The journey to Colorado was the big road trip for me this year. My companion for this ride was my friend Craig who I've been seeing shows with since 1999. I left my house at 4:30 on Thursday. With it still dark I picked him up in Davenport and we were on our way by 5:55 am. I crushed Iowa with relative ease and made it until Lexington, NE before we switched drivers. We went through Cheyenne, WY and down I-25 to Fort Collins. Upon arrival we explored the town and got dinner and watched the Broncos preseason game at McClellan's on Taft Hill Rd. not far from Whisker's place where we stayed.
The next day we made the stressful drive down I-25 to Denver and eventually Commerce City. We stopped at Walmart off Quebec. It was good to see my old Super 8 where I stayed for Dick's 2011, 2012, and 2013. It was shortly after the noon opening time for the camping. We let some of the initial rush get inside before we arrived. Weather was in the low 80s and sunny. I had stayed with Mike Sands in 2014 and 2015. I was eager to try the Dick's Sporting Goods Park camping experience this year. Our friend Drew drove down from near Vail and met us. We had plenty of room on the practice fields for our little campsite. Our shade tent turned out to be a failure but it provided entertainment. There was a general store and several food trucks. The first day we cooked bratwurst on my stove. That thing has been through the wars. This weekend was the first time I'd used my tent since Superball IX. With Phish not doing a festival this year this camping experience was the next best thing.
Whisker and his buddy Shane drove down from Fort Collins for the first night. I was the very first person to donate canned goods for the food drive. I've participated in that every year. It was convenient having all my tickets scanned and getting my wristband. I went inside early and got the blue version of the poster. Its the same artist who did the Deer Creek print who many think was the best of the summer. I also grabbed the event shirt and the magnet. We were able to congregate a nice group of us from Geneseo on the Gordo side in 105. I randomly met Barry and his buddy Joe and they joined us camping for the rest of the weekend. Gordo was the MVP of this run so it was appropriate I saw all three shows from his side. I think the band heard the grumblings about the lack of jamming this summer. The result was a jamfest all three nights. No filler.
The weekend started with an energy packed Ghost. Next was the best version of No Man's they played so far. I was glad Whisker got to hear some of the new material. I am sad Ass Handed isn't on the album. At the time we had no idea what the track listing would be. Stash and 46 Days were also noteworthy in the first set. This was a powerhouse Antelope but the landing was slightly botched. The crowd approved of the busting out of Mercury which hadn't been played since Dick's 2015. Seven Below was a good call at this juncture. BOAF though not explored continued the energy. This was a rather unique Tweezer late in the set. The segue into Runaway Jim was very smooth. Bug, Tweeprise sent us back to the campground more than satisfied with the first offering.
I was able to get a better night sleep on Friday. Thursday I was still too caffeinated from the road. The drunken crew next to us made napping difficult. We watched the second night from about the same spot. The Slave opener was very unusual. A precise, finished version of DWD followed. Even frequently played songs like 555 and Wolfman's had an extra pop. At setbreak I left Team Geneseo and joined up with the Auburn crew on the floor. This set flowed well. I thought we were going to get a Piper at one point especially after Twist. Blaze On was jammed. Simple was probably the highlight. This encore was one we'll never forget with Gordo taking the solo at the end of Squirming Coil. Did I say Mike was the MVP? Postshow PA music was "I Keep Forgettin" by Michael McDonald. I laughed at that because I made Frank listen to that album on the way out. After the show the campgrounds were bumping. It was a festive atmosphere. I was happy that Phish had put together two excellent shows back to back.
It was nice not leaving the Dick's Sporting Goods Park property the whole weekend. The camping pass is like $85. However, they don't charge you to park so you save the $15 a night on that end. On Sunday I tried to take a nap but it was difficult with it heating up into the 80s during the daytime. I went off on my own for the first set. That was the closest to the stage I've been for any of the Dick's shows. The show started off fairly standard but it was clear by the playing, particularly from Gordo that this was a good night. SOAM isn't played all that often anymore. Gin was the highlight. This was a hint of things to come. I moved back with the Auburn crew for the final set not far from where we were for the THANK YOU encore the year before. It became quite cool. I had to custy up again and buy the Summer Tour 2016 longsleeve. I was hoping this third night would be a nice end to the weekend. It turned out to be the best show of the run. What happened next was a set for the ages. They found a wormhole during Crosseyed and Painless and took us with them. The energy of this jam was unbelievable. It was peak after peak before finally arriving seamlessly into Steam. This flowed into an amazing 20 minute Piper complete with a drum breakdown with Trey on the Marimba Lumina. Every song in the set reprised the "still waiting" vocals. They managed to do so in a classy manner avoiding making this special set gimmicky. Light contained more improvisation. That was great placement for Lizards. "the trick is to surrender to the flow" is one of my favorite Phish lyrics. First Tube ended this set in a triumphant manner. WOTC worked well as an encore and made sense 7 days before the 15 year anniversary of 9/11. Kim Wilde "Kids in America" sent the crowd into the night after just witnessing one of the best three night runs of this era. When Frank, Drew, and I started seeing shows we were 17 years old. Literally we were kids still in high school. Now we are 35 years old.
The next morning we disassembled our campsite and shifted scenes up into the mountains and stayed until Wednesday morning at Drew's place in Edwards, CO. On Tuesday he took us on a fun dirt road drive through the National Forest near Vail. It felt like we were experiencing real Colorado. We saw a couple moose which we wouldn't have seen from a plane. Thanks again to Drew and Shelby for the hospitality and for grilling out. We got an early start for home and were on the road by 5 am. Again Frank was a champion behind the wheel in Colorado and Nebraska. On the way home the Saturn went over 200,000 miles. This was one of the better road trips I've been on. Thanks again to Frank for coming with. It's not an experience if you can't bring someone along. I made it home in time for the Mr. Robot at 9 pm.
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