SPAC 2004 - A Worthwhile Journey

I ordered 3 tickets to the Brooklyn Shows in New York, but couldn’t go because of work. Instead, I gave the 3 tickets to long-time buddies JCT and PS who met up with LE (99 shows) and found the fourth ticket they needed. I saw the first night on the telecast out at some theater in Walled Lake with DR and some other peeps (guess dancing is frowned upon in movie theaters). So I instead opted to go to SPAC, but I only bought one ticket and I didn’t know anyone else going. I tracked down someone on that damned message board who hailed from Brighton. Even though he didn’t have a ticket, I found a native Saratoga resident who did have one and sold it to us for face value (she was so cool that she even left the ticket in her mailbox to exchange for our money when we arrived – talk about trust!). And SPAC was a HOT ticket. Kidz were trying to break in the venue from every direction.

So BW, the kid from Brighton, arrived at my house early on Saturday morning. We had a long drive in front of us through Canada, which presents its own challenges at times (see 98 and 00 summer tours). Fortunately, we got through smoothly without any delays.

We arrived at SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center) late afternoon with plenty of time to relax before the show. SPAC is a beautiful, wooden pavilion, surrounded by a state park. Beautiful area. The lawn is small at SPAC, and it was crowded with all the kidz sneaking into the venue.

I had a ticket in the pavilion, but chose to meet up with DR and hang out in the upper level for the first set. The first set was solid – a classic Reba, a solid Wolfman’s Brother. For the second set, I decided to go down to my seat in the main level alone and get a better view.

The set started with A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, something I had not heard before, and it was jammed out for a good 15-20 minutes. You always recall the emotion of the second set opener as the sun goes down, the air cools just a bit, and you are witnessing the greatest concert anywhere in the world at that time. Then, they played Piper…..

The first 12 minutes of Piper are standard and doesn’t sound that unique. Very typical of Piper and post-hiatus jamming. At about 12:30 into the song, the band breaks it down into a light, airy beat. As you listen to the recording, you hear those whistles and screams of a crowd unaware of what they are about to experience. And the build up begins….

I basically divide the Piper into 5 phases
1. The first 12:30 minutes
2. The calm before the storm
3. The build up
4. The echoes of Phish
5. The transition into Jiboo

Even during the “build up” jam, you say to yourself, this is pretty rocking, a very impressive jam in Piper. Then they enter the phase that to me symbolizes the last truly epic jam of Phish that will echo forever. The moment was truly that amazing, making the whole journey to SPAC (and the return trip home) worth every penny and sacrifice. I listen to the SPAC Piper when I go to the gym and it still gives me goose bumps.

After the show, we were hungry. We waited awhile for some burgers, and since BW didn’t have a game plan, I decided I wanted to go back to Detroit. I drove for about 2 hours when I asked BW to take over driving. He lasted about a half hour. I woke up form my short nap and took us the rest of the way home. I don’t think we got home until 10 or 11 the next morning, but we made it home safe. It was worth the sacrifice. BW slept the whole time, but whatever (the kid still owes me for gas money).

So that’s the story of SPAC. It deserved it’s own thread. I drove 10 hours to get there, went to the show, and drove 10 hours home. Quite a reflection of my dedication to this band. I would return to Deer Creek the next Thursday to pick up the early summer tour run there and then go onto Alpine.

Thanks for reading as always.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Saratoga Peforming Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Set I: Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU -> Scents and Subtle Sounds, Wolfman's
Brother, Walls of the Cave -> David Bowie
Set II: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Piper -> Tweezer Reprise Jam ->
Gotta Jibboo > Limb By Limb, Cavern
Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea
Show Notes: "Harpua" was teased toward the end of the "Piper" jam.  Trey
forgot all of the words to the third verse of "Cavern," only just pulling
it together in time for "deadly ice calm" line.  He then eked out a quite
self-referential "Purple Haze" tease before coming back in with the fourth
verse.  "Limb by Limb" may have contained some "Disease"-type jamming.

The beginning of the end of Phish

PHISH – Las Vegas, 2004 – August 15th, 16th, and 17th

This one will be short because as the saying goes, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” And as for these shows, you almost wish they had never happened.

April 2004 was my first trip to Las Vegas. I flew in on Spirit Airlines as I recall, and waited in a taxi line for about half hour to get from the airport to the strip. Thanks to NB, I would be living up this first trip to Vegas in style, well, kinda. NB got us a room at theHotel at Manadalay Bay which had only been open a few months as I recall. For those of you who have never stayed at theHotel, well, you’re missing out. Flat screen in the sitting room, flat screen in the bedroom, and tvs in the bathroom. The only word to describe theHotel is sexy. The only thing unstylish was having to share the room with 6 or 7 other people. Fortunately, some of those people really didn’t take advantage of the room and instead chose to party the entire time we were there. I slept on the floor for the most part except for one night after a show when the dryness of the desert and partying really got to my head.

As I recall, the shows were on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The shows in Vegas, musically, were pretty bad. The first night was probably the biggest joke of all, so things could only get better after that, which they did. The second night wasn’t awful, nor was the third night, but I think the cheesiness of the Meatstick Reprise symbolized how much of a joke the music was the previous 2 days. Still, we were in Vegas, so how bad could it be?

After the first night’s show, I decided to lounge by the pool with the future Mrs. NB and take it easy. In fact, I don’t feel that I ever really ventured the strip until my 3rd visit to Vegas. The first two visits were limited to theHotel and Mandalay Bay, which isn’t a bad situation to be in.

Relaxation was key to having a good time that 2nd night. The show improved, but I remember that our seats were bad all 3 nights. We had a pretty raucous crowd which helped make up for how bad the music was.

I recall eating at the House of Blues, hanging out in the sportsbook, and doing a little bit of gambling. Actually, I recall the last day playing blackjack for 8 hours straight on the same $100, never going up and never cashing out. I don’t consider myself a big gambler, unlike some people I know who seem to be on sports a lot. I just had nothing to do until my red eye flight that night.

The other big highlight of the weekend was Champagne Brunch @ Mandalay Bay. If you’ve never gone, I highly recommend it.

So the best part of the weekend was the awesome hotel. I think we saw Keyshaun Johnson at one point (just throw the man the damn ball) in theHotel lobby. My biggest regret was that I didn’t bet on the Pistons at 18-1 to win the NBA finals.

A few weeks after the Vegas shows, Phish announced that their summer tour would be the end of the band. When was announced, I made sure to gobble up tickets and work out my schedule to see as much of the band as I could. After Vegas, you had to question whether the music would get any better, especially given that Miami was a great 4 night run. But I knew this last run would be it, and I wasn’t ready to let go of my youth right away.

Thanks to MW, JK, NB, Mrs. NB, and everyone else who I shared floor space with. And thanks to whomever gave me the bed to sleep off my massive headache the 3rd night.

04/15/04 Thomas & Mack Center - Las Vegas, NV

1 (1:16): Buried Alive > AC/DC Bag, Limb by Limb, The Moma Dance, The Old Home Place, Roggae, Water in the Sky, All of These Dreams, Stash -> Timber Ho

2: 46 Days, Drowned > 2001 > Down With Disease > Free > Scent of a Mule, Girls Girls Girls -> Scent of a Mule, Secret Smile, Crowd Control, Slave to the Traffic Light

E: Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley > "Coconut" Vocal Jam -> "Sonic Dress" Rap -> Vocal Jam

Notes: Fenton Williams (Dave Matthews Band crew) was at the light board in place of Chris Kuroda. "Girls" is a Jay-Z cover (first time played); with Jen Hartswick assisting on vocals. "Secret Smile" featured a wholly new arrangement (about 7 minutes long). "Sally" led loosely into a vocal jam akin to the kind found in 1980s versions, then a vocal jam around the song "Coconut" (Harry Nilsson song, from his 1971 album "Nilsson Schmilsson"), then into a rap by Trey about Fish's sonic dress (which was not played), and then into a free-form vocal jam.

Thanks to JDG, Erik Swain, ZZYZX, and Phish.com.

04/16/04 Thomas & Mack Center - Las Vegas, NV

1: Seven Below, Rock and Roll, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Back on the Train -> Possum, Strange Design, Gumbo, Brian and Robert, Taste

2: Gotta Jibboo, Twist, Camel Walk > Wilson, HYHU > Love You > HYHU, Waves > Lifeboy, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Loving Cup

E: Harry Hood

Notes: Fenton Williams (Dave Matthews Band crew) was at the light board in place of Chris Kuroda. Toward the end of "Wilson," Trey teased "Little Drummer Boy." "Love You" featured the debut of Fish's Sonic Dress. The fabric of the dress is woven from audiotape taken from Fish's own collection, and Jon uses special tape-head gloves to "play" it. (Some said it sounded much like Fish playing a washboard under his dress.) For more information, see artist-creator Alyce Santoro's website.

Thanks to Erik Swain and Phish.com.

04/17/04 Thomas & Mack Center - Las Vegas, NV

1: Soul Shakedown Party, Halley's Comet > Tweezer, Ginseng Sullivan, Horn, Sample in a Jar, Piper -> Frankenstein, David Bowie

2: Meatstick, Pebbles and Marbles > Prince Caspian -> Simple > Friday, Ghost, You Enjoy Myself -> Tweezer Reprise

E: Wolfman's Brother, The Squirming Coil

Notes: Fenton Williams (Dave Matthews Band crew) was at the light board in place of Chris Kuroda. "Meatstick" included Trey and Mike removing their instruments to do the full dance as usual, and the Japanese lyrics were sung. This "YEM" might better be called "You Enjoy My Meatstick": After the trampolines segment, Trey took off his guitar to do the Meatsick Dance while Fish played a drum solo. The crowd erupted in the Meatstick chant. Trey then did the Dance two more times (first while Mike soloed on the bass, and then Page on the keys). There was no standard vocal jam. "Wolfman's" had teases of "Sneakin' Sally," "Possum, and "Meatstick." The "Tweezer Reprise" lyrics were replaced by alternate "Meatstick" lines ("time for the Meatstick"; "won't you step into the Meatstick").

Thanks to Erik Swain and 'anonymous.'

The rest of the story is to come

So there are a few chapters left in this saga. Life is busy, but perhaps I can make the last few posts exceptional and more inspired. With the rumor about Phish perhaps making a comeback this July in of all places, Michigan, we may have more stories to make.

I removed the politics from this blog, which is a good thing. I will be starting a separate blog called "Build Detroit" (builddetroit.blogspot.com) which will contain reflections on the city of Detroit, the State of Michigan, and other ideas for people to consider. If we were to concentrate on the politics in Detroit and our differences, we miss the opportunity to unite ourselves and create a better future for our city and region. If we fail to present new ideas to do this institutionally, we place ourselves at a disadvantage in the national and global economy. That's the theme, so we'll see what happens.

Look for the Phish Vegas 2004 post soon, SPAC, the summer shows, and the joyous disaster that was Coventry. Thanks for reading.