Phishing Trip

Got to connect again with one of my best friends from MI and OH! Of course I was jumping out of my seat since March or so when I won the Phish ticketing lottery! Living in central FL I'm usually more apt to travel in the state to see concerts. But since Pete made the offer I was able to stay in Cleveland.

Not since 2000 in Atlanta have I seen my favorite jamband on their epic summer tours. I consider myself somewhat of a New Year's snob; having seen them for the first time at Big Cypress (1999-2000), then Miami (2003-2004) 3 of the 4 nights, and lastly this past New Year's at Madison Square Garden in NYC! I've been blessed, what can I say.

This summer I got to see the boys play 6/3 (Mike Gordon's Bday in MI), 6/4 Cuyahoga Falls OH, & 6/5 in Cincinnati OH! Plus because Phish is so awesome you get a download of the shows with your ticket stub's UPC!

What an awesome experience, so here's some pictures to help tell the story:

See the full gallery on Posterous

Any other tour stories from the summer to share thus far? Doesn't have to be Phish...

~bbryon

 

Phish with a side of Phun

I haven't seen Phish live since New Year's Eve 2003. I attended three of the four shows (29, 30, & 31). So it's been a while. My best friend and my sister where at those shows with me. Side note: my first show was Big Cypress! 10th anniversary this year!

Needless to say, when my sister called the other evening with absolute excitedawesomeness in her voice that she had gotten the lotto for Phish's NYE at Madison Square Garden this year; I promptly checked my email. There it was confirmation that I also won so we got our tickets to the 30th & 31st this year!!!!!!

So not only will I be seeing one of my favorite bands for my 8th & 9th Phish show, I will be seeing them on the 10yr anniversary of my first Phish experience! The really cool part is again my sister and best friend will be joining me; and I will have a very special awesome friend with me that has never experienced a Phish NYE! The candor, the excitement, and basic carnival atmosphere!

CHEESECAKE!!!!!

Without further adu here's the setlist & Grooveshark widget (songs are not the actual performance but you'll get the idea! Also for the 2nd set I didn't make it Chalkdust > Slave > Chalkdust, so Slave to the traffic light ends the set) from the last show I was at December 31, 2003:

 

All Covers

I've always enjoyed it when a band, especially a good one, pulls out a cover. Maybe it's because most of my musical ear is bent toward the rock and roll/jam band sound. These musicians tend to play a fair amount of covers over the span of say a summer tour.

So this post is a long comment to a blog Allison wrote, "RadioPotato Goes Under the Covers." I will say reading RadioPotato and having shared some music back and forth; she has gotten me to step out of my familiar musical doldrums (yes, I had to look that up).

I won't do least favorite covers because I've no desire to create a shitty music widget.

Some of the tunes are live cuts. That is what's near and dear to my heart; musicians connecting in the moment. As per Allison I won't list the original artist. I think if you don't know it helps you take an insightful musical journey finding the answer.

"Baba O'Reilly" - Pearl Jam, "It Makes No Difference" - My Morning Jacket, "Paint it Black" - Vanessa Carlton, "Waste" - Dave Matthews, "Big River" - Grateful Dead, "Don't Bring Me Down" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - Peter Frampton, "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down" - Black Crowes, "What'd I Say" - John Scofield, "Bad Company" - Tori Amos, "White Rabbit" - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - Rusted Root, "Carry On" - Alana Davis, "Fields of Gold" - Eva Cassidy, "Imagine" Blues Traveler, "Across the Universe" - John Butler Trio, "Boogie on Reggae Woman" - Phish, "30 Days in the Hole" - Gov't Mule, "Burning Down the House" - Bonnie Raitt, "Fortunate Son" - Donavon Frankenreiter, "Bring it on Home" - Led Zeppelin

*Eva Cassidy will always be on a phenomenal covers list, it had to be in mine Allison.

I do enjoy a good case of familiar especially with a sweet jam washdown. Let me know what you think and what you would add.

~bbryon

I miss you Jerry :'(

Jerry Garcia August 1, 1942 - August 9, 1995

I believe many people remember, not just Deadheads. - That's how I started my comment on: "Jerry Garcia's long, strange trip rolls on 15 years after his death, Grateful Dead leader's influence ingrained in culture."

I started trading tapes of Grateful Dead shows in 1995. Yes, that's cassette tapes, usually from master DATs.

My best friend from a little coffee house in Stuart, FL known as the Java Joint gave me my first show: 5/5/77 New Haven, CT. My favorite tune from the show is Estimated Prophet. We'd ride around down-town Stuart in his car when he was on break and I just remember how magical it sounded to me. I had listened to "Skeletons in the Closet" before and a few other best-of albums, but this wasn't an album. This was listening to history (a live concert recording).

My father who grew up during the counter-culture 60's - 70's didn't care for the Grateful Dead. He loved Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin. (He just never go into the Dead). He became an over-the-road truck driver in the early 2000's. By this time I had digitized my entire tape collection either to CDs or on a hard drive. Now he's a huge fan. That's an example of generational love for the Grateful Dead in reverse.

Some people get it, some don't. Even though I cut the long hair; when I go to any type of jam band concert now, I still get the "knowing" nod from "Deadheads" who are strangers. I think we can just sense each other.

It's unvelievable to me now that it has already been 15 years since Jerry passed.

I believe Chuck Palahniuk said it best, "We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will."

So with a tear in my eye, I stand up and applaud you Jerry. Wherever you are, you helped create something so very special and the songs are still filling the air.

For myself and many, many others, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and the depths of my soul.

~bbryon