Its hard to believe that I saw my first Phish show 14yrs ago. That just sounds crazy, but 11/25/1995 in the fall of my freshman yr I jumped into a car with a couple older friends and headed across the Bay Bridge Tunnel into VA Beach. One of those “I’m staying at so-n-so’s house” and they said the same about me, parents fooled, and off we went.
At that moment I had no clue what a huge impact this band would have on me and my future. To put things in perspective, at that time my buddies and I were into trading bootleg tapes and if you were lucky you could run across a DAT recording off the sound board. No CDs, MP3s, iPods. Hell we had an Apple computer but iTunes didn’t exsist. Going to the shows wasn’t even in the equation. My Walkman was my prized possession. I wasn’t even old enough to drive. But for some reason I had never felt more alive than I did that day crossing the Bay Bridge Tunnel into VA and entering the Hampton Coliseum for the first time. We got tied up in the lot tailgating from one smile to the next sipping on Magic Hat as we entered during the 2nd song, ‘Down With Disease’. Smile ear to ear. Slight head bob, well I guess to be accurate we called it “head banging” back then. My first real taste of music and by taste I mean experiencing the moment and riding the wave of energy that music breads.
14yrs later, countless shows, festivals, and hundreds of hours logged into my car blasting music back and forth across the country chasing that same high I received the day I walked into Hampton Coliseum and got smacked in the phace by Mike Gordon’s bass. I’ve been ”waiting for the time when I can finally say / That this has all been wonderful but now I’m on my way / But when I think its time to leave it all behind/ I try to find a way but theres nothing I can say to make it stop!” (Phish – Down With Disease) I know now that it is a part of me. Not just some tape in my Walkman…more like an imprint in my DNA.
What a blessing to have the boys back out on the road grinding. I’ve been trapped behind a desk pushing my 9-5 for most of this reunion tour, but thank God for the Internet. Following set lists is easier than ever and with a click of a button you can access and listen to sound board recordings. With a ding of my cell phone Twitter keeps me posted track by track as they play them…real time set lists…whoda thunk?! Phish lot is no longer a place, more like a state of mind.
As if summer tour isn’t enough of a distraction, Phish is planning on releasing a full length studio album this summer through JEMP Records. Which was recorded this spring in the weeks following their 3 night Hampton’s run. This album, titled ‘Joy’, is being mastered by long time producer Steve Lillywhite in New York’s Chung King Studios. 10 brand spanking new tracks. ‘Time Turns Elastic’, the first sneak peek off ‘Joy’, was released via itunes a couple weeks ago and already is doing unbelievably well in sales. This 13min track tells the story of the changing seasons in a way only Phish could portray and is quite the tease for what is to come. ‘Joy’ would be an understatement.
‘Joy’ does not have a set release date but is promised to be released later this summer. Till then enjoy ‘Time Turns Elastic’ and brainstorm the rest of the albums line up.
The track listing for Joy is as follows:
1. Twenty Years Later
2. Backwards Down the Number Line
3. Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan
4. Light
5. Joy
6. Sugar Shack
7. Ocelot
8. Kill Devil Falls
9. I’ve Been Around
10. Time Turns Elastic
June 26th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
oh memories . . . hit it right on the nail!