A Phish Fan Was Reportedly Banned From The Las Vegas Sphere After Smoking A Bong At The New Venue

In a move that’s equal parts hilarious and outrageous, the Las Vegas Sphere has banned a man from the venue after he posted of video of himself doing a bong rip at a Phish show that went viral online (no, it wasn’t Uproxx’s Steven Hyden, although you gotta admit, that’d be even funnier). While t’s absolutely ludicrous to book Phish to perform anywhere in the world and expect their fans to not show up and get baked, the venue does have a pretty strict policy, and as it turns out, he did kind of bait the operators into a response.

According to Rolling Stone, the fan, who refused to give his real name, posted the video to his Instagram account, @acid_farts, ahead of a 4/20 Phish concert at the Sphere. In the caption, he wrote, “First bong hit to ever be ripped in the @spherevegas @phish Somebody call @guinessworldrecords 4/20/24.” He declared himself the first to take a bong rip at the venue — which probably isn’t true, all things considered.

While his fellow fans and followers were clearly delighted by his rebellious display, apparently, the Sphere’s management was not. Mr. Farts made plans to see another stoner favorite band, Dead & Company, at their ongoing residency at the Sphere, but after he attempted to purchase the tickets online, he says he was sent a legal notice by FedEx a few days before the show notifying him of his ban.

“I opened it up, and there was this letter saying you’re banned from going to the Sphere,” Mr. Farts told Rolling Stone. “I was like, I’m literally leaving for the Sphere right now.”

In addition to the Sphere, Mr. Farts is also banned from several other venues operated by the Sphere’s ownership group, including Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, the Chicago Theatre. He appears to be taking the ban in stride, although he seems down about never getting to see The Rockettes. With that said, there’s something a little tragic about what this says about the corporatization of art (seriously, if you’re booking Phish and Dead & Co., this sort of thing kinda comes with the territory) and about the degradation of privacy thanks to technology.

And yes, there is already a “free @acid_farts” comment campaign.