Phish fans’ attempts to purchase tickets for the jam band’s reunion tour have been frustrated at online box offices once again.

Vigilant fans thought they hit the jackpot when Ticketmaster‘s system erroneously pre-released tickets to the band’s four-show stand at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, on the night of March 18. Public onsales for the four-day series were supposed to begin more than a week later on March 26.

Glide Magazine reported the sales glitch around 8 p.m., but word had spread quickly through Phish fan sites and forums. However, within a few hours, Glide updated that early Phish orders had been cancelled and fully refunded.

Ticketmaster confirmed later that the early sale was the result of a “routine glitch,” according to Rolling Stone. The company’s purchase policy reserves the right to cancel tickets and ticket orders if “you are able to order a ticket before its scheduled on-sale or presale date or you are able to order a ticket that was not supposed to have been released for sale.”

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Some reports are placing the number of cancelled and refunded orders in the hundreds. Ticketmaster did not respond to a message seeking confirmation.


For followers of the reunited jam band, this marks the second time this year that ticket sales have gone awry. When tickets for Phish’s initial summer tour dates went on sale earlier this year, Live Nation‘s new ticketing system crashed due to the overwhelming demand for tickets.

Approximately one million people reportedly logged onto the site for the January 30 on-sales, overloading the system. A Live Nation spokesperson told Rolling Stone at the time that the ticketing platform went down for only a few minutes. Fans flooded Internet message boards, reporting denied purchase requests, error messages and other problems for hours.

Due to the high demand, and quick sell-out, for the first round of dates, Phish recently announced more late summer 2009 concerts.

The new leg of dates is scheduled to begin with the Red Rocks residency from July 30 to August 2. The four-night run marks Phish’s first return to the venue since a similar engagement in 1996 overwhelmed the small town of Morrison. As a result, Phish was reportedly “banned” from playing at Red Rocks for 10 years.

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