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.
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