8/17-19 Phish Curveball @ Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY ***CANCELLED***

I was up before the dawn on Wednesday and got on the road at 4:45 am CDT.  My vehicle had been packed since Monday.  I had thought about leaving on Tuesday and cutting up the drive but I decided to hold my horses after hearing about the flooding around Watkins Glen, NY.  The weather was great on Wednesday and Thursday.   I had Sbarro at one of rest stops in Ohio on the way.  My goal was to get to Watkins Glen International by sundown which I accomplished.  This was my third festival at this facility so I was familiar with the lay of the land.  I had a great camping spot in shade atop a hill in a location in Quadratic that was closer than most of the Glen Close camping.  I met all the people camping around me.  Scott and his girlfiend from New York, NY, Dobbs and Tracy from Stowe, VT, and the guys who operate the Black Bear restaurants in Morgantown, WV.  The vibe was great.  Ryan and Heather from Auburn were camped nearby.  From their makeshift living room setup you could see the lights of the stage.  I was having the time of my life. 


Thursday I woke and enjoyed the coffee from the nearby vendor.  There were real bathrooms very close.  I liked the pizza sandwiches the West Virginia guys were cooking.  One wonders how many of those I would have eaten?  Before the soundcheck started I walked over to the gates.  They weren't letting people into the food area.  The security had the gates all ready to go.  They had been told to wait.  4 pm was the scheduled start for the soundcheck.  Phish's buses arrived on site to the cheers of excited fans.  An hour ticked by as I waited for the soundcheck to start.  I was pacing around the campground wondering what the deal was.  Around 5 pm someone walked by and said the festival had been cancelled.  I turned on the onsite radio station The Bunny on 104.9 WNGZ and heard the official announcement about the water being deemed unsafe.  It was like being gutpunched.  I had looked forward to this since January and even before when the festival was in the rumor phase.  After that I didn't feel in the mood to socialize.  I got to sleep as early as I could.  Before it started raining too hard I was able to get my campsite taken down and loaded up.  I got on the road at 6 am CDT.  It took me 14 hours and there were about half a dozen storms I drove through plus Friday rush hour traffic south of Chicago.  It was a long sad drive.  I'll always wonder what could have been?

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.