I started going to shows in 1997, late in the game but that’s when I was finally able to tell my parents to “piss off ’cause I’m goin”.

Starting from then on I was the guy hitch hiking on the interstate with minimal provisions and no doubt that I would make the next show. It was not uncommon for me to walk 40 or more miles in a day, sleep in a Greyhound station, get stranded who-knows-where for a few days, whatever it took to get to and in the next show (my track record is only twice being not able to score a ticket). When tour was over I’d return home, get a job, and stop showing up for work when the next tour came around.

My primary thought on Phish is that they were pure. These guys never set out to be rock stars. They were stoned schlubs like me that were doing something so pure that over time the whole world caught on. From the mid eighties right on through the dawn of the twenty first century they basically lucked-out their way to the top. It felt to me like the last dollop of raw purity left on the face of the earth.

Having always been someone who shies away from words like “vibes” I’m going to go ahead and contradict myself and acknowledge the change of feeling of the post-hiatus era. Less energy, worse (see: dangerous & rampant) drugs, once in a while a fight. Those “blowjob of your life for your extra ticket” girls. The whole thing had taken a turn for the worse.

When they announced the break up in 2004 I felt relief. I actually believed that these guys were trying to preserve what honesty was left in the monster they had inadvertently created and maybe even be trying to save losers like me from being losers like me. I thought they had a heart. Okay, maybe four hearts. Wait… make that three hearts because Mike said “No”. I walked away from Coventry thinking that as lousy of an event as it was it was a suitable ending for a beast that was dieing anyway.

Since Coventry I’ve gotten married, am raising a beautiful little girl that I think might be way smarter than myself, and have maintained regular employment by one company the entire time.

When reunion news started swirling around all of my friends got exited, started packing the cars, and counting down until tickets became available. Granted this is always what they’ve done. Unlike myself they’ve always had automobiles, college vacations that allowed them the time to do a week or two on the road, wealthy parents that gave them money whenever they asked for it. Not me.

The idea of Phish “coming back” be it for a reunion, a tour, or for good, makes me see them as money-grubbing, never-rich-enough, play-the-population-for-the-blind-fools-that-they-are
type rock-careerists. Like The Rolling Stones. or Cher. How many fake retirement tours have THEY been on? How many times is it “the last time ever”?

So in the random trivia section:

My friend, Alyce Santoro made the dress out of sonic fabric. The fabric is unique because it’s woven with cassette tape and can be played using a tape head. The fabric is also used to make bags and Tibetan prayer flags.

http://www.sonicfabric.com/fabric.html

Thought you’d like that trivia even if it’s not too Phish specific.