Police in Normal, Ill., arrested 13 people Monday night (10/4) outside a Phish [ tickets ] concert at an Illinois State University arena. The charges included drug dealing, assaults on police and resisting arrest. It was the second time in less than a week that the goings-on surrounding a Phish show resulted in multiple arrests.

According to local newspaper The Pantagraph, police were making undercover drug buys in a Redbird Arena parking lot after the concert inside was well underway. As police made an arrest in an area where vendors had gathered, 75 people reportedly surrounded the police and pelted them with beer bottles and burritos.

Later, members of the crowd reportedly surrounded a nearby dormitory, broke two windows and attempted to kick in a door.

The Peoria Journal Star reported that after the initial incidents, 45 officers clad in riot gear gathered a few blocks away at a nearby elementary school parking lot, but no further trouble ensued.

Three nights earlier, law enforcement agencies in Ames, Iowa arrested 26 people outside a Phish concert at Iowa State University's Hilton Coliseum, mostly on drug possession charges.

Andy Cirzan of Jam Productions, which promoted the event in Normal, told The Pantagraph that he believes the police overreacted, and that the incident was overplayed in the media.

''I feel badly for the band, for the kids, and for the community,'' he said, adding that ''10,000-plus good kids'' also attended the concert.

Cirzan noted that his company put on an incident-free Phish show in Chicago on Sunday that drew 18,000 fans. No problems were reported when Phish played Minneapolis this week, either.

David Werlin of Great Northeast Productions -- which is planning Phish's two-day concert and camping event at Florida's Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation on Dec. 30 and 31 -- said he was disappointed when he heard of the incidents.

''The sad thing is that, as a group, Phish fans are as loyal, dedicated and caring as I've seen,'' he said. ''But when things like this go on and they hit the newswires, it ends up hurting everyone in the scene.

''I think it's a reflection of our society, and it's not representative of Phish or their fans. As for the people who are outside selling drugs in the open or harassing police, the vast majority are assholes, and they're going to be assholes whether they're at a Phish concert or anywhere else.''

Phish's growing popularity, Werlin said, has spawned a group of followers who aren't necessarily interested in the band's concerts.

''They're parasites who think they can live off the scene by selling drugs, bootlegged merchandise, food and what have you,'' he said. ''The band in no way endorses these people, and doesn't profit from them.''

Werlin said that while he has yet to get a full account of the incidents, he doesn't think they will have much impact on the planning of Phish's New Year's event.

''One thing that we don't have to worry about with the large-scale events we produce are capacity concerns,'' he said. ''We don't have a large group of people outside the gates who can't get tickets.''

Among the Phish events that Werlin's company has produced in the past have been 1998's ''Lemonwheel'' in Maine and 1996's ''The Clifford Ball'' in New York. Both events drew well over 100,000 fans, most of whom camped on-site overnight. And in both cases, local law enforcement officials praised Phish's fans and management for pulling off such large-scale events with very few incidents.

Phish wraps up a month-long fall tour in Albany, N.Y., this weekend. In December, the band will play concerts in 11 cities, including the two-day New Year's festival in Florida.