did this come to you in a DREAM?????

I'm there.

Looks like a PITA to access! Unless...

::buys wet suit and snorkeling mask::

A Friday, Saturday, Sunday dealio.

Was there for furthur last year. Shakedown on the beach. They had free parking in a garage and a shuttle to take us to venue from garage. Really liked this place. Would like to go back

I'm happy they are playing some different locations lately. No offense to Alpine because the venue is like my Phish home, but it's refreshing to see some new midwest stops.

A movie called "HellCab" has a couple shots on Solidarity Drive, which is basically the approach to Charter One. I've never seen a show there, but with Phish. . . . . .I'm always enthusiastic if they're thinking that smaller is better in the midwest.

@SaladJones said:

Soula i always trust what you have to report..

Thanks man!

Just trying to give a heads up to others. Some nice people help me out and I just want to pass some of that on when I can.

Btw, don't be surprised if the capacity is larger than the usual 7,500.

Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood Atlanta
July 12 & 13

heard this also

...I pray that I am back from treehaven before this happens...cuz if i miss this i will MURDER SOMEONE! (just kidding) but seriously I gotta see phish this summer.

@JayDubya said:

I'm happy they are playing some different locations lately. No offense to Alpine because the venue is like my Phish home, but it's refreshing to see some new midwest stops.

i'm with you. for me, alpine is just a pain in the ass to get to. i pretty much have to go through chicago, which sucks. not to mention, i usually have to leave at the butt crack of dawn to ensure i get there in time. this can be challenging after 2 nights of deer creek. i missed about half of the first set the first night of '04 because it took 5-6 hrs to get through chicago.

then you get to alpine which can be an ordeal in and of itself...

We did the Alpine -> Creek in '99. Sat in stand still traffic in Chicago baking in that heat. It was worth it though.

@JayDubya said:

We did the Alpine -> Creek in '99. Sat in stand still traffic in Chicago baking in that heat. It was worth it though.

the pay off was pretty big both years, but we did the polaris> alpine> creek stretch in '98 and '99. that polaris to alpine drive sucked. in '98 we left for alpine right after the show. in '99, well, that just wasn't an option. we were white lightning that morning. we got parked and in the show with something like 30 minutes to spare.

we were sooo excited to see them shuffle that in '00 with the alpine> creek> polaris arrangement. plus, there was a day off between each city. nice and leisurely...

then phil and friends announced a show at the creek on the day off between alpine and the 3 nighter in noblesville. it forced our hand a bit, so we decided to leave alpine after the show and head back to indiana.

it was actually a pretty nice drive. i was on 2 doses that i dropped midway through the 2nd set, so i was primed for a nice late night cruise. i wish i had a video of me at one of the tolls in chicago. i missed the basket with my change at least 3 times. i had to get out of the car, collect the dropped change off the street, and slowly place each coin in the basket one at a time. good times...

@MySoula said:

@sharin_in_thegroove said:

@MySoula

Great news. Thanks for the report! As you mentioned, you said the capacity will be likely larger than the 7,500. Do you have any idea how much larger they can make it? Perhaps double the capacity to 15,000?

Sounded like they were/are contemplating pushing the capacity limits. The number I heard thrown around was bigger than 15k but that info was a few weeks ago...the way it was described then made me think of Bader Field.

Time will only tell on that front.

yeah. i forget who, but wasn't someone on here saying they were going to work it out where they got the capacity up to something like 20-25k? it sounded a bit implausible to me.

I found this article talking about general plans for the area where the venue is...looks like they are building an urban campground and it mentions the venue plans will be for 14,000+

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/08/16/plans-for-northerly-island-park-set-to-go-ahead/

speaking of capacity...if opted to take down the stands in that top pic [above] they could fit a decent amount of people in there as a GA show.

@Furry_Thug said:

Kind of hoping this isn't true. It's a cool venue with the city making for an amazing backdrop, there's not a single bad sight line, and its small, about 7500, which makes for an intimate show , but...

It is a PITA to get to. One way in, and one way out. Surrounded by museums and the aquarium which are packed on summer weekends. Parking is expensive and limited. Zero space for a "lot" scene. Public transportation is kind of a bitch from there. Cops all over the place. Pretty sure there's an 11:00 curfew (that may have changed). Nearby hotels are really expensive on summer weekends...

Don't get me wrong, I'll be thrilled if they play 3 nights [anywhere] in/near Chicago this year. I can just think of 4-5 venues that would be a better fit. IMHO of course.

Agreed on all accounts. I would love for this to happen, but I will bet against it because of all of the logistical issues that you mentioned.

@joyjoy said:

are the changes to the venue going to be in place by this summer, or just projections/plans for sometime in the future?

I am not sure on that front. Northerly Island has been a work in progress and am not what the status would be for summer 2013.

All I know is they [the band/management] were trying test the waters to see if it could hold more for this summer. Whether those renovations would be in place, something new and unique for the run, or just end up keeping it at regular capacity. IMO, if they tried more people it could be a decent litmus test for future shows/plans and provide a good chunk of change to the park district that is throwing in money to help renovate the island/charter one.

Chicago is super close, but I'm not a fan of big city shows. I like the bfe venues.

@whoshotwhointhewhatnow said:

So the dates that keep popping up for these shows is July 19-21. I would do anything for it to be any other weekend as I'm in a wedding 5 hours away on the 20th. If these dates are correct I might go to the show the 19th then immediately drive to Michigan then come back for the show the 21st...then take the wraith of my girlfriend.

Im in a 10am wedding on the 13th in Chicago. I am hoping its that weekend... I live in SC so it would be nice to have a show that night. However, it isnt gonna happen...

They played 3 shows at UIC Pavilion in 2011 and that place holds less than 7000. I doubt they'll try to make the capacity bigger. There's no need to. The Trey and Mike tour played that venue. Like UIC, it'd be a tougher ticket but they're not selling out Alpine Valley or Deer Creek or Toyota Park anymore.

The perfect place they could play near Chicago (other than Alpine, of course) would be the Sears Center. It's far enough from the city but still close, plenty of hotels around, and very easy to get to from any direction. And it's the perfect size for Phish at 11,800.

saw someone post this on PT.

shows a new setup (map) of charter one...mostly GA

link to map (and dispatch tix)

7/19-21

@Furry_Thug said:

The perfect place they could play near Chicago (other than Alpine, of course) would be the Sears Center. It's far enough from the city but still close, plenty of hotels around, and very easy to get to from any direction. And it's the perfect size for Phish at 11,800.
http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/GApparatus/buidling_zps92ccf636.jpg
http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/GApparatus/4564_6_zps28e36819.jpg

Any idea on how Sears Center sounds for concerts? I would love for the boys to play there as its 10 minutes from my house...