The Last Show of our Tour... 'till August

Jay and I were ready to fully rock the last show at Alpine Valley. We got to the lots early and had more great neighbors, like Will & crew from Milwaukee and Dan from CO who spotted my disk golf related stickers in traffic. We shared food, beers, yerba matte, and Phishstories before the show. I had a brief but great meetup with Jenny from MN, a phriend that I met in an unlikely scenario and our love for live music and Phish transcended the formality of the college Admissions process... great to see you Jenny!

We headed into venue determined to take in every ounce of Phishness for our last show. The PhabPhour didn't disappoint as they opened with another breakout, Brother. The chorus of the song is "somebody's jumpin' in the tub with your brother" and as Trey led a toddler by the hand to a steel tub on stage, Jay said something like, "it would be amazing if all their kids got in the tub." Sure enough one-by-one, all of the Phish children walked (or were carried) on stage into the tub. It was a salute to Father's Day, and as Trey wished everyone a happy day, it was clear the band was in a much different place this tour, with family and kids backstage.

The rest of the show was epic; one of the best of the whole tour, right up there with Jones Beach Day 2, Camden NJ, and Asheville (for me). The highlight for me was another break out; The Man Who Stepped Into Yestrerday into the Jewish tune Avenu Malkenu. Who knew a Hebrew tune could be so rockin', but it's one I've loved for years (despite the literal translation that praises the hell outta God). It was a real treat for me, having hoped to hear a live version in person.

The second set delivered a powerful finale to an amazing touring experience, and I knew at Crossed & Painless (a great Talking Heads tune) that this would be a delight of a set. They jammed with ease as the night meandered on from rocking solos to tight well timed favorites of the tour.

As Jay and I danced through another mass of heads on our way up the mountain, Phish came back for a rippin' encore where Page played an enormous Keytar, Mike was on a flaming bass, and Trey on a 5 neck guitar. They played Edgar Winter's Frankenstein and brought the house down with a fury of rock. As we watched from a tall deck overlooking the whole venue, Jay and I triumphantly embraced as the final notes were played. We walked back to the car that night proud and fulfilled with an amazing adventure behind us.

Stay tuned for one more blog in retrospect, and for a few more in August when I see Phish at SPAC and Darien Lake in NY.

From Newbe, to Pro, now Veteran

Jay and I left Matt and Nancy's recharged with bellies full of laughs, sausages, fresh fruit, and yogurt. Now half way into the last leg of the tour, we still had two nights at the famous Alpine Valley to finish off our little marathon. The trip to Wisconsin was longer than we expected and we rolled directly into the lot right around the time the concert was supposed to start.

We needed to unwind before we headed into the venue, so we mixed up some cocktails and relaxed before the show, thinking we would be able to hear the roar of the show when it started. Jay and I had a laugh talking about missing the show because we knew they'd play Runaway Jim (a bathroom song for both of us that they have played 4 times this tour already). Heck it was my 10th show in a row and we deserved a little rest, even if it did mean missing the opener. This leg of the tour had longer drives, later nights, and there was barely any "free time".

Before we knew it, there were hardly any other revellers around and we figured it had to be time to go in. As we approached the venue, it was clear the first set was well underway as we trodded through the 40 thousand or so phans to our seats. The venue itself was magnificent and I felt like a part of something special just being there. Alpine Valley is a Ski Resort among other things, and the lawn was enormous and very steep. The wood paneled roof of the amphitheater was taller than any we had been under, and as we danced in and out of people finding our seats, I pictured the hundreds of musical memories that haunt this amazing venue.

It turned out that we had missed most of the first set, and even though it seemed like an amazing set on paper, thankfully they didn't bust out anything we hadn't seen in the last 10 shows. If we made an amateur move at Jones Beach missing the first few songs, this was definitely a Veteran move; knowing that we needed a little rest more than we needed to see the first few songs of the set.

Our energy levels were in the perfect place to fully enjoy the second set, which was one of the best of the whole tour. There are too many amazing moments to give it justice, but it was a real musical treat; lots of great tunes, more tight jamming, seamless overlapping tunes, the best Lizards I've ever heard live, and a break out tune of Jimi Hendrix's Fire as a strong closing number. The crowd energy at this place was at a heightened level, unlike any we had witnessed before. There was an indescribable buzz to the place that added to the intensity of the music in a special way.

As Charater Zero started up as an encore, Jay and I danced our way to the top of the venue and escaped ahead of a good 35,000 people. The drive to the hotel outside Milwakee was easy, and the next day was spent resting up for another rockin' night.

Indiana Hospitality

On the early ride from Pittsburgh to Fortsville/Noblesville Indiana, our friend Matt let us know that cold craft beer and cedar-plank wood smoked wild salmon was awaiting our arrival. This is only a taste of their amazing hospitality that my words cannot do justice.

I have learned and experienced the power that music has on people over the years. Those like me who live for live music, outdoor festivals, and good company along the way are drawn to one-another. We met Matt and Nancy three years ago at The North East Kingdom Music Festival, where we learned they drove all the way from IN to see the band Toubab Krewe (like they will do again in a few short weeks). The “gentle camping” section of the festival made us neighbors and we bonded that weekend.

Three years later, through the power of facebook, and the collective spirit of Phish and Toubab Krewe; we are reunited. From the moment we entered their home we were welcomed like family. Cold Fat Tire was poured immediately and great conversation ensued over the course of our amazing fish dinner. We picked right up where we left off a few years back and had a nice family meal in their spacious home.

With some of Nancy’s yummy lemon squares in tow, we hopped in Matt’s truck for the show. Dark thunderheads were in the big Indiana sky and the air was thick with 93 degree heat and humidity. With all the gabbing and enjoying a real home, we made it with perfect timing for the show. Our seats were in our classic back corner section and we settled in for a rollicking night.

The first set was packed solid with many favorites, and it was a great one for Matt to see as his first show. The Moma Dance, Ocelot, a telling Water in the sky, and the Fluffhead finale were the highlights for me. Phish, despite playing many of the same songs 4+ times through this tour, still delivers powerful high energy jams and tight jamming. The more the show got on, the more intense the lightning got outside. Lightning shot upward from the clouds, spider-webbing into the huge sky above us; it was definitely the most impressive display I have ever witnessed.

Right around set break the thunder became louder, the lightning more frequent, and the downpour ensued. Page came on to the stage and made the announcement that all the people in the lawn (15K) should go to their cars until 11pm when they would come back on. Thankfully our seats were under the last bit of cover Deer Creek could provide, and the trees to our right blocked most of the rain.

After the rain delay the band came back in full force and rocked us with a great long jamming second set. Drowned was a nice treat from the vault, and 2001 once again rode us through the storm (see video from PA show). They finished on a high note with Possum, and gave us another rare treat with Sleeping Monkey as an encore.

Getting out of the venue was surprisingly difficult and as thousands squeezed through the one exit at the top of the lawn, the sky opened up and unleashed an unparalleled fury of pelting rain on us poor saps standing below. We happily jumped in the truck and took our soaked hides back to the comfort of dry clothes and beds.

We finished off the night with a nightcap and regaled some tales of our wild night to Nancy. The next morning after a great breakfast we hit the road to Milwaukee Wisconsin for our last 2 shows of this tour. Thanks to Nancy and Matt one more time; it really made our trip being with yall!

Below is a video from the first night of the Alpine Valley WI show. It shows the intro. to Maze (some of my fav. lights) and the best glowstick war of the tour!

Pennsylvania is big...

Refreshed, well fueled, morale high, and spirits soaring; Jay and I hit the road once again for what would be the most intense, yet still very enjoyable, leg of the Phish tour. Our first stop was our last one, and this time Grandma Berry met us smiling at the door last Monday afternoon. We caught up over a bison burger dinner and told some stories of all our travels. As the sun set over beautiful Sunrise lake, Jay and I failed at catching dessert off the dock.

We mentally prepared for the adventure ahead over some pool and bourbon in the basement, and hit the hay early. I must admit that it was either the RedBull during the drive, or my excitement, but it was a little hard to get to sleep that night.

The next day we rocked the drive like professionals, and rolled into hilly Pittsburgh in the early afternoon. Wanting to hit the lots and have a long night, we were moving on from the hotel to the venue without much of a break. We welcomed the relatively easy in (and out) of the venue and level of organization at the Post Gazette Pavilion.

After an adequate amount of tailgating and general merrymaking, we moved into "work" mode and McGrupp's General Store was open for business. Glowsticks and Blowpops were the big sellers of the night, and as I counted up the booty it was then I realized I forgot the camera battery... so no photo/video of this show... sorry kids. Check Phish's page for the official photos, and I attached some of them here. The video below is from the next night at Deer Creek, a great 2001 jam with high energy crowd and band.

The show itself was a great welcome back for us. As soon as we found our seats, we spotted new friends Jack & Liz from Colorado, and their posse. It's starting to get freaky at this point how we just keep running into each other at these 30,000+ person arenas!

The music for the night had strong opening numbers with Golgi Apparatus, ChalkdustTorture, a rippin' Wolfman's Brother, and my all time favorite, The Divided Sky. The second set was equally solid with what are becoming the standards of the tour. We heard Page's voice soar during a surprise Walk Away, a favorite cover of mine and apparently the band's. The highlight for me was a goofy encore of acapellas and antics.

After a Grind, Trey said something about redeeming it with a Hello My Baby, and if that didn't work Fishman would sing Bike. The band ended up laughing through Hello My Baby, and they stopped a few seconds into the song. True to form, Fishman gave us "the trainwreck portion of the evening" as he tried to remember how to sing Pink Floyd's "Bike". This kinda stuff is always better live and it was great to see them goofing around on stage and really having fun with the audience.

It was a great way to start off this leg of the tour as we journeyed to the midwest for our next few shows. Next up's Indiana where we rock with Phish at Deer Creek Amphitheater, and meet up with our friends Matt and Nancy in nearby Fortville.

First Leg Down... Resting Up for the week

Reflecting on the past two weeks of touring and the eight shows I’ve been fortunate enough to witness; mixed feelings of satisfaction and unease flood in. The satisfaction comes from the beautiful experiences I have witnessed and the great people I have encountered along the way. The unease comes from a life on hold, stuck between one world and another, knowing that I have to enter reality in a few short weeks. For now I try to enjoy each moment, knowing that someday soon I’ll be caught back up in the daily shite, and these few months of complete freedom will be a great memory that will refuel me for years to come.

Knoxville TN was just a relatively short two hour drive from beautiful Asheville through the Smokey Mountains. After a good lie in, some yummy goodness at the Wafflehouse; we were on our way. The Roadway Inn was the worst hotel to date, and the place was overrun with heads. Our neighbors had like eight people in their steamy room, one of them being pregnant, and all kinds of pholk were hanging about. Jay had enough strength to venture out for some supplies, but the heat and humidity of TN wore us both down quickly.

After a hilly walk through the University of TN campus, and looming thunderheads on the horizon, I made it to the venue. The scene was desolate compared to the previous nights and tickets to the sold out show were going for as little as $10 outside the doors. As luck would have it, I ran into Jack, Liz, and their crew.

The indoor venue was huge compared to the previous night at Asheville, but my seat was smack in the middle of the upper/middle section; another great night of the Kuroda light show was in store for me. The music was solid and the highlights for me were the songs they hadn’t played at the last 7 shows. Train Song is always a favorite, as I love Mike’s bluegrassy style and voice. I also had the pleasure of hearing Undermind done in the newer style, which I love! Waves was a wish list item, and it melded perfectly into A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing. This segued into a seriously intense David Bowie, and everyone rocked out to this one (some neighbors of mine were a little too into the song and brought new meaning to “getting down”).

Seeing eight Phish shows in two weeks is really intense, and I’m glad to have a week off from driving and life on the road. The next morning Jay and I rose at 6AM to make the 12 hour trip to the Poconos. Unfortunately when we arrived there, the key I had did not work. After a mini-breakdown the choice was to drive for another 1.5 to a hotel or keep rocking to Plattsburgh. Jay was a rockstar and all his stored up rest came in handy as he drove the 4 hours north in the rain. I played DJ and tried to keep us both awake with as much heavy sing along music as possible.

We landed safely in Plattsburgh at 3am, and now I’m back in Burlington until Wednesday when we hit the road again. It’s great to be home and I’m happy with our decision to come home and rest up for the last leg of the tour when we head to the Midwest. Stay tuned for more adventures from the road!

The view from my seats last night

Somewhere in the early AM I realized that my companion was not doing so well. This was confirmed by the tissues all over room, coughing, and general miserable condition he was in. Jay has the Flu and hopefully it's not coming my way, because he is sick as a dog (a really sick dog). He happily sold the ticket to a very joyful local sprite for a little above face, and I made plans to go out to the show with my new friends Jack and Liz from Colorado.

It was not easy leaving my buddy behind, but he needed the rest bad. I stayed within cell phone contact just in case, and took the local bus with J & L. The scene downtown was not as crazy as the hype had been, and we were able to have a few beers in the street before we got in the long general admission line. Over the course of the night the three of us had some great conversations and discovered we were 3 peas in a pod; Phish and Snowboarding being our religions. Again... amazing people on our trip, it still amazes me! The night would not have been as fun without them - thanks yall!

After a quick trip in, a tough time deciding where to sit with so many great options; we finally decided on a great spot right above Fishman. It was amazing to have such an incredible vantage point and that made the show. The place was small and the lights did some amazing things dancing on the crowd, walls, and ceiling. The band once again was having a blast on stage and taking lots of time between songs to discuss what they wanted to play. 

My favorite moments of the night were a tribute to Jon Fishman, and the four songs he contributed to the Phish Canon. Apparently they stole his journal back in the day and that turned into Dog Faced Boy, Gumbo, Tube, and Lengthwise. Fishman decided to take a break and lie on the floor for Dog Faced Boy, then sang Lengthwise Acapella (first time since 1998).

Overall the show was great, but definitely not the same without my main man. The three of us had an adventurous walk home from the venue, and I said good bye to new friends. Jay was a wreck when I came home; tissues up the nose, and mangled sheets about. Even this AM he was a little better, but only good enough to make it to the Waffle House and get back on the road the 2.5 hours to Knoxville, where I now write. Tonight will be another solo show, and we decided to go home instead of staying the whole week in PA, to recoup ourselves before we head back to the Midwest next week.

Back to Jersey for Phish

The drive from RI to our new home outside of Camden NJ was surprisingly swift and easy. Like professionals, we rolled up and settled our digs for the night.  After a mildly scary drive through a bad neighborhood in Camden, all the while coaching Jay on not looking people in the eyes and pretending like we knew where we going; we approached the venue on the water.

I’ll admit a bit sheepishly that my expectations were not high for this venue, especially as a former New Jersey-ite. Our focus was on getting the best sounding show, so we headed for the middle and plopped down the yoga mat with plenty of room around us. To our surprise the view of the stage and lights was spectacular, and as the sun set over Philadelphia, Phish opened strong with a rippin’ Chalkdust Torture. The show was really upbeat and it was very clear that the guys were having fun and very comfortable up on stage. 

Trey laughed off some flubbed lyrics by telling the crowd, “you guys sing this one”, and even seemed a little nervous during the Lizards. All was compensated by rockin’ solos from all 4 members sharing the stage and spotlight. The combination of the great venue, beautiful summer night, and funky tight jams made it an epic night.

Two new songs debuted this night; one a bluegrassy tune from Mike called Sugarshack, and the other a sentimental ballad to Trey’s daughter (I am assuming) Joy, called Joy. It had Jay and I in tears as they began a 4 song encore, and ended triumphantly with another Tweezer Reprize, one of my favorite ways to end a Phish show.

With a quick drive home, and the sudden realization that we had a 10 hour drive ahead of us, we got ready to head south to Ashville North Carolina.  We got up early and rocked the drive with beautiful warm summer breezes dancing in our faces whole way. It was intense, but with the help of Redbull, Radiohead, a couple Phish shows, and some Mc’y D’s (thanks Steve); we made it to Ashville as the sun set over the mountains.

Immediately upon arrival we made friends with some pholk from CO, who will be seeing many of the same shows in the upcoming weeks. The community of Phish is everywhere we go as we caravan from state to state experiencing musical beauty each night. It still amazes me how many great people we are meeting out here on tour and makes me hopeful.

Our night was spent relaxing and tomorrow hopefully sleeping in, hitting the Waffle House across the street, and heading to the show early for the General Admission show at a small venue in town.