PHISH

At long last I was able to go see Phish at their 3 night concert at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park.  It's been 4 years since my last 3 shows at the same venue and it's hard to put into words what the experience is like for me but the word that has stuck with me is "transforming".  I feel totally renewed and rejuvenated when I go see phish.  It's a huge party/celebration where I can release a lot of stress and just enjoy the moment. Seeing Phish always has this effect on me which is probably why I love seeing them so much.  Their music is just so fun/ happy/energizing etc.

Seeing Phish isn't like seeing any other band because Phish really has it's own community.  It's an interesting kind of family, one that I have always felt safe and welcomed in.  There are many reasons why phish fans are a tight community, certainly the music is unifying but there is also a tone of openness and communication that the band has as well as the culture of traveling to shows that all contributes to it.  I think there is this sense that since most fans travel to see phish shows it helps build in this sense of community, like we all journeyed to get here and there is this sense of adventure and arrival about it.  Like we all traveled a lot of miles and put effort into being here in this moment and we get to share it with each other.  

I have been to many phish shows on my own and it doesn't bother me at all to be there "alone" because when I arrive I immediately feel like a part of this unified group.    Each night at Dick's I met new people to hang out and share the moment with and we had a blast together.  Baron and Cecily were there the 2nd night with me and it was fun to share the night with them and the others we were with.
There's a freedom that comes from the atmosphere, community and music and it's an amazing feeling.  When I'm at a phish show I feel like I can really let loose and "surrender to the flow."  I know that sounds super cheesy/hippie but it's true.  To me it feels like the epitome of being mindful and present.  Recently I watched an interview that Trey did and I love the way he explained it: "Everyone wants to belong to something, everyone wants to be included and music to me has been a pathway to community and sort of a welcoming, you know an inclusive atmosphere where people can express themselves and be part of something in a healthy way. When I'm playing with Phish I watch the audience all night and I want people to have a good time and I want people to be in a state of release and it makes me...you know it's a reason for living for me.  If I see somebody lit up in the audience that's enough for me, it's not really about the band playing well, I want to see people momentarily released from the drudgery of normal life."

Over the 3 nights Phish played 73 songs in about 8 hours of music.  There were a lot of really great moments crazy moments, quiet moments, beautiful moments, funny moments, exciting moments, touching moments etc.  The energy there just from the crowd was incredible.  And one of the coolest things about Phish?  They let you download the shows you go to from their livephish website with the bar code on your ticket.  So now I have 9 new CD's worth of music for my collection!

Highlights from the 3 nights include:  Golden Age(Don't You Falter), Fuego, Bathtub Gin, Wingsuit, Loving Cup, Bike, Run Like an Antelope, Martian Monster, Frankenstein, Mercury>Light, Winterqueen, Carini, Half Way to the Moon, Harpua, 2001, Steam, Free...

All pictures were borrowed from phish.com(I don't take cameras to phish shows, too cumbersome).  They have a group of photographers that travels with them and gets  to document their tours for them(what a job right!!).  All these pics are from the 3 shows I saw except for the one below...which is one of my favorite pics from the summer tour.