8/21-23 Phish @ Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY

For over 16 years I've been seeing Phish.  This summer that journey led me back to a famous a sporting and music venue, Watkins Glen International in the Finger Lakes region of New York.  I last visited here for Superball in 2011 with my friend Doc.  This time I drove by myself to Pittsburgh, PA to visit my Aunt Irene and her daughters Traci and Robin.  I stayed with Robin at her apartment.  It was a pleasure talking with my second cousin Kenny who I hadn't seen since he was a baby.  Now he's in his twenties.  That type of thing makes me feel old.  Getting older was a theme of this trip.  Up until now seeing as much live music as possible has been my number one priority.  After this tour it's become clear that it's time to shift that priority into making a sustainable living.  I want to express my sincere gratitude to my parents for supporting me as I "searched for the sound" to quote Phil Lesh. At the end of the day its about so much more than music.  People ask me why I am so hooked (pun intended) on Phish even in my mid-30s.  It provides spirituality at its very core.  Dancing and fellowship are what makes it special.  In a world where there's so much negativity this is a bastion of positivity.  Phish gave me something to believe in.  That live energy was something unlike I'd ever felt.  I'm still in awe of it. 


However, all glory is fleeting.  I got into Phish in 99-00 and the hiatus was looming over the scene.  The post hiatus years were a flash in the pan in 03-04. The current era of Phish has taken some to develop.  09-10 they were largely getting their feet under them.  In Summer 2011 shows in Clarkston, MI and Watkins Glen, NY would reignite the magic as the band decided it was time to move forward with the improvisation.  Chicago, IL and Commerce City, CO saw the fruits of their labor later that summer.  2012 they took things a step further with the jamming with the Dick's run being the obvious highlight.  Fall 2013 had been the previous high point of 3.0 for me personally and the band.  My roadtrip through New England was exactly what I was supposed to be doing at that time.  The Fuego era and the Halloween 2014 show brought new material that the band badly needed.  This backstory is necessary because I feel like it wasn't until this summer that they finally returned to that aforementioned musical glory they achieved in the years where I first saw them in 99-00.  I think this summer tour was the best since summer 2000.  It can be attributed to the band's leader Trey Anastasio finally re-committing to his craft of guitar playing.  Earlier this year he brought his full touring rig and set it up in an apartment near where ne lives.  This "woodshedding" if you will was preparation for the GD50 shows which he showed an amazing amount of patience and humility.  The result of this was a magical summer Phish tour which was a sort of culmination of my life up until this point.




The drive to Finleyville, PA was uneventful.  Grannie would have been so happy to know we were all together.  Those relatives meant a lot to her and she meant a lot to me.  We all miss her dearly.  I watched the Cubs vs Tigers which was conveniently on ESPN.  Then I watched the penultimate episode of the first season of Mr. Robot.  The next day I drove up to the venue which took about 5 hours from the Pittsburgh area.  It rained which made the drive through the mountains in the mist a little stressful.  Upon arrival at the gates it was pouring down rain.  I felt bad for the guys doing security.  They were going to take my dad's ceramic coffee cup but ultimately were cool and let me keep it.  The wait in line and for the search was minimal.  They put me in Aladdin which was scenic and had a wooded trail to the track.  Unfortunately it was literally a country mile from the RV area where I was going to stay.  Since it was raining so hard I put up my tent which I had brought along and rode the storm out.  I did walk up to the venue for the end of the extremely psychedelic soundcheck.  Whether it was worth getting soaked is up for debate. Once it stopped raining I hung my soaking wet clothes in the tent and took what I needed for the weekend with me and set off on foot to the RV.  Pat, Ryan and Heather had picked up the RV along the way from Auburn.  Thanks again to Pat for getting the RV.  It really worked out well.  Heather was nice enough to cook breakfast burritos each morning.  I appreciate Ryan as a someone who knows his Phish.  I met them during the Miami NYE run and it was another really fun weekend. 




All things considered I feel like this was perhaps the best run festival I've been to.  The lights in the trees and the decorations really were top notch.  The food and beverages in the playing field were quality.  This wasn't Phish's first rodeo at putting one of these things on.  The Bunny provided great sounds to listen to all weekend long on 104.9 WNGZ.  The first night was my favorite musically.  It was my 125th time seeing Phish.  Simple was a symbolic choice to open their festival.  We've got a band.  The Dogs brought back the good memories of Las Vegas Halloween last year.  TMWSIY > Avenu > TMWSIY made me think of Alpine '99 my very first show.  I saw Mock Song at the Gorge in '03.  That was certainly out of nowhere.  Rift and Roggae kept this quality first set going nicely.  Bathtub Gin was the highlight of the whole show.  They really took this time tested jam vehicle for one hell of a ride. 




Chalkdust has been used as a jam vehicle in recent times and this was no exception.  The Ghost that came next was shorter in duration but I felt hit the target more so.  Rock and Roll served as a destination on this occasion but brought the energy per usual.  The kid behind us called the Harry Hood which had a bit more of a jam than usual. Waste served as a cool down ballad again reminding me of Alpine '99.  The placement of No Men from No Man's Land was a bit odd but it was extended a bit more than previous versions and set up the closing Slave to the Traffic Light which was a nod to all the driving we'd all done to get there.  This was not the best version of Farmhouse.  Trey didn't take any solo to speak of and Page had to carry the song.  First Tube sent the crowd off into the night happy and capped off one of the best shows I've seen this year.  Andy Gibb "Shadow Dancing" was the postshow PA music. 




It seemed like the second day the security was much slower about getting the crowd into the playing field.  The first set was very tame.  I ended up picking up two trash bags full of recyclables and got a shirt. I did like the choice of the Circus Comes to Town. The opening The Divided Sky with a very long pause and the closing Run Like an Antelope was really the only real highlights.


We grabbed some dinner and headed back to the playing field.  Wolfman's and Halley's were rather pedestrian.  46 Days was when things started to rev up a bit.  Trey's soloing during Number Line continued the energy before the climax of the entire festival of Tweezer > Prince Caspian.  In retrospect this was the high water mark of the tour for me.  They essentially start the Tweezer jam back up in Prince Caspian.  Gordo hits his fight bell about ten times at the end of the set.  There were some questionable calls in set III but overall it was a success highlighted by a choice version of Blaze On and the Cities > Light.  I had been tipped off as to the location of the "surprise" set which everyone was expecting.  By midnight I was very tired and ambient down tempo music was not going to keep me standing.  I ended up listening to the Drive-In set on my phone back at the RV because by that point all the driving and the limited amount of sleep was taking its toll.  Finally that night and much of the next day I was able to recover and got a lot of quality sleep. 




The final show ended up being a bit of a disappointment.  I loved the choice of PYITE to open but for the most part it was a rather standard 3.0 first set.  The second set was a Martian Monster sandwich and I liked the peak of the DWD.  It would have been nice to have heard the intro to SaSS but it was a well executed segue.  Another poignant Dirt was well placed.  Twist had an Immigrant Song tease and in the middle of the Mike's Groove.  The YEM encore was rather predictable.  Musically I'd say the version I saw in KC was better.  The sounds of Frank Sinatra "Summer Wind" as we watched a massive fireworks display sent us off into the night.  Magnaball had been an amazing experience.  I loved the cold brews from Recess Coffee from Syracuse, NY.  Those were my lifeline.  The aforementioned War Eagle crew of Pat, Ryan, and Heather were excellent companions for this spectacular ride.  I drove home the next day. It was nice being able to listen to the Cleveland Indians radio broadcast as they took on the Cubbies.  Kris Bryant hit the game winning home run.