Last Thursday I made the difficult solo drive back from Colorado to Illinois. The weather was overcast and I listened to the Nebraska movie soundtrack while driving through the Cornhusker State. I made it home around midnight. My parents were both waiting up for me. It was good to see them and my cat, Mattie.
I took I-88 into Chicagoland which is a change of pace. It reminds me of when we first moved from Glen Ellyn to Geneseo in 1990. That's the highway we took that day. This was a return to my original home area with Phish playing in suburban Rosemont. This was my 5th and 6th time seeing the band in the area formerly known as the Rosemont Horizon. I stayed at the Hyatt Place with friends from Decatur. It was nice to be so close to the lot/arena. We had a good view of the O'hare runways. Driving through Aurora and being at the end of the runway reminded me of Wayne's World.
Before the Friday show I met a nice guy named Mike from Massachusetts who I was able to talk Phish shop with. It wasn't difficult to call the Punch You in the Eye opener. It's cool during Martian Monster how they move the lights up and down. Axilla kept the energy going. The opening notes of Reba were received by a huge cheer from the 85% full arena. These were the only midwest Phish shows of the year and I felt the crowd was energetic all weekend. Reba reached an amazing peak. The set would continue with a speedy MSO followed by the best Mercury they had played to that point which would transition into the David Bowie cover Moonage Daydream. Great work from Trey and the entire band. Walls of the Cave wrapped up a fantastic first set.
When they open the second set with Tweezer you know they're feeling it. This was a top shelf version that would include a jam based around the second track they played during set II of Halloween the following Wednesday. This segued into Golden Age which kept the improvisation going before slowing down with the Trey Anastasio/Tom Marshall ballad Frost. Limb by Limb was a really classy choice after the cooldown. It built the energy back up slowly and prepared us for the Sand and fun Possum that would finish the set. Wilson, Tweezer Reprise was a high energy encore. This was one of the best shows I saw from Phish in 2018.
We spent Saturday relaxing and watching college football. I checked out the PhanArt show going on in the lobby of our hotel on my way to the nearby Starbucks. Iowa State defeated Texas Tech and Iowa lost to Penn State so it was a good day. Before the show I talked with Steve Vollen and caught up with how he had been lately. It was good to see him. During the first set I had an unfortunate encounter with a chomper and had to relocate. This show had a better first set than second set. Stash had a jam. Dogs was the second song of the weekend from the 2014 Halloween show I attended. Blaze On was a better than normal version as Trey hit some powerful peaks. Vultures was a real treat on this occasion. I find myself moving through time. Roses Are Free was a geyser of energy as they crushed the Ween cover. 46 Days kept the rock going. The tour's only David Bowie was exactly what I was looking for in that slot.
Moma Dance unless it has a jam needs to be confined to the first set. This was a well explored 25 minute version of NMINML. Steam is getting played out. Chalkdust didn't stray far. I don't mind Joy. They want us to be happy. Suzy wasn't really what I was looking for in that spot. I feel like I had seen that show before with the Rock and Roll encore on a Saturday night. It was the 5 year anniv of Lou Reed's passing so that was a nice tip of the hat. This second set left me disappointed.
Sunday was spent watching the Jets v Bears and the Packers v Rams. Once again the teams I rooted for won. This first set was rather lackluster. I don't mean to be harsh but c'mon. Tube was a better than average version. That's about all their was to report on.
Carini was the second set opener I wanted but there wasn't much of a jam as they went quickly into No Quarter. It became apparent the set would be song oriented. Cities was appropriate with me having recently moved to Longmont, CO. Find yourself a city to live in. Jibboo was a good call but less than 10 minutes could have been much more explored. Twist > What's the Use > Twist wasn't what I was looking for. It was good to see the end of the show with Sand and Frank. Shade is one of my favorite Trey ballads. I did really enjoy the Plasma they played. Character Zero was a rocker to end the set. This show needed a Fluffhead encore. I drove back to my parents house after. It reminded me of how many times I'd made the drive from the city. I'm starting to get over Phish. This was a tough year for the band. The music had its ups and downs. Curveball was a great loss. I'll reassess next year what my involvement with the band will be.
