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Stardate 030809

A bit of an earlier start to venue with a bagful of beer and a magnum of champagne wasn't early enough, as our plan to leave most of our drinks at a closer hotel room for post-show libation was foiled when we discovered all of phorbesies friends had already gone to the lot. So I hit will call for my Saturday night extra ticket that phorbesie had arranged to sell to one of her friends, the exchange was made and we sat around drinking beers. While at will call I heard Reba being played for soundcheck. I asked the guard to open the door so we could hear better and she smiled at me like I was kidding. Weird.

Given that we had brought too much to drink it all and still be able to remember the show, I went on a little sales tour, sponsored by our good friends at "Capitalism Sucks" headquarters. I quickly sold our extra coldies and bought a 1-ie along the way and returned with a brownie taboot.

By the time we decided to go in we hadn't touched the champagne so phorbesie pulled off an epic sneak-in, getting the magnum that was about a third of her body weight past security. We found our saved seats in the same basic area and were overjoyed when phorbesie released the cork from the champagne, almost hitting the cieling, from which were hung new oversized balloons.

Boy I was hoping they were gonna drop them again.

Lots of time for socializing before the show coupled with the fact that everyone was overjoyed with last nights experience lent itself to a nice pleasant atmosphere. The crowd was more relaxed than the first night, and the nervous edge that pulsed through the room on Friday night was replaced with a more familiar, almost regular-show vibe in the room. I took advantage of the extra time inside to find and purchase a couple of Pollacks. I usually don't think much of his stuff, but these are pretty cool posters.

When the lights dimmed the crowd roared, but the decibel level didn't touch Friday night, again, this was starting to feel more and more like a regular Phish show. They went with Back On The Train as an opener, one that many were calling as the first night opener. The first set rocked through Runaway Jim and SOAMelt, and PYITE was a joy to behold as the singalong made us all feel like we're part of a happy cult. Though the first set wasn't as long as the previous night, it was still a bit of a monster, as the band seems eager to play as many songs as possible on this opening run.

Personally I started to get more and more to the feeling that I used to always get at Phish shows, it really started to feel like they hadn't gone anywhere, or I hadn't. It was shaping up to me to be a regular old Phish show, which frankly is a bit of a feat. The band sounds so good this doesn't feel blatantly like a reunion anymore. The set-closing Run Like An Antelope turned the Mothership into a time machine as we warped backwards a decade or so.

The second set lived up to this deja vu as well. They seemed to have decided to play a completely different sort of show than the first night, less celebratory and more back-in-the-saddle. During the jam in Weekapaug Groove the band started to really hit their stride (in a three-night-run sense), and my eyes cast upwards to the ten suspended balloons waiting in vain for them to drop a second time. The short and sweet Day In The Life encore brought me back to the first time I heard it in Lake Placid so many years ago, and further affirmed that the band is feeling comfortable enough to play a normal show for us and not feel it has to overextend itself to impress.

Phish is definitely back my friends, this ain't no one-off Vegas revue, that much is now 100% certain.

Again, Chris Kuroda kicked my ass. During setbreak I went down to the floor right next to where Chris was. There were these Jersey tough guys there that suggested I move on, but I explained that Chris was knocking me out and I wanted to see a tune from his perspective. They warmed up to me and we became buddies and they shared bowls and we were hugging and such as they kept kicking out all comers. At one point I turned to the lightboard. "Chris!" I yell. Nothing. "Hey Chris!" He turns. "When you landed the airplane onstage during last nights vocal jam you kicked my ass!" He smiled, raised his finger to silence me, gave me a wink and dimmed the lights for the second set. I stayed there for the first song and-a-half, enjoyed the view immensely, and got invited back the next night.

The scene was more jumping afterwards and I spent several hours losing and refinding people, until me and phorbesie and moeron and gentlemonkey miraculously ended up together in a hotel room at the Nitrous Inn. Cops were turning over mattresses and opening tanks all around us as we reunited in a room watching the US beat Canada at baseball. I found myself mature enough to resist any and all NO2 and spent my money more wisely on a drive-by pizza. The clocks went ahead and we were still back at our hotel and in bed shortly after 4am.

I'm loving the weekend so far. Above all expectations.

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Stardate 030909

Went to the show fairly early again today as well. I have yet to mention that the weather has been perfect, short sleeves and summer for three days straight. We intended to eat at Hooters (my first time), but when a twenty-one year old kid who is squeaking by life on nothing more than the vaguest and most fleeting aesthetic properties blatantly asks me how much money I will give her if I want to be seated in a restaurant, well I go somewhere where the staff knows how humble they should be. Plus a McDouble is only $1.

We found the actual parking lot today, and found it to be quite happening after all. It's nice to see people branching out, but really, who is going to trust lot sushi? I got some free beers and we left the lot to join phorbesies friends in line.

We got inside in fairly short order after the doors opened and opted for a view from higher up than the previous two nights. I was fully anticipating another balloon drop tonight, and noticed an extra, 22nd balloon suspended from the ceiling, also with it's own dedicated lighting.

As the lights dimmed for our third time 'round the band launched into Sanity and the extra balloon remained illuminated. As the band played under muted lighting, the focus turned to the dangling orb which was released unto the crowd at the end of the song. With Wilson and ACDC Bag the celebratory feeling of the first night returned; the crowd knows the game is definitely back on, and that what we are witnessing is the end of the beginning - a beginning that may have no foreseeable end. It sounds like there might not be any more last Phish shows announced, and the crowd is psyched.

I got the Maze I've been waiting all weekend for, followed by Mike singing George Jones' She Thinks I Still Care for what I assume is a first time played. The Maze jam even had a classic Trey guitar peak circa 1996. Another monstrously long first set closed with Page front and centre on keytar for Frankenstein.

The second set seemed to show the band stretching out a bit more, and I'm surprised that Koruda managed to kick my ass all weekend and still have some tricks up his sleeve for the last night. He even had me looking forward to the inevitable 2001. The set-ending Slave seemed an homage to the drive home we all would soon be facing, even more when they opened the encore with Contact, dedicated to Fishmans dad who was celebrating a birthday.

Am I the only Contact lover? It was the first Phish tune I heard (well, that and Golgi), and it's one of the jazzier ones, plus it's a grand musical joke, complete with punchline and all. I was actually hoping they would end it then and there, but I had forgotten about Tweezer Reprise, and I had forgotten how badly I wanted them to drop those giant balloons onto the crowd again. Both happened, they even dropped the outer ring of balloons too, and while I was pleased that they made the effort to get stronger balloons this time so they wouldn't pop upon hitting the crowd, I was quite dissappointed to see audience members purposely popping them. Serves 'em right that when the balloons burst they would shower people in latex dust. (Like c'mon people, Phish & Co. went to a lot of effort and expense to do something unique, fun, and useless, namely art, and that should be respected and partaken in. Hey, it didn't ruin my show or anything, don't get me wrong, I'm just sayin'.)

Outside the crowd was slowly and happily dispersing. All can rest easy that their favourite band has worked hard to come back in style, and for a reasonable price I might add. For a band of Phish's stature to be charging $49.50 for these shows is admirable. Nobody woulda blinked at $69 a tickat, and that would have netted over $800,000 more over the weekend. And Phish earned their money. There was no shortage of rehearsal and energy put into their return, and I think the fans realise it and appreciate it.

I'll call first night, second set as the champion of the weekend, with tonight's first set as second place. Overall the weekend was a great show sandwiched between two unbelievable shows, though I would accept many arguments to the contrary. Bottom line is Phish will get return business from all comers over the last three nights, that much is sure. They worked hard to meet expectations, and they surpassed them.

All in all the band delivered a spectacular pile of music and (with the help of their fans)sponsored a helluva good time over three nights in Hampton, and they proved that they can be at least the band they once were, perhaps even more But most importantly, Trey, Mike, Page, and Fishman (and Chris) left little doubt that we may all have Phish as a permanent distraction again. Again. And the fans seem willing to keep up their end of the bargain.

Welcome back everyone!

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Am I the only Contact lover?

Im with ya' date=' I love Contact. But I suspect we are member of a rather exclusive club. [/quote']

Really?

Count me in on that exclusive group. I"ve been a member for nearly two decades now. I didn't even know we were a small group, actually.

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