1/30/15 The String Cheese Incident @ Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL

I don't start working my new job at Illinois Foundation Seed Inc. until Monday so I had time on my hands and I had the inclination to get out and see a show.  It had been since Dec. 09, 2011 at the same venue the Aragon Ballroom when I last saw The String Cheese Incident.  The drive to Chicago was uneventful.  It was cold with temps in the mid 20s.  I parked my car near the blue line in Wicker Park and transferred to the red line up toward Howard and the Aragon.  They played music from The Blues Brothers soundtrack before and during setbreak on the PA.


I get into the venue about 7 o'clock and met some cool folks from Connecticut up on the railing.  Dan and Gino were cool guys and the vibe was good.  Nershi ran onstage first and we were off.  The first set was bookended by Kyle hiphop sounding tunes. The latter of which that ended the first set had Kang on a full sized guitar.  I'm not a huge fan of So Far From Home but this version went into an L.A. Woman (The Doors) jam complete with Nershi singing the Mr. Mojo Risin vocals.  Round the Wheel had an interesting jam that saw Billy doing his best to add to the thumping beat.  Struggling Angel was a classy choice and I respect the message of that one.  Beautiful is a new song that I've enjoyed hearing over the holidays when I listened to the SCI Fall Tour on my headphones loading UPS trucks.  I liked hearing that one live.  Restless Wind reminded me of 2000 when I first discovered the band.  Roots Run Deep indeed. 


When Bill approached the microphone to start set two I knew we were in for a classic Group Hoot.  CBS has become a modern day anthem for the band.  It got me thinking about my own potential relocation to Colorado at some point.  Last time I saw them they had the video screens which was cool with the blue sky and Colorado mountains.  This time they used a more traditional lighting rig but the technology was impressive and at times was blinding almost from that close range.  Rivertrance was one I wanted to hear.    Sweet Spot is a great new Keith tune and this perhaps had the biggest peak of the show surprisingly.  Travis and Hann switched places for that one.   Just One Story kept this set moving in the right direction.  Next came the rarely played Don't Say which I've always liked.  Search is one of their catchier tunes though.  Texas made the show for me.  Nershi was straight killing it on his acoustic.  I was impressed with the second set. 


I made my way toward the back of the venue and prepared my exit.  The first song of the encore was the second reference to Mojo during the show.  I Know You Rider was a nice way to end things.  The next time I come to Chicago will be for another band that plays that song too.  During my train ride there was a disturbance in the car behind us and they had to bring in the police.  On my way home I stopped at the McD in Utica and crushed a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit.  I saw the same UPS driver I talked to after Trey at the Aragon in November.  As I exited the interstate and was almost home I switched radio stations and caught the second half of L.A. Woman by The Doors.  This was my 22nd Incident. 

12/31-1/3 Phish @ AmericanAirlines Arena - Miami, FL

It's been a week since I've returned to real life and the harsh frigid cold of the Midwest.  I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what transpired in south Florida.  The experience exceeded my expectations.  We left Geneseo, IL on Sunday December 28th.  As other lesser jambands were starting their new years runs all I could do was wait.  I'd been binging on The Wire before we left on HBO.  Terminology and characters from that show were mentioned frequently (by me) on this roadtrip.  Pat and Buzz were back visiting family over the holidays and they picked me up on the way south.  The special guest on this part of the journey was Pat's dog, Greta.  We listened to the Packers vs Lions.  Pat handled most of the driving on this journey which I appreciate.  I was not in my wheelhouse driving through mountains in the south in the night while it was raining.  When we passed Oak Mountain it brought back memories of when I went see Widespread Panic there in 2002.  From there I'd never been that far south in Alabama so it was all new territory.  We passed through Montgomery in the middle of the night.  Finally, we made it to Auburn very early in the morning on Monday.  I was impressed with that college town.  It had a nice downtown area with that adjacent college.  We continued The Wire binging as we waited to head south. 




On Tuesday afternoon we gathered the other members of our crew.  Buzz and Sarah left in his vehicle earlier in the day and eventually got us a hotey at the Super 8 near Universal Studios in Orlando  Pat and I were joined by Heather and Ryan in the Suburu (sans dog).    We stopped near Valdosta for food and in Gainesville for fuel and you could feel it getting warmer.  The next morning we saw a horrible accident south of Orlando.  We stopped for a note worthy breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts and reassessed our routing after seeing the traffic buildup.  It was fun in broad daylight to see the landscape of Florida change as we headed south along the coast.  Just north of Miami we stopped at a gas station around lunchtime and it was like being in the Caribbean.  Very little English was being spoken.  We arrived at our condo and the weather was gorgeous in the low 80s with the sun shining we'd made it.  We walked down the block to the waterfront.  It felt good to see the ocean.


Our room while snug and offering little in the way of television options provided everything I was looking for.  It had a nice kitchenette that we used all week.  The XM Sirius Grateful Dead station was used heavily.  Our friends had a room in the same place and the people who operated it were very friendly.  It was about a mile down Biscayne to AmericanAirlines Arena.  We had a Publix, a convenience store, and several food options nearby.  When we got to the venue it was lit up with the Fishman donuts and the Phish logo.  We visited the infamous rage cage which was reminiscent of Hampsterdam from The Wire.  The venue was almost full with the top sections behind the stage empty.  While it was technically sold out there were tickets to be had in the secondary market many of which likely went unused.  The rest of the run had a curtain in these sections and were not sold out but were more or less full. 







I had been listening to a lot of 1994 Phish lately so I had a new found appreciation for the Hoist era material (Sample, Wolfman's, Axilla).  Wedge early on was a nod to our taking the highway to get down there.  555 seemed to have a little more punch on this occasion.  Heavy Things was well placed in this set followed by a very funky Wolfman's though I wouldn't go as far as to called that jammed out.  Halfway to the Moon was played in about the same slot last NYE.  I really enjoyed Bouncin' Around the Room as it seemed to be given a little extra gusto.  That was one of the first songs I was exposed to as a Phish fan back in high school.  KDF featured some really impressive work from CK5.  He took a minimalist approach brining all the lights down and then build from there and it worked perfectly in psych with the music.  I guess I hadn't realized that Train Song hadn't been played in awhile.  Waiting All Night featured an even better solo from Trey than we heard in Vegas.  Axilla and a scary, dark ASIHTOS finished off a solid, but if not rather safe opening set from Phish.  They hadn't played together in about two months so it was about what I expected. 







I watched most of the run from the 100's sections but during the 2nd set on NYE.  I retreated to my actual seat up in 310 after the opening BOAF and an amazing Ghost that featured some excellent peaks from Trey.  During Theme from the Bottom I made my way up to the top of the venue.  It was an unbelievable segue into Cities that solidified this set as a clearcut winner.  After a standard CDT they gave us what we wanted in the form of the Halloween set closer Martian Monster.   Gordo was dropping some bombs that shook the foundation of the entire venue.  I was glad I had that vantage point for that moment because the crowd was going nuts. 







Dem Bones definitely seemed familiar from my childhood.  The NYE gag was funny but a little tame in comparison to previous years.  The "big" themed PA music leading up to the set made sense now.  ALS led into another Halloween kickdown in the form of The Dogs.  Tweezer with all the balloons definitely reminded me of Bittersweet Motel.  This version of Tweezer is actually pretty decent.  I appreciated the choice of Simple at this juncture of the NYE show.  This led into Limb by Limb which stayed in the box.  Bug had some of the best playing of the evening from Trey.  He held one note while peaking out the song.  BDTNL in this slot really let the air out of the room.  This show needed a YEM to finish it off.  The Horse > Silent in the Morning and finally Julius was rather anticlimactic.  A particularly sloppy Golgi was followed by Tweezer Reprise to finish up the show.  Gordon took a moment to stop and smell the roses which had been thrown onstage before he exited.    The meat and potatoes of this performance clearly came in the second set.   Jimmy Dean "Big Bad John" sent the crowd into the warm south Florida evening. 










We spent most of New Years Day recovering and watching college football.  Wisconsin beat Auburn in a game the rest of my companions were quite interested in.  I was more concerned with the Winter Classic which saw the Blackhawks lose to the Caps.  We watched some of the first semi-final game before making our way back to the arena for Round 2. 


The jazz music preshow set the mood for a mellow affair.  However, this show started off promising with four older school tunes.  Tube and Gumbo both were reverted to their original non-jammed out formats.  Page did add a little extra to the end of Gumbo.  Bowie was a solid version.  Next came Page crooning Lawn Boy.  From here the set changed to newer selections.  Undermind continues to mature.  Yarmouth Road is always well received.  Wingsuit had some emotive playing from Anastasio.  After a quick Poor Heart we got the clear cut highlight of the set in the form of Bathtub Gin.  This was a rather short first set which the previously mentioned Gin being the only foray outside the box. 







You win some, you lose some.  I understand the band was tired as was the fanbase so perhaps this show made sense.  It just seemed like they phoned in the second set.  The common pairing of Twist > Piper got me excited but neither produced anything fruitful. Caspian always sucks the energy from the set.  I don't mind 20 Years Later but not after Prince Caspian necessarily in the middle of a second set.  So the pace of the show has slowed to a crawl what do they decide to do next?  Drop Winterqueen and Wading the Velvet Sea.  So if you're counting that's 4 slower tunes in a row.  That's just not very good setlist construction by a band who knows better.  Yeah I understand the concept of playing a ballad in the middle of the set to drop the energy and then build it back up.  However, you can't let all the energy out of the room.  A very rushed Antelope came next which saw Trey botch the peak landing moment.  A short version of Rock and Roll ended the set.  None of the second set tunes surpassed ten minutes in duration.  Disappointing effort.  A quick one and done Meatstick sent us off into the night.  We were able to watch the end of the second semi-final game over at a friends' room at the Hilton because the show got over so early.  This was one of the weaker shows I've seen from Phish since OKC '12 and Rochester '13. 







I knew that after a very tame show the night before that we'd be in for a treat on Friday night.  The opening pairing reminded me of Saturday night at Dick's.  Possum returned to the first set after being used as a second set opener in Vegas.  This set had a lot of standard first set fare.  Roggae is always appreciated.  Stash really didn't stray too far.  Back on the Train was standard this time.  It's hard not to think of the 2009 version of that song in the same building.  Trey wanted The Line but Gordon started up Sugar Shack.  It was somewhat amusing.  He finally got his way the next song.  Ocelot?  Yawn.  A gorgeous Squirming Coil saved this set from being totally unforgettable.  This was somewhat expected as some point with the "I saw Satan on the beach" lyrics.  Great work by Page. 







What transpired next was a smooth flowing set of Phish that dreams are made of.  I wouldn't go as far as to called this Mike's jammed out but it was definitely extended.  46 Days provided the meat of the groove sandwich and this was also improvised before finally heading into Weekapaug.  What seemed at first like a normal version became extremely atypical when Anastasio started playing Fishman's Marimba Lumina.  Gordon then picked up the Langeudoc and started playing guitar.  Trey was playing a nasty (almost Axel F) style bassline with that machine while Mike channeled his inner David Gilmour.  It was over 15 minutes of extremely unique music.  Fuego had a brief jam that melted effortlessly into Slave.  Great work by Trey.  2001 was well placed during this show and gave everyone the dance party they were craving.  WOTC was another great choice at this juncture.  What we got during this second set was all killer, no filler Phish.  The classy encore choice of Sleeping Monkey, Rocky Top has been used many times before in Phish history.  Postshow was a nod to the recently departed Joe Cocker with "Feelin' Alright" on the PA system.  It was a perfect way to end my 120th time seeing Phish. 
















We spent Saturday relaxing at Miami Beach.  It was a fun drive to get out there.  I got in the water briefly but the Atlantic Ocean was a bit chilly despite the 80 degree sunny weather.  That salt water taste got in my mouth when I submerged.  I'm not a beach guy per se but I'm glad we checked it out one of the days. 


When they opened with Maze it seemed like they were getting right down to business.  AC/DC Bag worked as a second opener.  Divided Sky featured many in the crowd to pull out lighters during the quiet part.  That reminded me of the 90s Phish scene.  Cavern in that mid set slot was unsual.  Scent of a Mule did not feature Fishman on the Marimba, perhaps since it got such a good work out the night before.  Plasma has been a pleasant addition since its been called up from the minors (TAB)  I like Devotion to a Dream and it worked well in that slot.  Water in the Sky was appropriate with its reference to the everglades.  Split Open and Melt reached some nasty, dark terrain and they actually got the ending done pretty well.  That's something you can't always say in the 3.0 era with SOAM.  A rocking Character Zero finished off the most cohesive first set of the run.  Setbreak was David Bowie "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust".






The final set of the run was where they sealed the deal.  Stealing Time was appropriate with my mind feeling like a blank space after four days.  I was expecting DWD to open the set.  This was a masterful version that was as good as anything they did in the jamming department in 2014.  It's promising for a better year.  The NYE show was an energy based affair.  Then after that each show got progressively better culminating with the Saturday show which in retrospect was a special performance.  This DWD was over 25 minutes and was extremely dynamic.  Fishman and Gordon seemed to lock in and start up a new section of the jamming.  Extremely tight work.  The final climax from Anastasio reminded me of the late 90's when I first started seeing Phish.  Light > Sally was more amazing improvisation from the band.  The latter included the vocal jam.  Sand was appropriate with our adventure at the beach earlier in the day. Each song seemed to be the perfect call in this set.  Harry Hood was an emotive version that had me pondering my future in 2015.  Suzy Greenberg wrapped up the set.  The Good Times Bad Times was a good call to end the run.  This felt like a classic Phish show. 


The next day they dropped me off in Fort Lauderdale at the airport.  Thanks again to Pat for putting the Miami adventure together.  I enjoyed the crew we had in our room.  It was nice meeting Ryan, Heather, and Sarah.  The warm weather was something I really needed after a long peak season of working UPS in Illinois.  However, once I arrived at the airport my flight was delayed.  It seemingly took forever to get off the airplane when we finally did land at frigid Midway Airport where my parents picked me up.  The subzero weather with snow on the ground was a harsh return to reality.  This Miami NYE run was a great follow up to Las Vegas.  I'm extremely appreciative of the great experiences I had in 2014 and look forward to new possibilities in 2015.