Phish Bag Millennium Party in Hawaii

Phish-fearing Hawaiians concerned that their pristine beaches would be awash with dreadlocks and love beads on the eve of the millennium can rest easy. Over the weekend, Phish and concert promoter Bill Graham Presents withdrew their application to stage a millennial rock extravaganza, originally scheduled to run from Dec. 29 - 31 on Oahu's sumptuous 4,000-acre Kualoa Ranch, and have yet to find a replacement site.

Early Saturday morning a missive was posted on the band's official Web site, Phish.com, explaining that the band had decided to forgo their original millennium plans due to the time constraints a tropical Phish spectacle would pose -- namely, time that would hinder fans' ability to attend the three-day concert in the middle of the Pacific. "We've decided to withdraw our permit application because of the distinct possibility that by the time we realistically put concert tickets on sale, many of the available plane tickets will be taken," BGP's Bob Barsoti wrote in the statement.

The promoter had hoped to offer tickets late last month, to coincide with the earliest sale of airline tickets from the Mainland, but had been unable to secure the proper permits. Insiders claim, however, that the blessing of the property owners was secured, and that all systems were "go" until this weekend, when plans were suddenly halted. Phish's management would not comment if the band planned to look for another Hawaiian location or not, but fans who were once excited about enjoying the Y2K in the islands now have their eyes set on the continental U.S., where transport would not pose as big of a problem.

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Song Stories

“Too Close”

Next | 1998

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'" 

More Song Stories entries »

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