11/3/13 Lotus @ The Canopy Club - Urbana, IL

O: Harps, Break Build Burn, Wax, The Oaks, Bubonic Tonic -> We Are Now Connected, Uffi, Through the Mirror, Lucid Awakening, Different Dream, Umbillical Moonrise, Flower Sermon

E: 72 Hours Awake, Bush Pilot, Age of Inexperience





Last Sunday afternoon after the Cowboys/Vikings game I drove to Decatur.  I went with my friend Doc to The Canopy Club in Urbana.  We ate a few slices of pizza at the place around the corner from the venue.  The opening act Cosby Sweater despite their clever name was a bit of a letdown.  They were turned up to 11 and their samples were basically them playing over top of other songs. 

It was nice to see a show at The Canopy Club where it wasn't totally packed like its been in recent years for Umphrey's McGee.  Lotus took the stage around 10:15.  After a few new tracks they really opened things up during Wax.  After a brief slowdown during The Oaks they dropped another jam during Bubonic Tonic which eventually became We Are Now Connected.  Uffi is one of my favorite newer Lotus songs.  Lucid Awakening is one I enjoy with its duck quacking samples in the intro.  Different Dream had the hip hop sounds which I'm not a huge fan of.  Umbillical and Flower Sermon was a nice older school ending to the set.  I wasn't made aware that they were only doing one set.  We got 2 hours and 25 minutes worth of music from them which is what you would get at a normal two set show.  The encore was generous with them doing three songs.  The finale being one that is always appropriate on a football Sunday, Age of Inexperience.  "Dedicating touchdowns to Jesus".  This was a fun experience.  I feel like they continue to hone their sound and the improvisation was as good as I've heard from them.  Thanks again to Doc for letting me stay at his place. 

10/29/13 Phish @ Santander Arena - Reading, PA

On the off day I drove through Connecticut and New York into Pennsylvania and made the leisurely drive through the Delaware Water Gap area.  It was sad driving through Newtown, CT.  The objective on this day was to visit our good family friends Tom and Joan Neilsen in Spring City, PA.  Joan is my godmother and they were neighbors of ours in Glen Ellyn.  Their son Soren was born 10 days after me.  It was very good catching up with them.  I appreciated them taking me out to eat for some delicious Bee Sting wings at a local establishment.  When we would visit them in New Glarus, WI we would always listen to The Traveling Wilburys so that was the obvious listening choice as I approached their new place in Pennsylvania.  I spent the night in Lancaster, PA at an Econo Lodge that left something to be desired.  With little other options for entertainment I watched another game of the World Series. 























On Tuesday morning I headed down to Gettysburg.  Seeing all the familiar road names from history got me excited.  I've read so many books and seen movies/documentaries about this battle but had never visited the site before.  It felt good to be from Illinois driving past the site of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address at the sprawling cemetery.  In my vehicle I drove around the area where the battle began on the first day. Then I drove down Seminary Ridge where Pickett's Charge started on the third day.  Finally, I exited the park near Little Round Top.  You could feel the spirit of so many souls that were extinguished on that hallowed ground.

I drove northeast to Reading stopping for lunch at Wendy's.  The plan was to kill some time in the afternoon watching The Counselor at the cinema near the arena.  After finding a parking spot in the garage by the arena formerly known as the Sovereign Center I walked about 5 blocks to the theatre making it just in time to see the opening credits rolling.  This violent film with an excellent cast was a fun watch but critically speaking it was a little weak.  For dinner I had Subway.  I found a spot very close on the floor right in the center and met some good people. 

Phish played another cohesive first set.  CTB was appropriate with the traveling.  Wolfman's continues to be a first set monster these days.  Walk Away kept the energy high.  Divided Sky is one of my favorite compositions.  An unfinished Melt > Julius highlight the set.  I didn't mind that they didn't finish Melt as it had already yielded a strong jam. 

DWD started with its usual rock beginning but this jam found Trey using an amazing bluesy lick that brought this jam up and over the mountain.  It was pretty much everything you want in a second set opener.  This bled into a very well played Taste.  Great call.  I thought Twenty Years Later was going to be a breather.  Not on this occasion.  For the first time they explored and tacked on a jam at the end of it.  Piper wasn't a tremendously long version but it was definitely a legitimate third jam in this set.  #Line actually worked in this setlist spot as it did in Worcester.  I called the YEM.  You could just tell after such a successful set that it was the only way to go.  I'm going to declare this the best YEM of the 3.0 era.  Grind was a nice send off at the end of my time on the road with them this fall.  I was happy to hear Bouncing in the encore.  It was disappointing having not gotten a Reba in my 6 show run and then they drop it when we least expect it.  Great version.  Trey was playing from the heart.  Good Times Bad Times was appropriate as this Fall I made the decision to end a bad situation and got back to what makes me feel good.  This was what you would call a sleeper show.  I'd consider it up there with Friday Worcester as the best offerings I saw from Phish Fall 2013. 











After the show I made the dark, winding drive on the PA Turnpike to my cousin Traci's house near Pittsburgh.  It was scary almost hitting a deer very late at night.  At the oasis I stopped at there were a bunch of Phishheads still excited from the show.  I told them it had been my 107th time seeing Phish and I'd consider it one of the better ones.  It was nice to get a little sleep and a shower at Traci's place.  The highlight of the roadtrip was visiting with Aunt Maude at my dad's cousin Joanie and her husband Larry's house.  Aunt Maude is my Grannie's sister.  Mais has been gone for over 10 years and having a nice chat with such an important link to my family history was priceless.  After our nice visit I made the arduous journey home.  I met up with where I'd left I-80 the previous Monday in Cleveland.  I listened on the radio as the Red Sox won it all during the drive.  I was on the road for the entire World Series.  It was smooth sailing until Indiana and Illinois where I drove through torrential rain and high winds.  I had to reach down deep to get the final stretch done.  With me Phish Tour is like Arnold and weight lifting.  The more I put into it, the more I get out of it.  

10/27/13 Phish @ XL Center - Hartford, CT

(photo by Mandy Berman)














I awoke in Worcester in good spirits after having witnessed the best run of Phish since Dick's 2012.  I made the short hour cruise down I-84 to Hartford with relative ease.  I stayed at the Super 8 located by the Comcast Theatre where I saw Phish in 2009.  It's a pretty ghetto area of downtown but was very to the venue formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center which was the home of the Whalers.  I parked in the garage next to the Hilton and made the short walk across the street to the venue.  The religious whack jobs out front added a weird vibe.  I decided against the Pollack print.  There was a long line and I wasn't wild about the design.  The pre-show PA music was quite mellow and fit the Sunday evening setting perfectly.  I liked that there was a Dunkin' Donuts inside the venue where I was able to get some coffee.  It was freezing inside the cavernous 17,000 seat arena.  They had a curtain behind the stage and were not using any of the behind the stage seats like they usually do. 

With Lou Reed's passing the Rock and Roll opener was somewhat expected.  I was happy to see them explore an opening song like that.  I used the restroom during Ocelot.  Must have been the coffee.  I was able to make it back to my seat by the start of Tube and the dance party that ensued.  That was my second Halfway to the Moon of the tour.  Fee with Trey on megaphone made the Phish set.  That's always been a favorite of mine.  Maze was high octane but the next 3 songs were a bit of a lull.  They answered back though with two jamhorses of the post hiatus era. Walls of the Cave especially with its silent trees section was good stuff. 

Chalkdust was a short rocker to start the second stanza.  This show was all about the 17 minute Tweezer though.  It was a blissful journey.  This finally led into a BOAF interlude before returning to jamming with Golden Age.  This was marred by wooing.  Another jam-less Halley's proceeded one the best 2001s of the modern era.  The tour's first Fluffhead had a few flubs but it was good to hear the Phish classic. Slave was another highlight of the evening.  This was a patience, well played version in the getaway slot with the crowd getting on the highway to either head home or in my case head for Pennsylvania.  At this point of the tour a Loving Cup encore guess was easy to make.  Tweezer Reprise brought the house down and concluded a solid Sunday night effort from Phish.  Trey mentioned that both he and Mike had seen concerts in this room when they were younger.  Hartford was a nice compliment to the run in Worcester.  It was an impressive weekend of Phish in New England.

10/25-26 Phish @ DCU Center - Worcester, MA

(above pictures from phish.com)

















The Phish Fall Tour 2013 had a off day on Thursday.  I chose to drive north to the hometown of Phish which of course is Burlington, VT.  This is a pilgrimage I've always wanted to do.  The drive was very scenic in upstate NY.  Once I crossed Lake Champlain into Vermont it became more flat and the dairy farms were plentiful.  I stayed at the Travelodge in South Burlington.  During the day I drove down to the Stowe area and visited the Ben & Jerry's factory.  For dinner I went to downtown Burlington and had the famous gravy fries at Nectar's.  That night I watched the Cardinals and Red Sox in the World Series.  It was fun to be traveling through New England with a legitimate reason to be rooting for the Sox. 











The drive through Vermont and down into New Hampshire was pretty.  Once into Massachusetts I arrived at the extreme eastern point of the journey.  From here it was westward ho.  I'd seen Phish before at the arena formerly known as the Centrum in 2010.  It was good to not have a foot and a half of snow on the ground this time.  I stayed at the Motel 6 in Westborough which left a little something to be desired.  Traffic was a bitch on Rt. 9.  Both nights I was able to park in the garage across from the arena.  There was a bottleneck getting inside the first night.  My seat was Page side in the balcony. The sound was good and I enjoyed the vantage point. 

This show reminded me of seeing Phish in arenas back in 99/00.  It conjured up feelings of the old days.  Funky Bitch is always fun with it being a cover from the city of Chicago.  Wolfman's was a great version.  During Wilson Trey mentioned that Rog was in attendance.  It was interesting to see them play Curtain With and Rift so closely in the set.  I had two noobs next to me that I took under my wing.  I had just taught them that Rift came from the With part of Curtain With.  When they then played Rift it became obvious for the kids to see what I was explaining to them.  Cities was a nice funk interlude in between and it got me thinking about possibilities of relocation in my own life.  Great placement for Free.  They hadn't played My Mind's since the 2010 Woostah shows.  Vultures was great to hear but was marred by the woos.  A rocking 46 Days wrapped up a very on point set of Phish.  No filler.  Setbreak was LCD Soundsystem "Sound of Silver". 

Hearing them start up Waves was exactly what I wanted in that situation.  This and the Carini that followed contained some of the best improvisation of the tour.  They were working to become more than the sum of their parts.  Trey's soloing during #Line made that an effective break in the improvisation before returning to the jamming with Ghost.  This landed in a poignant, heartfelt version of Dirt which always reminds me of a fallen friend from tour.  I was surprised to hear them start up yet another jam vehicle in the form of DWD.  A straight forward funk jaunt in Sally led into what appeared might end the set with Cavern.  This was appropriate with me having been to Nectar's the evening before.  I called the ensuing Antelope.  This jazzier rendition put me in the mind of my old favorite from Ames '99.  I figured Contact would be a quick one and done.  Suzy had to end it, right?  Rocky Top is always fun.  A tip of the hat to Tennessee.  An unbelievable four song encore finally came to an end with Good Times Bad Times (which I heard on the radio immediately after the show).  The elated crowd exited into the Massachusetts evening to the sounds of "Who's That Lady" by The Isley Brothers (which I'd heard on the radio immediately prior to the show).  Some shows are better than others.  On this occasion Phish pretty much put it all together. 














A power outage at the hotel during the afternoon forced me to farther than I would have liked to find fuel and food.  The night before I'd owned a Domino's Pizza.  They really have stepped their game up with their rebranding.  I got the poster before the show the second night.  I wondered if Phish would be able to be match the heroic effort they had put forth the evening before.  Surprisingly they did. 

It was funny that my seats where next to the same people as the night before.  Phish ticketing obviously filled our orders at the same time.  Unfortunately our seats, which were closer to the stage on the Gordon side, had horrible sound underneath the overhang of the top balcony.  I chose to move up to the section where I had witnessed the Friday show.  It was nice to have seen both shows from about the same spot for continuity sake.  I did my moving about during Party Time.  Punch You in the Eye served as a second opener. BOTT and My Soul kept the energy going before Trey owned face during Bathtub Gin.  The old Deadhead next to me seeing Phish for the first time was impressed.  Ride Captain Ride makes me think of the Anchorman soundtrack.  Stash, Simple > Bowie was a huge triad.  Stash and Bowie with their darker jams sandwiched an uplifting piece of jamming that followed Simple.  Zero wrapped up another cohesive, strong first set. 

Drowned was one of the best jams of the tour no doubt about.  Toward the end it took on a mellow sublime feel to it.  Gordo had his envelope filter going.  It was a bubbly cloud they were floating along on.  Light had an effective jam as well.  Sand kept the crowd dancing.  Theme from the Bottom was used as the cooldown song.  I could feel the Mike's Groove on the way.  The decision to use No Quarter was a spooky choice in the middle. They really did a good job with that cover.  I'd seen that sequence before at Dick's 2012.  Boogie On, Possum was a fun end to an amazing weekend of music.  I spent the encore out in the lobby with a number of Red Sox fans watching the end of the game.  Postshow PA music was Prince "I Wanna Be Your Lover".  Phish crushed Woostah.

10/23/13 Phish @ Glens Falls Civic Center - Glens Falls, NY

On Wednesday morning I woke in Henrietta, NY and hit the Thru-way.  My I-pass works on all the EZ Pass turnpikes on the east coast which is convenient.  After a couple hours on the interstate I turned south on country roads for Cooperstown, NY.  The scenery became gorgeous the closer I got to the hometown of Abner Doubleday who is generally credited for popularizing baseball.  I was surprised how small of a town Cooperstown was.  I toured the Baseball Hall of Fame.  The highlight for me was finding Ron Santo's plaque.  It's a shame he wasn't alive to see the day he was inducted.  I spent a lot of hours listening to him on the radio.  My father spent a lot of hours watching him as a ball player.  RIP Ronnie. 

I drove north to Saratoga Springs taking two lane highways.  The foliage and dairy farms made for an enjoyable but slow ride.  At that point I got onto the highway again heading north to Lake George.  This small town was the site of Fort William Henry featured in The Last of the Mohicans.  It lies within the boundaries of Adirondack State Park.  I stayed at the luxurious Motel 6.  Unfortunately Tom Bodette left the light on for the nitrous mafia.  I saw them unloading tanks from a shady looking conversion van after the show.  After watching some Andy Griffith on TV and grabbing some Burger King I made my way to downtown Glens Falls.  Traffic in the small upstate New York hamlet was outrageous.  Nobody was moving.  I made a spur of the moment decision and parked on the street.  It was 5-6 blocks through the downtown to the small arena.  This venue reminded me of Wharton Fieldhouse in Moline it was so small.  The capacity was around 5,000.  I found a spot very close on the floor on the Page side. 

There was definitely talk amongst the fans about Phish giving a nod to the 1994 Halloween show which was the last time they had played in this undersized gym.  So when they opened with Back in the U.S.S.R. it wasn't a total shock but the energy in the crowd was amazing.  It was such an old school vibe.  You could tell a lot of older fans from the Burlington area had made the trek and the band was certainly aware of that.  A midset Bowie was certainly worthy of praise.  This was a better than average version for this era.  Gumbo featured Page on his clavinet instead of the piano for the ragtime ending.  I thought they would push it into a jam but alas it wasn't to be.  Hearing Yarmouth Road for the first time was a highlight of the tour for me.  That's a great tune from Gordo/Scott.  Camel Walk, Horn, and Limb were great calls I felt.  For modern day Split Open and Melts that wasn't a bad version. 

The second set used Rock and Roll as its opener but it never developed into a launching pad like it sometimes can be.  Instead it was Seven Below that was used as the jamhorse.  I've seen most of the definitive version of this song and I enjoyed this take.  Alaska worked in that cooldown slot.  It's better than Ocelot.  Twist was finally used for improvisation again on this night.  As the jam wound down you could Page wanted Wading in the Velvet Sea.  After stopping briefly that was the choice they went with.  This was one of the cleanest versions I've heard this side of The Story of the Ghost.  I couldn't help but juxtapose this version against the one I saw at nearby Coventry 9 years earlier.  My life and the band are in better places now.  I'd seen a Hood milk semi on the interstate earlier.  This was a better than average version of one of Phish's most classic tunes.  Chalkdust provided a nice rocker to end a cohesive, well packaged set of Phish.  The Beatles tune that has stayed in the regular rotation since that fateful Halloween 1994 show was the encore.  This was an old school show both in terms of the vibe in the crowd and the playing from the stage.

10/22/13 Phish @ Blue Cross Arena - Rochester, NY

I left on Monday morning and headed east.  For the first day I didn't have a hotel reservation.  The plan was to drive until I felt tired.  It was overcast as I drove through Illinois and onto the turnpikes of Indiana and Ohio.  In Cleveland I turned off I-80 onto I-90 toward Buffalo.  I made it to Erie, PA and decided to call it a night at an antiquated Super 8.  I ate fresh at Subway.

On the morning of the Rochester show I made the short drive from Erie through Buffalo to Niagara Falls.  It was cold but sunny as I approached the falls for the first time.  I won't attempt to describe the natural beauty of this special place.  I'm not a fan of heights so going out of the ledge was nerve racking.   After the visit to Niagara Falls I made the short drive to Henrietta where my Microtel was.  I ate Wendy's before the show.  I got lost in the maze of side roads my outdated GPS took me down.  Finally I found a parking garage across the river from the arena.  It was general admission in the entire arena and unfortunately way too many people attempted to squeeze on the floor.

I was happy with the first set.  It was song oriented but had a consistent rock energy that the Hampton first sets had been lacking.  This was a cohesive first stanza.  Unusual placement for the Meatstick.  Hey-0!  Kill Devil Falls was the highlight of the set with a much better than average version.  Scent of a Mule seemed like Fishman went a little too long playing with his new instrument.  Timber Ho! was great to hear.  Those two songs were a Mule team.  Halfway to the Moon is a new Page song that I really like.  During the setbreak I saw a guy being restrained on a stretcher being taken out of the venue by EMTs and Police.  Bad vibes.  The PA music during setbreak was The Talking Heads 77 and then they opened the second set with Crosseyed and Painless.  I wonder if that was by coincidence or not.

They never seem to lock in during this version of C&P.  I heard Trey teasing the shit out of Light long before they stopped and actually started up the song.   When they finally got a funky rhythm going Trey inexplicably started singing Golden Age over top of this.  It made for a unique version but it unfortunately did not lead to any jamming worth mentioning.  When they followed up Birds of a Feather with Halley's Comet it became clear they were waving the white flag on the set.  The tour's first Possum actually was a lot of fun on this occasion.  The placement reminded me of Hampton 3/6/09.  We were on the road and it felt good.  Bug was a great call at this junction.  Really poignant playing from Anastasio.  Heavy Things was well played but probably should have been played in the first set instead of deep in the second.  I was calling Bowie but the tour's first YEM ensued.  Joy, First Tube sent the crowd off into the night to the sounds of Blue Swede "Hooked on a Feeling".  I was happy to see Phish again.  The reappearance of a relevant first set was what I took away from this show. 

10/4/13 Gov't Mule @ Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL

This wasn't a show that I originally intended to attend.  Most people know I plan my concerts months ahead of time usually.  However, changes in my life allowed me the opportunity to see Warren Haynes showcase his new album in the city that always feels like home for me.  I had reconnected with my friend Steve from Wicker Park.  We've seen a lot of good shows together.  I was fairly apathetic about the new Gov't Mule, Shout.  The harvest was in full swing in Illinois as I drove into Chicago during the afternoon. 

We hung out at Steve's apartment listening to some Furthur and rewatched the Iowa State - Texas debacle from the night before.  For dinner we ordered Lou Malnati's.  We parked by the hospital and made the short walk to the Vic.  Upon arrival it was clear that it was far from being sold out.   It was nice to have some room.  The only negative of the night was the buffoonery from a couple drunken delta bravos.  They were playing some Dr. John on the PA system preshow.  World Boss got things going.  The next three songs were all off the previous album, By A Thread.  I was impressed with Whisper to My Soul in the live setting.  Temporary Saint was a nice older Mule tune.  Railroad Boy was another tune from the By A Thread album.  Beautifully Broken was straightforward sans the When Doves Cry.  Funny Little Tragedy is a tune from Shout that I really enjoy. 

Mule took the stage to Journey "Anytime" for set two.  This set featured the new material prominently.  Scared to Live in another new tune that I really like.  Larger Than Life from the Dose album anchored the second set.  Slackjaw had more energy that usual.  There was a brief Drums by Matt Abts before they played their new Dark Side of the Moon rip-off Captured.  I think Effigy with Folsom Prison Blues jam was probably the highlight of the night.  Warren really shredded the hell out of that.   By the time they finished the set with I'm A Ram I was ready to hit the road.  I enjoy Gov't Mule but obviously it's extremely one dimensional blues rock.  The double encore, both covers, sent the crowd off into night.  The latter of which, Cortez the Killer, was with the guitar player from the forgettable opener The London Souls.  This show was a fun experience when I needed one.

9/28/13 Widespread Panic @ Riverside Theatre - Milwaukee, WI

Widespread Panic
9/28/13
Riverside Theatre
Milwaukee, WI

I: Postcard, Surprise Valley > Blue Indian, Ribs and Whiskey, Can't Get High, Visiting Day, Tortured Artist > Spoonful > Stop-Go, Solid Rock

II: Thought Sausage, Pigeons, Up All Night, All Time Low > City of Dreams, Rebirtha > Stop Breakin' Down Blues, Sultans of Swing, Greta > Jack, Henry Parsons Died

E: May Your Glass Be Filled, Rock



postshow P.A. music was Talking Heads "Burning Down the House"


__________________________________________________



I drove up for the third and final night of the Widespread Panic run at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee last Saturday.  I was able to avoid the rain for the most part on the way up there.  I parked in the garage by the Marriot out of habit.  After walking through the mall for a while I decided to go for a stroll by the river to visit the Arthur Fonzarelli statue.  While in line to go inside I met up with Joe and Susie from Iowa City and I spent much of the show with them on the floor in the Schools Zone. 

Postcard got things going nicely.  "This town is nuts, I don't ever wanna leave" sums up the band's opinion of Milwaukee.  This has become a destination run for fans and the band.  Surprise Valley in the 2nd slot included a jam that I thought was going to become Let's Get the Show on the Road.  Finally, they settled upon Blue Indian.  They were very patient with the intro to Ribs and Whiskey in which amounted to a better than average version.  Can't Get High is a well written tune.  I'm so glad they went back to the original version of Visiting Day.  Upon the opening notes of Tortured Artist people were running for the bathrooms.  That was my first time hearing Spoonful in over 10 years.  UIC '03 with Bernie Worrell is the last one I recall.  Stop-Go had an amazing bass solo from Schools who was communicating well with Herring all night long.  JB followed up with the usual Strut 'N Crow rap.  Solid Rock rounded out a well played first stanza.

I went up the balcony for the beginning of the second set to compare the sound and vantage points.  With the first few greasy noises the band made tuning up you knew it was going to be Thought Sausage.  Pigeons was what my friend Frank was hoping for.  It was good to see him and Sand both of whom I went to high school with and have seen many,  many shows together.  Up All Night had a short jam in middle and this was followed by All Time Low which had a brief but effective jam that could have gone either way into Heaven or City of Dreams the latter which they chose.  Rebirtha was appropriate with the baseball playoffs getting going.  This had one of the bigger jams of the evening.  I was disappointed by the choice of Stop Breakin' Down Blues.  That wasn't what I wanted in that juncture of the show.  Sultans of Swing was a major highlight.  Jimmy Herring pwned this classic guitar tune.  They jammed Greta which eventually led into Jack.  Parsons to close the set on a Saturday works.  Following the slow song, fast song encore pattern they went with MYGBF and Rock.  This was my 89th time seeing Widespread Panic and for the second time in a row I saw them play "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads on the P.A. system after the show which never gets old.   

9/1/13 Phish @ Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, CO

PHISH
9/1/13
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO

I: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Kill Devil Falls, Back on the Train, Rift, Meat, It's Ice, Guelah Papyrus, The Divided Sky, Funky Bitch, Cavern, Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan, David Bowie

II: Carini, Birds of a Feather, Golden Age > Prince Caspian > Piper, Boogie On Reggae Woman > I Saw It Again, Mike's Song > Legalize It > Weekapaug Groove, Show of Life, Suzy Greenberg

E: Character Zero





Last Sunday I was on the road by 6:00 am for O'Hare.  I had planned this excursion since the Summer Tour had been announced.  I had booked everything through Priceline.  The drive to Chicagoland was uneventful.  I ate breakfast at the DeKalb Oasis.  The Saturn was left in the remote parking Lot F and I took the bus and train to the terminal.  I was flying the ultra-low cost carrier Spirit Airlines.  It turned out that I had the two seats next to me open for the flight out to Denver so that was really nice.  The cab ride from DIA to the Super 8 Stapleton was costly but I knew that was going to be the case.  I spent the afternoon eating Sonic and watching the Labor Day Law & Order marathon on USA.  At one point I walked across Quebec to the Walmart to purchase some canned goods for the Conscious Alliance food drive that I traded for the 9/1 Phish CO patch.  Bobbyluv and his crew picked me up from the hotey and we hung out in the lot behind the venue prior to the show.  I used the gate which scanned your ticket and gave you a field wristband prior to entering which cut down on waiting later.  For the first set I met up with a good friend of mine from Geneseo who now lives in Ft. Collins.  We hung out by the soundboard.  Later I found out that's where Justin Bieber watched the show from.

The first set was well played.  ASIHTOS to open was unexpected.  Many of the songs in the first set were Phish original compositions.  Trey was using a pretty interesting tone during BOTT.  Funky Bitch had a little more energy than usual.  It's Ice could have been a tip of the hat to Heisenberg.  That was the first Guelah Papyrus of the year.  During the break in Divided Sky people were chanting "We Love Dick's!".   I saw the Cavern/Bowie combo to close the set coming having watched the previous two shows on Webcast and knowing what songs in the catalog hadn't been played. 

For set two I purchased the event t-shirt and moved down with Bobbyluv and his crew on the Page side.  Carini was the intense second set opener I was looking for and this spawned a nice piece of improvisation that included some changes that almost put me in the mind of Two Versions of Me.  BOAF kept the crowd moving.  Golden Age had some interesting grooves from Gordo but the jam never really materialized.  I wasn't happy with the decision by Trey to go into Caspian.  This did have a nice transition into a Piper that was the other obvious highlight along with the previously mentioned Carini.  Boogie On may have signaled the end of any serious jamming for the night.  Fish signaled the transition into Saw It Again.  Mike's Groove was sandwich with the first ever Phish rendition of Peter Tosh's Legalize It.  A clear nod to Colorado's relaxed laws this worked perfectly in that situation.  Show of Life was an introspective moment before a Page led Suzy Greenberg brought the set to a close.  This was the second year in a row they encore on Sunday at Dick's with Character Zero.  The sounds of Johnny Cash's "We'll Meet Again" sent us off into the night.  With me having tickets to Worcester and Hartford the future is promising as we shall meet again in about 40 days.  After the show I watched Training Day on TNT.  It was nice being able to sleep in before my flight home.  I had a nice chat with a cab driver from Ankeny, IA.  It was comical when at DIA Suzy Greenberg was paged for a telephone call.  This was my 101st Phish show and I really enjoyed flying out to Colorado for the Summer Tour finale.