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.