Gladtree Collective - Phi Phenomena on Wheels: September 15th, 2001

September 15th, 2001

Phi Phenomena on Wheels @ AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH

The Phi Phenomena was once a yearly event that showcased ten bands, each playing for five minutes with one minute breaks (Click here to view their website). This year they decided to take the fun on the road, and Lebanon ended up on the itinerary. They rolled into town in their RV plus a side car or two. We decided to make it a bit of a challenge, to see if they could really pull everything off like they planned. The clock was set and the whistle blew. The bands ran through their finish without a hitch - the whole thing was over with time to spare. Content included noise, performance art, indie pop, and destruction, as well as various combinations.

The rest is from Blastitude #16 (January 2004):

...Next we play the small town of Lebanon, New Hampshire at the AVA Gallery. One of the guys from Son of Earth/Flesh on Bone set this show up. He's also made a giant taco salad for everyone. You could see the fear in his eyes as everyone descended on the free food like a pack of jackles and devoured the grub in what seemed like seconds flat. This show probably had the most mellow vibe. There were little kids and parents in attendance. The show opener is Frosting which is Tanya and Stephenia acting out a light hearted psycho-drama. I sell a lot of merchandise to my amazement. Some one gives us cookies and lemonade at the end of the night. Everyone seems to have had a lot of fun tonight. The locals seemed real receptive and generally enthused by our performances. Later on I find out that the gallery owners tell the promoter he's no longer welcome to book shows there.

Show #12
Sunday, September 16
Lebanon, NH

Lebanon :
tra la poca gente ci sono dei bambini, cosa avranno pensato?
gran concerto degli UL : tributo ai Cock ESP il posto ci d da mangiare, la prima volta.

Sunday 9/16/01 We found a place to dump on the way to Lebanon, NH. We also refilled our holding tank from a faucet labeled, "Danger, unsafe water." A journey through the wilderness brought us to Lebanon's AVA gallery. On the second floor, John Shaw had prepared a meal of chips and dips that we devoured before the show. Tanya sang from Die Fleidermaus while Stephania used paint and a scissors to try to kill her in a performance called Frosting to open the evening. Proportionally to Lebanon's size (population 12,000) our audience was tremendous, possibly in part due to our coverage on the front page of the entertainment section of the local paper, which included an encouragement for us to play funky music. The Phi-Phenomena lasted long enough and Unconditional Loathing used their five minute set to do two tributes to Cock ESP, one mime and one acapella, with a one minute intermission for cookies and juice in between. After the show we drove to Boston, where we stayed with Sam and Tim at Infrasound. Sam made a great breakfast featuring grits and potatos and we headed out to explore Cambridge...