Phish tour swims through summer with 12 new concerts

Jam band Phish is extending its sold-out reunion run through late summer with a new batch of shows. The 12-show leg picks up with a four-day run at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, from July 30 through August 2.

Other highlights for the tour addition include an August 7-8 stand at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA, an August 15 concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, and a closing show on August 16 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Tickets for the new tour leg are priced at $49.50. Starting today (March 17), fans place requests for tickets through a presale lottery on the band’s ticketing Web site. Fulfilled requests will also include a $5.40 per-ticket convenience charge and $10 shipping fee. Public on-sales for the recently added dates begin March 26.

All concerts on Phish’s early summer 2009 tour leg are sold out, except the band’s headlining performances at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN. According to the official Phish Web site, the band will perform on both June 12 and June 14 during the four-day festival.

Phish launched its long-awaited reunion with a trio of shows, March 6-8, at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton Beach, VA.

High demand for the band’s early summer tour dates faced problems with Live Nation’s new ticketing operation. As an estimated one million users swarmed the site to purchase tickets, many were confronted with system error messages. According to a statement from a Live Nation spokesperson, the problem was eventually corrected and all tickets were sold out, but that didn’t stop fans from loudly voicing their complaints on social networking sites like Twitter.

Phish – Late Summer 2009 itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)