for Phish, so the crowds were destined to grow even larger. When the crowds started to drive into the area, the local stores were running out of stock due to a failure in anticipation of the amount of traffic that would come through. We took note because we were actually staying in a Hotel in Plattsburg, so we witnessed the effects.
The following year in 1997, we did "The Great Went" at Loring Airforce Base in Limestone Maine. On the way to the Base, there was a local store that was the last stop before you entered Loring AFB. Mind you, Limestone is a bit out of the way as far as a major town is concerned so access to shopping and supplies were at a premium.
We informed the Store owner of what was getting ready to happen to this small area and told him it would be in his best interest to stock up on supplies. The owner said He did stock up once a few years earlier for the "Spud Fest" in 95, and the turnout was so bad that his inventory went to waste.
We tried to tell him this was not the spud fest and that his location was ground zero for all the traffic that would come through on the way to the base. Unfortunately, he was firm on his decision.
We tried.
We were staying at accommodations on the base so there was no need for us to go into Limestone at all. None of us went back to that store until the following year in 1998 for Phish "Lemonwheel."
When we stopped and walked into the store, the owner was happy to see us. We asked how he made out during the "Went" Dude told us his store was emptied before noon that first day, had to close the store because a restock wouldn't have happened in time. He looked at us and said he was prepared this time. We looked around the store, dude had stacks of cases of Water, Beverages, snacks, and canned food. We went out back there was creates of all kinds mixed items, everything from toilet paper to toothpaste, Cheetos to Pop-tarts, I would say my man learned a lesson.
Another area I was charged with lighting was the Band Compound. For each of the festivals the compounds were totally different so I had no set design to use. I just followed a concept. These guys were on stage all day and all night so the last thing they needed when going back to their tents or trailers were harsh obnoxious lighting. I kept everything low key and colorful. Low voltage walkway lights, or one gig I used pendant lights but left them on the ground. String lights (twinkies) mostly lighting that wasn't obtrusive.
I also did a fair amount of background lighting for them This way the area wasn't bright, but they had ambient lighting surrounding the compound. Here I just laid out some par 56's on floor plates to light up the surrounding trees. This gave the compound some depth and not so much of a lost in the wilderness look at night.
As I said before, the set up for these festivals took well over a month, the work days were extremely long but they were well worth it. We would get up at 0600 have a bit of Breakfast and begin the day, most of the time we wouldn't get back to our rooms until after midnight. Some of those post mid-night hang out sessions were legendary. We would congregate in the hotel hallway, drift in and out of rooms drinking, playing cards, music blasting, it was a show unto itself.
After doing this for an entire month for me, the payoff was always that moment on the first day of the show when the crowd is packed in front of the stage and the Band comes on for the first set...
to hear the roar of the audience made all of it worth it.
Story:
Here is a cool story, this was during the Clifford Ball. The Band wanted to do a late night semi acoustic set, while rolling through the camping ground. We put a small generator on a flatbed trailer to give the band some basic power for whatever they needed, mind you, we were on auto pilot at this point as the concert had begun, the venue was open and all that was left for us to do was maintain our installation.
Derek, the project manager and head electrician for Capron came over to me and asked me to do something basic on the flat bed... something nice to make the band visible.
But this is me you are talking to right? There is no basic.. But what the hell was I going to use? We had almost used every light possible. All that was left was odd fixtures and random pairs of lights that would make no sense. What I did have in abundance were Christmas lights.
I don't know why I brought them, but they do come in handy in a pinch so, I dipped into our stash of twinkie lights and began to drape them over the cab of the flatbed truck. I just kept applying string after string, I was taping them down in straight lines so that I could get as many on as possible. I forgot how many I used but I spent quite a few hours on this project. I was climbing all over the cab of this truck, meticulously taping these strings down with gaffers tape as I didn't want them to come off prematurely... When the job was done, I did a quick test to see if they all worked and I just walked away not giving a second thought. The bands session was called: "The Flatbed Jam"
It was 2012 or so, I was surfing YouTube for Phish videos, and I ran into this clip... 16 years later I finally got to see what that damn flatbed looked like.. I made a post in 2025 under the video on YouTube just to mark it and tell the story, but I originally saw it in 2012. Wow, it looked pretty good. The tape held up and the truck was brighter than I thought it would be.. good job me!
Video from Clifford Ball: Flatbed Jam
Doing these Phish Festivals were a milestone in my life, never have I worked with so many talented production people in so many fields. We all came together to pull of some fantastic festivals. The moments we shared during the site builds were amazing; the family vibe and the sense of community was spectacular.
From 1996 until 2003 these festivals kept bringing us back together almost every year and it was almost like we never separated. I can't imagine working with a more awesome group of people.
The image above was taken during the Camp Oswego Festival that was held on Oswego New York at the Local Airport. Phish and Airports, lol
We set up the Stage at the very end of the runway, so the backstage area was located in the "Holding Area". We all understood that the Airport was active but that they closed the 15-33 runway so we could do the show. I just remember thinking what if someone decided to land anyway..
The Concert hosted 65,000 people, and the set up was just over a month. It was reported by management the people organizing "Woodstock" were flying overhead for a week or so checking out our progress, I guess they wanted to see how it was done.
A few months later we would all reunite in Florida for the Millennium Concert "The Big Cypress".
The Big Cypress for me technically was the same, ( image above ), I would set up house lights from the stage and in the venue as usual, this was becoming a no brainer. The only difference here was I had to go down a month in advance (November), to help set up electrics for the administration areas before everyone else started to arrive. The Concert was to be held on the Seminole Indian reserve, and there was literally nothing there, and we weren't allowed to use the farms electrical grid. I loaded up a Capron Pick-up with Some basic electrical gear, half dozen distro panels, bare end feed cable, twist locks, and a few hundred feet of TL5 cables... just enough to start with the initial arrivals.
This site was freaking HUGE, image Below:
Big Cypress story:
I drove down to Florida with a co-worker Mick McIntire, we left Needham on a Saturday in a Capron pick-up loaded with gear and our clothing for the next 2 months. We are driving South on 95 from Boston and are in Connecticut somewhere. Mike and I are feeling a little peckish and want to stop at one of those McDonalds that are along I95.
Anyway, we pull into a parking spot and start to walk over to the building and go inside, no big deal, right? We start to walk up the steps and go through the doors when all of a sudden, the doors burst open and people just come pouring out of Mickey D's. Dozens of people just rushing past us in a panic, I look over at Mike, and we figure what the hell, so we turn and start to follow the crowd down the steps.
I mean it was thick black smoke just a steady plume going right into the building.
Mike and I rush over near the truck when people start to gather, within a few minutes the fire department shows up and starts prepping to drench the truck, but by this time the smoke started to settle down and there was no danger.
They looked at the vehicle and figured out what was wrong. Apparently, the breaks in the rear had locked up and I was driving like this for some time. We didn't see any smoke as we were booking down I95. It wasn't until we stopped that heat wasn't dissipating fast enough and started to smoke.
I bet that entire axel was glowing red hot.
We called a tow vehicle and had the truck moved to a yard where they could fix it. Unfortunately, we had to go, it was after 3pm and we needed to keep schedules. I got in touch with Needham told them what happened, told them were we were and the condition of the truck.
They sent out another pickup and a runner to get us on our way. 3 hours later they arrived, Mike and I did a quick cross load and was off again. What a great start... I haven't thought about that adventure in decades... wow.
Anyway, I could go on for days with this, but I will cut it short. Phish did about 11 of these festivals over the decades, I did the first 6, the rest I left for the younger Capron generations.
~Ralph Curtis~
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