9/4-6 Phish @ Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, CO

It's been over a month since the last run of the summer at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.  I've been to all five years at Dick's, having only missed two shows over that span.  As the years go on Colorado feels more like home.  I have a lot of friends on the front range and that appears to be a likely destination for me in the future.  I drove to Chicago on Friday morning and parked in my usual locale in Wicker Park near the Damen stop.  After a trip on the Blue Line out to O'Hare I encountered unbelievable amounts of people in the TSA checkpoint line.  It was obviously one of the busiest travel days of the entire year.  I barely made it through in time to get to the terminal but it all worked out.  There was a nice older lady next to me who was a pilot.  She lived in the mountains and had seen The Grateful Dead back in the 1970s.  We were off to a good start. 


My friend Shane from Ft. Collins picked me up at the airport in exchange for my extra.  I appreciated him helping me out.  He met his wife at the hotel and dropped me off near the campgrounds where I reunited with Team War Eagle minus Heather.  Also joining them this time was Travis from Iowa City someone I've known for 15 years.  I was staying with Bobbyluv.  They rented a spacious van.  In our crew from out of town was Doc, Joel, Shaggy, and Jay.  Bobby's new place near Red Rocks had a cool view looking south along the mountains.  We had a lot of the usual familiar faces from Colorado including Abby and Shawn park near us out by the Upstaging Trucking and Lighting rigs. 


I upgraded to a field ticket for Friday.  I watched the first set near the soundboard with Team War Eagle.  I was impressed with the energy and flow of the first stanza.  It was highlighted by decent versions of Ghost, Gin, and Antelope.  For the second I moved closer on the Gordo side with Bobby and his people.  This show was a victory because of the improvisation during an extended Wolfman's, the best Blaze On to date, and a jammed out Golden Age.  A uniquely placed Roses Are Free was brimming with energy before they finished the show with Fuego, a cooldown with Velvet Sea, and WOTC.  The Fishman antics plus Loving Cup capped off the most complete effort of the weekend in my opinion.  After the show we stopped at Abby's house for a nice gathering of folks. 


I slept most of the next day.  Doc brought me back a great breakfast burrito.  I watched the rest of the run with the Auburn guys.  On Saturday we were on the Gordo side in the stands.  For set two I was joined by my friend from Iowa State, Hildy.  I liked the song selection in this first set.  I hadn't heard Winterqueen the whole tour.  I preferred this version of Melt to the one I heard at Alpine.  it wsa disappointing that they didn't jam out ASIHTOS.  However, the 15 minute+ CDT was the obvious highlight of the show. There was a nice segue into a rather pedestrian Twist.  Mercury continues to slowly grow on me.  It's interesting how it references the car, the element, the Greek God, and the planet.  Wingsuit worked in this spot in the set.  When they ended the set with a short Rock and Roll I was a bit puzzled.  They made up for it with a generous encore. 


We all relaxed on the deck on Sunday afternoon and grilled.  Bobby made some delicious brats.  Thanks again for him and Erin having us stay.  I was a bit disappointed by this first set.  There wasn't much to write home about.  That all changed with a soul touching second set and an encore for the ages.  I liked the slow build of this DWD that was the improvisational highlight.  The flow of this second set was excellent.  During Piper Fish was yelling out some Doobie Bros. lyrics.  Tweezer led into Horse>SITM which was the cooldown break.  A poignant Slave ended the set.  What happened next will be talked about for years with the band spelling out THANKYOU with Tweezer Reprise, Harpua, After Midnight, N2o, Keyboard Cavalry, Your Pet Cat, Once in a Lifetime, and the finally that really captured the overall sentiment of the moment United We Stand.  It felt like the band really appreciated the situation they have. I no longer feel the need to be there every night.  After this I can be begin to scale back.  Most importantly I will begin to put my life and career ahead of Phish.  I made sure to thank some of my friends who helped make this journey possible.  It's been amazing.  As one chapter of my life comes to a close the next comes into view.