I attended about 30 Phish shows between 1994 and 2004, by far the most of any band in my life, and then they disappeared from my consciousness, going underground and out of mind for five years while the internet flooded me with unlimited alternatives, but having the opportunity to finally see them again was pretty special. I got my first taste of the Jones Beach theater, which is in a gorgeous location, and enjoyed the experience with Alaina and my 22 year old cousin Lars who was attending his very first Phish concert. We were discussing live recordings we had and I asked Lars if he had ever “traded tapes”. He had no clue what that involved. I had to explain to him, in what my be my first grandfather moment, that back in my day, the internet was not fast enough to send music, so instead we used “electronic bulletin boards” and “newsgroups” to arrange “cassette tape” trades through the mail. It sounds truly quaint, but it wasn’t even 15 years ago!
The show itself was a classic, with some of my all time favorites; Divided Sky, Punch You in the Eye, NICU, Run Like an Antelope, and You Enjoy Myself and they have not lost anything in their time off. In fact, It seems to have reinvigorated the band and the fans alike, and the light show, while it has always been impressive, is now even more mind-blowing with what have probably been some major computer-based lighting advances over the past five years. All in all, it stands among the best Phish shows I’ve ever seen, and I attribute much of that to my company: Alaina, never really much of a phan, had only seen one show before (Big Cypress — really? you’re going to drive to Florida for a band you don’t even like?!?) and was accompanying me for the first time. It was nice to finally share a part of my life that was so important before I knew her. Rock on, Phish!
Totally sweet.