8/3-5 Phish @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - Alpharetta, GA

I drove on my 37th birthday to Decatur and stayed with my friend Jeff.  It was good to see him. It had been a while since I had visited his lakeside home.  This cut three hours off my drive.  The next morning I was following the lines going south out of Illinois via backroads to I-24 down through Kentucky and into Tennessee.  In Nashville I got on I-65 and headed further south into Alabama and through Birmingham.  Going past Oak Mountain brings back memories of my only Alabama concerts which were Widespread Panic in Pelham April 26-28, 2002.  I stopped at the Bibb St. Pizza for an excellent slice for dinner.  This was where I met up with Pat who was helping his brother Ian get the new location started in Montgomery.  This was the original capital of the Confederacy and my first time there.  I watched some of the Bears vs. Ravens in the first preseason football game at Pat's apartment.  After he got off work we made the journey to his home in Auburn.  This was my first visit since he and Kasha got married.  I liked meeting their new dogs.






The next morning we picked up Ryan and got on the road to Alpharetta.  I hadn't seen Phish in exactly 11 months and was excited to see the band again.  We stayed at the Embassy Suites.  On Friday Brandon and his buddies hung out with us.  We were also joined by Jeff and Kat.  It was good vibes as we took the Uber to the venue. I ended up watching all three nights in section 103.  The weather could have been much warmer for Georgia in August.  First Tube was the last song I saw last summer and turned out to be a great opener on this occasion.  You could tell from the start something was special about Friday in Alpharetta. No Men kept the energy going.  It was the Ghost that would change the game.  This was an excellent version that was the best jam of the  weekend.  I hadn't heard All of the These Dreams in like 15 years.  The song selection in this first set was strong.




I called the Tweezer set two opener.  You could just tell that after a first set like that they would chose their go to jam vehicle.  Blaze On kept the energy going.  It was the Carini that would be the second 20+ minute jam of the night.  The jam went from nasty/dark to blissful.  Winterqueen served as the cooldown but also had some interesting playing that emerged before an emotive version of Harry Hood to end the set.  I was surprised when they didn't follow More with Tweezer Reprise.  The Flamingos "I Only Have Eyes For You" was the walk out song.  This was a top 25 Phish show for me.




Saturday proved to be a very solid follow up to the amazing Friday show.  We were joined by Brandon's wife Jenny and her friend Cara.  Pat and Ryan's wives joined us after the show as they made the drive from Auburn.  We drove to the show on Saturday and Sunday and it proved to work out easier.  There was a very large lot scene.  I bought a sweet Atlanta United/Alpharetta lot shirt.  Everyone was caught off guard with Tweezer Reprise as the second song.  I thought the Divided Sky later in the set was a good version.  Trey teased LA Woman by The Doors during Character Zero.
The second set opened with Crosseyed and Painless but it was the monster version of Soul Planet that would win this day.  Piper was better than usual lately.  I like the late second set placement of Possum, especially in the south.  Slave was a poignant end to the set.  Squirming Coil is their best encore. 


The Sunday show was more playful with You Sexy Thing being brought back from last summer's Baker's Dozen.  Most Events Aren't Planned was cool to see again.  Vultures is an underplayed tune.  Reba is always welcome.  The Golden Age in the second set ended with them doing the Reba whistling.  Mango Song was a major highlight for me.  I was surprised when they played Bathtub Gin so late in the show.  2001 to end the encore was unsual as well.  This was the best 3 night run of Phish that I've seen since Magnaball in 2015.     

7/8/18 Mike Gordon @ Live in Lincoln Park - Chicago, IL

On Sunday I drove Han Solo from Geneseo to Chicago for Live in Lincoln Park.  I parked near my sister's place in Wicker Park and took the CTA to the venue. The weather was unseasonably cool with nothing but clear skies.  The opening act was the remnants of The "original" Wailers.  I didn't mind the familiar reggae songs while I mingled about the festival grounds.  A corner of the expansive park had been fenced off for the weekend event.  They had the sound turned up very loud.  When Mike Gordon's band hit the stage you could feel his bass.  It was awesome to hear my favorite musician from such a close range in a comfortable setting. 


For a Chicago event this was laid back with plenty of room. I talked to NickMo and his expecting wife.  (also their dog).  It was a pet friendly event.  An unexpected part of the night was seeing Katie and Tom who I knew from Iowa City back in college.  It had been at least 10 years since I'd seen them. I liked seeing the show with them and Lindsay Bybee.  Familiar faces from older times. Also, I hadn't hung out with Steve for a few years and it was good to catch up with him.  I was saddened to learn of the passing of his dog, Hugo.  I stayed at his apartment after a lot of shows and he was always well behaved and friendly.  That's the worst part of owning a dog.  It's hard to say goodbye.  Steve's a good guy and I'm glad we were able to watch this one together. 


I liked how the set was a Victim sandwich.  There were several repeats from his show last October at The Metro but I couldn't help but notice how he didn't pander to the crowd with any Phish associated tunes.  He relied on the tightness of his band, the strength of his new OGOGO material, and his own outstanding bass playing to make this a winning set.  It frankly made me excited for Phish tour the way he was playing up there.  He played a Tower of Power cover at one point.  The Murawski sung Sleep to Dream segued into Marissa but the rest of the songs were standalone.  The sun was just going down at 8:50 when the set wrapped up.  I made it home at a reasonable hour.  Bring on Phish Tour. 

6/23/18 Dead & Company @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre - East Troy, WI

I watched the classic Germany v Sweden World Cup battle.  A late Toni Kroos goal saved the Germans late in the match.  Then it was time for Dead & Co. at Alpine Valley.  The drive up was uneventful with mild temperatures and sunny skies.  There was a bit of a traffic backup at the exit off I-43.  Fortunately upon arrival in the yellow lot I was able to find my buddies Frank and Sand fairly easily.  In a crowd of 37,000 they were parked very close to where I was.  It took a long time to enter the facility where there was quite a bottleneck.  We saw our friend Brandon who we went to HS with.  I wasn't thrilled with our spot on the lawn but the sound wasn't bad and we had flat dancing room. 


The show got going with it still being broad daylight with The Music Never Stopped.  This segued into Easy Answers.  Alabama Getaway brought the energy level up.  We liked the Big River with the Davenport reference.  Jack Straw was another highlight of the set.  The guest from Bon Iver didn't really add anything during his guest appearance. We noticed his Northern Exposure shirt. 


I like The Weight as a cover choice but this was bad placement.  The falsetto singing was a bit cheesy as well.  Shakedown Street was when the second set got started.  This was a well explored version and included a "Part Time Lover" tease by Mayer/Oteil.  Althea seems like one of Mayer's favorite Dead tunes.  China > Rider at Alpine Valley felt right.  We went for a walk to the top of the venue.  It felt good to be back in this classic venue.  Drums > Space > Watchtower was my highlight of the show.  Mayer threw in some Jimi Hendrix licks while Weir stayed true to the Dylan original.  The moon was visible above the lawn earlier in the night so Standing on the Moon wasn't entirely unexpected.  Sugar Magnolia was a fun singalong to end the set.  Weir had problems with his microphone.  Everyone knew One More Saturday Night would be the encore.  I beat some of the traffic and got on the road.  This was the least engaging of the three times I've seen Dead & Co.


There was a comical looking old Deadhead on a motorcycle wearing a well worn tie dye tour shirt on I-43 who I passed on the way home.  He could have been on the cover of Shakedown Street.  I made an ill advised run for the border in Beloit.  After I had exited I-88 at Lyndon/Prophetstown I saw four deer on the road in different spots before I reached home which was nerve racking in the foggy conditions.  All told though I was home by 2:30.

5/27/18 Summercamp @ Three Sisters Park - Chillicothe, IL

Phil & Friends 2018-05-27 AUD recording


About 3 weeks ago I went with a couple buddies down to Chillicothe, IL for the Sunday of the Summercamp Music Festival.  This was my 15th year in a row that I've attended in some capacity.  The weather was extremely hot with temperatures nearing 98 degrees.  We were able to find a parking spot, got our wristbands, and through the search in a fairly quick manner.  Everything went pretty smoothly all day. 


I started the day with a stop by the merch stand and caught the beginning of the Los Lobos set.  I felt like the crowd was a tad smaller than the year before.  I could be wrong though.  At this point I got my folding chair set up by the soundboard of the Sunshine Stage.  It was extremely hot.  Umphrey's McGee played a strong set given the conditions.  I liked the jams in Bridgeless and Tribute to the Spinal Shaft.  I believe that was the third year in a row they've played Crucial Taunt during the Sunday set at Summercamp.  Africa was a nice kickdown.  They do a great job with that cover. 


Vic Wooten and TAUK weren't bad.  They kept the day going.  Vic Wooten's group didn't stray far from the Flecktones sound.  TAUK's keyboard was turned up too loud in the mix.  That was my first time seeing them.  Greensky Bluegrass is a band that I'm really enjoying these days.  I went to college with someone who dates their mandolin player, Paul Hoffman.  I especially liked their cover of "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits.  During that set I talked to a former co-worker from Moline who I hadn't seen in years.  After that I went for a walk through the RV section and talked to some more familiar faces.  The temperatures were very hot but the vibe was good.  I had a better time this year than I did the year before. 


The crowd was noticeably older when Phil and The Terrapin Family Band took the Sunshine Stage.  The guy next to me was taping.  I helped protect the microphone stand.  The first set was highlighted by an interesting take on Cassidy.  The female vocals added a lot.  This was clearly a different interpretation of The Grateful Dead compared to what I've seen from Dead & Company.  I wish the core four would still tour together but it is what it is.  Whether this was the final time I'll ever see Phil Lesh in the live setting remains to be seen but I've always viewed him as a grandfather type figure of this music scene.  During the setbreak I saw local act The Dawn perform a spirited take on Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times".  Terrapin Station was a highlight in the second set.  They ended set two with a fiery take on Neil Young's "Rockin in the Free World" which was an obvious reference to the school shooting that had occurred days before. 


We made our way to the area in front of the soundboard in the Moonshine Stage.  I was excited to see moe. again.  It had been a calendar year since I'd seen them live with them having taken time off because of Rob Derhak's cancer.  SOMP > SDB is old school moe.  The Zeppelin cover was fun.  Flo > Laz > Moth was really rocking.  I was having a great time.  moe. stepped up to the plate.  The lights and the video work were tasteful. 


The second set started with Drums and led into a setlong Brent Black sandwich. Bullet > Kyle's were played in their Wormwood order.  LL3 is a new song that references Rob's cancer battle. George always is a treat.  Four > BB was solid work.  NYC, Wind It Up sent us off into the Illinois night.  moe. won the day, but the schedule is set up to work out that way.   

4/20/18 Trey Anastasio @ Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL

The weekend before last I went to Chicago on that Friday to see Trey Anastasio who was touring with a three piece band.  In honor of the 20th anniversary of the original show with the lineup of Trey, Russ, and Tony he decided to tour with that format because of the illness of his keyboard player Ray Paczkowski.  While on some songs I missed the full band sound it was unique to hear this Trio sound.  Traffic wasn't too bad for a Friday afternoon.  I parked in Wicker Park and took the Blue Line to the Thompson Center.  I've now seen Trey at the Chicago Theatre in 03, 12, and 18.  In my opinion its the nicest venue in the city.


I was surprised by Trey's choice of songs this tour. I'd prefer he would have dug deeper into his solo catalog or brought back the covers the trio played on Spring 1999.  Playing Phish songs with Tony and Russ was a little lame.  Trey's usage of effects, tone, and overall playing improved over the course of the tour.  In Chicago at times it was still a work in progress.  The setlists speak for themselves.  All songs stayed totally type I.  His solo during Dirt was particularly rough.  Ocelot might have had the best playing of the first set. 


In set two it was cool to hear Soul Planet for the first time.  This will be the go to jam vehicle for Phish this summer.  Aqui Como Alla is one of the songs from Spring 99 that they regularly played so it was nice to hear that cover.  Blaze On and Sand were the biggest songs of the second set.  The encore started with Los Lobos' "Circus Comes to Town".  The lyrics "the day I burn this whole place down" was cheered by many on this 4/20.  Tuesday was somewhat anticlimactic as a closer but you knew they were saving First Tube for the next night.  I was happy that I went.  It was good to have a show to look forward to.  This was the first show I saw with my new tour mobile.

2/10/18 Lotus @ Turner Hall - Milwaukee, WI

Last Saturday I drove up to Milwaukee to see Lotus at the Turner Hall Ballroom which is across 4th Street from the arena where the Milwaukee Bucks play.  I parked in a garage a few blocks away.  It was chilly with temperatures in the teens.  This venue is the reverse of Cheers with the Seafood place below it.  That restaurant gives the venue a bit of an odor as you enter.  There is a net below the ceiling to protect people from the crumbling.  The crowd was smaller on this occasion than when I saw them in 2016 here.  Marvel Years was a DJ opener that I honestly didn't pay too much attention to.  My biggest gripe was the amount of talking during the music.  The jamtronica crowd is younger and generally lacks concert etiquette.


For the first set I posted up near the soundboard with Jamie and Josie.  I decided to not bring my setlist pad and pen.  After a few songs I started keeping one on my phone.  Old habits are hard to break.  I knew most of the material.  The first set was rather pedestrian.  Travel was the highlight for me.  Move Too Fast is a tune I dig on that last album.  The recent direction of the band is a bit of a turn off. Using the samples on the new songs really doesn't bring out the best in the group.  For set two I moved up and got closer to the stage.  I was impressed by the lighting rig. 


I was happy to hear a couple more rare tunes like Debris and Soma.  These are two I discovered at 11/27/15 which is a favorite of mine.  I enjoy the song Lead Pipe with its samples of  Beastie Boys.  This led into the best improvisation of the evening.  Sunrain > Comptroller > Sunrain had a successful jam before going into the dance number sandwiched in between. They debuted a new song Jiggle which has potential.  They pulled off a good segue with Soma > Greet the Mind.  That was my first time hearing Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads.  Postshow they played Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" as we filtered out into the cold Wisconsin evening.  On the way home somewhere near Alpine Valley the weather took a horrible turn for the worse.  By the time I reached Beloit the interstate was barely visible.  I took breaks at the Pilot in Beloit where I made a late night run for the border.  I'm glad they had the dining area still open.  The blizzard forced me to take another break at the PETRO in Rochelle.  The sun was up before I got home.  Luckily the roads from I-88 back to Geneseo had one lane plowed.  This is winter tour.  Weather like that is going to be part of it.  I'm starting to lose my interest a little with Lotus.  The newer material isn't all that great.  Their audience is younger and can be annoying.  Still I'm glad I went.  It turned into an adventure. 

1/12/18 Spafford @ Miramar Theatre - Milwaukee, WI

Over the years this has evolved from a place for me to post my show "reviews" into more of a journal.  As we move into 2018 I find typing out my experiences to still be enjoyable.  Otherwise I wouldn't do it.  That goes for seeing live music in general.  In 2017 I tried a different approach working full time and attempting to go without my anti-depressant medication.  My decision to walk away from an unfulfilling job and to return to the medication may have saved my life.  I am thankful that my parents have allowed me to take some time to feel better.  I worked on a seasonal basis this fall for UPS.  It was a mild December leading up to a white Christmas.  Since then we've gone into the deep freeze.  Last Friday I interviewed for a job and will start this week.  My parents will be going to Florida until March for their annual vacation.  I started my live music year with a trip to Milwaukee, WI for Spafford at the Miramar Theatre on Friday.

Going on these road trips for music isn't just a hobby, it's part of who I am. I spent the day doing preventative work on my car, getting prepared, and going to the interview.  I got on the road around 5.  It was chilly as the sun went down with temperatures in the single digits.  Driving by Alpine Valley always stirs up memories. My thoughts were with my friends in Asheville as Pat and Kasha were to be married the next day.  I was able to find the venue in the east part of Milwaukee near UW -M and parked on Oakland St. about a block from the venue.  Upon entry into the Miramar I said hello to Brian Moss as he made his way to the tour bus.  This was my first time at this funky little venue.  It holds around 400.  The crowd was annoying at times with a lot of talking.  There was an alley on the one side of the theatre where fans could smoke cigarettes.  The door was wide open all night though and I felt sorry for the merch girl in that corner who must have been freezing.  I met a guy who had been to the 4 recent NYC Phish shows.  We talked about those to pass the time.  The show didn't start until 10:15.  I was up close by Red's keyboard for the first set and then moved back to the warm back corner for set two.

I loved the tip of the hat to Tom Petty right off the bat.  "take me through the night".  He was one of my favorite musicians.  Interesting that they'd take one of his shortest singles "Breakdown" and jam it for 15 minutes.  This led into My Road (My Road) which was debuted at the Madison show in October.  I could tell this show had a lot more energy than the one I'd seen in Omaha last fall.  The show had sold out a week prior.  I'd guess next time they'll be at Turner Ballroom.  Shake You Loose was next followed by the clear highlight of set one which was the Electric Taco Stand > Dis Go In 5? > Electric Taco Stand sammy.  That was some impressive work.  I wasn't expecting "Catfish John" in that spot but I enjoyed the Jerry wah that Brian was using on this tune that JGB frequently covered. It was frigid and crowded in the alley at setbreak.  This was a very drunken crowd even by Milwaukee college standards.

This was a game changing experience in the second set.  I was already impressed with what I'd seen in the first.  They came out and featured the new material with Lovesick Melody > Soil.  It was a very effective combination with the catchy tune followed by the deep, dirty Soil funk.  Weasel > Palisades > Weasel made this a clear cut victory for the Arizona based quartet.  This was the perfect fusion of dance and rock music.  It was about 12:20 so "After Midnight" was an appropriate cover for this juncture of the night.  This led into a smooth transition into Minds Unchained which had a very atypical piece of improvisation.  A 20+ minute version of All In wrapped up a strong set of Spafford.  After a brief run through of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" they ended the show with Galisteo Way.  The crowd emptied into the cold dark Wisconsin evening to the sounds of The Traveling Wilburys "End of the Line" on the PA. I pulled into my driveway at 5 am.