After struggling to find a location, Phish have announced they will bring their fans into the next millennium with a two-day concert December 30–31 at an American Indian reservation in the Florida Everglades.

The improvisational-rock quartet from Vermont will perform an afternoon set and two evening sets Dec. 30. On Dec. 31, Phish will play an afternoon set and return to the stage just before midnight to play until sunrise.

No one involved would describe what the band has planned for the shows, but co-producer Dave Werlin of Great Northeast Productions said Thursday (Aug. 12), "We're getting down to the business of topping everything we've done in the past."

Phish are known for their unpredictable stage sets. Previous New Year's Eve shows have seen them pull such stunts as hovering over the crowd in a 12-foot-long hot dog and performing on a stage designed to look like a giant fish tank.

Organizers also are brainstorming ideas to keep fans entertained between the band's performances, but Werlin was tight-lipped when asked to name any possibilities.

Phish's current release, The Story of the Ghost, is their seventh studio album. It features such short, groove-heavy songs as "Ghost" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Birds of a Feather"

(RealAudio excerpt).

In their annual two-day summer festival, which took place at Oswego County Airport in Volney, N.Y., last month, Phish showcased their different styles, ranging from reggae to blues to bluegrass.

But Phish had trouble securing a location for their millennium shows. They originally wanted to perform in Oahu, Hawaii, but those plans were nixed when promoters feared they wouldn't be able to get a permit for the show in time for fans to make travel arrangements.

After considering spots in Southern California, they turned toward Florida. A 500-acre ranch in Okeechobee County was ruled out after the local sheriff expressed concerns about drugs, concert security and even terrorist acts. Werlin said that location wouldn't have worked anyway, because it wasn't equipped with power lines and would require "a lot of building from the ground up."

Phish finally chose Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation for its beauty and cultural history, as well as the fact that it's remote, yet easily accessible. The reservation, much of which is a wildlife preserve, is midway between Naples and Fort Lauderdale, just north of I-75, also known as "Alligator Alley." Sixty thousand tickets will be available.

"We are building literally a small city," said Werlin, who has produced shows for Phish since 1992. "Y2K doesn't bother us, because we're our own self-sustaining city. We have our own power, so we can't lose power. We're bringing our own field hospital of doctors and nurses, so we don't have to worry about the hospital down the road. We don't have to worry about traffic lights going out, because everyone's, hopefully, staying there."

Werlin said he was not concerned that Phish's New Year's Eve shows might be troubled by problems similar to the rioting that ended Woodstock '99 last month.

"This is about Phish, and about a community of fans that has a real peer-group sensibility," he said. "Woodstock addressed a lot of different subcultures and brought in a very diverse group of people. A Phish event brings in a very united community, so I think that's a fundamental difference."

He added that organizers are working to make sure fans are comfortable during their three-night stay at the festival by keeping food and water prices reasonable and paying close attention to medical facilities and sanitation.

Tickets are $150 in advance and include three nights (Dec. 29, 30 and 31) of camping. They first will be available via mail order through Phish's newsletter and website (www.phish.com). Charge-by-phone sales begin Sept. 25 at (954) 523-3309, (404) 249-6400 and (214) 373-8000. No single-day tickets will be sold.