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February 26, 2009

Phish fan recalls Clifford Ball

By ROBIN CAUDELL

PLATTSBURGH — Josh Baker was 20 when the Phish Nation invaded the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base.

"It was a great summer for music in general for the local area," said Baker, a former Plattsburgh resident who attended the Clifford Ball. "I remember there was a lot of activity at that point in a way there isn't anymore. For that show, there was a lot of excitement in Plattsburgh. There was a moment we were going to be the equivalent of Burlington. For a moment, that event eclipsed it. It was like Plattsburgh was going to be doing something, taking Burlington's own band. In hindsight, all this joy and excitement, how sad it was that didn't happen."

Baker participated in the Press-Republican focus group and wrote two articles, "Methinks it's time Phish gave us a Gamehendge" and "Taping has fast-forwarded Phish Rise" for the special-edition festival tabs.

"I feel that was really their peak as a band. The Clifford Ball had a feeling of a happening more than an event. It was so exciting that people decided to do this. Everyone gravitated to a certain place and enjoyed the weekend. People might disagree with me about Phish peaking at that moment. Older fans may say it happened before."

Aug. 16 and 17, 1996, was a convergence of magical proportions.

"Phish was getting mainstream notice. The audio was really great. They had the big screens set up like what YouTube did in the early '90s. Phish, fairly early on, embraced technology. Even if you were way back, you could see the big screen."

Baker is a teacher in the Boston public school system. In the summer of 1996, he was vibing at the Clifford Ball.

"For Plattsburgh, especially now, it's sad. I was in a band following that. We felt Plattsburgh isn't a place to do this. There's nowhere to go. You play the same bars. You see the same people, and no one wants to hear you. They want you to play covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd. There was hope something would catch fire."

On those two days, it was a good time for music in Plattsburgh. Then, the music died. And on some level for Baker, so did Phish.

"They became so big," he said. "They became this giant behemoth. The concert after (The Great Went at former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine), that 14-hour drive to go to that show, I gave up after that. Plattsburgh was a place people could get to. It was great use for the Air Force Base. How nice it was. How nice it went off. Contrary to how the publicity spun it, it was a great show. People were well behaved overall. The community did a good job of embracing it for what it was. A lot of local people went to check it out because they were curious."

E-mail Robin Caudell at: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

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