A Phish fan who took a bong hit in the Sphere was temporarily banned from MSG venues.
An account known as @acid_farts initially posted a video of the bong rip on April 20 to celebrate attending Phish’s Sphere show, who played four nights at the megavenue.
However, it appeared as though MSG Entertainment (who own the venue) were not pleased with the stunt. A separate fan account on X/Twitter known as @PhishatMSG posted on June 3 to show a letter apparently addressed to the bong-ripper in question, informing him that he was “indefinitely banned” from MSG venues, which include the legendary Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall amongst others.
“If you enter any of the MSG Venues, including, with respect to Madison Square Garden, the box office, Chase Square and the concierge areas, law enforcement will be contacted to ensure your expulsion and you will be subject to the penalties,” the letter concluded.
The man, who declined to share his real name in an interview with Rolling Stone, said he had “no regrets”, except for one: “I’ll never see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall”.
Two days after the Rolling Stone article was published on June 6, MSG Entertainment then shared a statement claiming he was “not banned”, saying: “There was a breakdown in our process due to a change in personnel which resulted in the letter being sent inadvertently. This customer is not banned from our properties, however, it is still against our policies, which are in accordance with local laws, to smoke, bring glassware into our venues, and disrupt other fans’ enjoyment of the event.”
The Follow-up….lol https://t.co/FyaN9c3u7m pic.twitter.com/6xaqxneAhM
— PhishatMSG (@PhishatMSG) June 6, 2024
The Vermont band played at the venue this April, following on from U2’s highly-acclaimed residency at the mega venue. An NME review of their opening night said The Sphere “truly takes your breath away”.
“From the moment we first heard about Sphere and its potential, we’ve been dreaming up ways to bring our show to this breathtaking canvas,” Phish guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio said. “We’re thrilled to present this completely unique experience to Phish fans.”
The Sphere is a $2.3billion (£1.8billion) dome with an 18,000 capacity and 160,000 speakers. It’s complete with an LED screen that completely wraps around inside the dome.
Currently, Dead & Company (Grateful Dead‘s Bob Weir and Mickey Hart alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane) are completing their residency at the venue, where they will perform until August this year. See all dates here and get your tickets here.
In other news, Drew Carey has said Phish at the Sphere makes U2 “look like a bar band”.
