Fast forward a year.  Jerry’s gone, and I decide to head out west to see some old friends and catch a few Furthur shows.  After a crazy day at Fiddler’s Green, I make the call to hang out in Colorado for a while.  There’s mountains.  I like it here. Boulder, Colorado is one of those cities that just attracts traveling/homeless/adventuresome kids.  I met some amazing people who took me in there, friendly and understanding.  They also schooled me, taught me some things that I needed to know.  As the summer was winding down, I began to hear talk of an upcoming Phish show at Red Rocks.  Almost everyone I knew there was going, and I figured I’d tag along.  I had heard some Phish before, and was intrigued.  They reminded me of nuevo-Zappa, seasoned with Dr. Demento along with a side of some good ‘ol rock and roll.   Some interesting things happened at that run, and I made some new friends.  Ones with cars, and tickets.  I was on the bus before I knew what was happening.

I saw just under one hundred shows (my count is now 101) from summer ’96 to summer ’98.  I became the man I am today for the most part.  I learned to thrive in parking lots, hotels and campgrounds.  And I fucking LOVED every minute of it.  Phish was my life for a few years.  Then, as these things usually go, I fell in love with a girl and decided to slow down.  I would catch a show here and there, and actively traded tapes, but Phish was changing too and I had no desire to follow them down the road they had chosen.   I immersed myself in bluegrass and jazz for a while.  I knew that they were on “hiatus” for a while.  And I listened to their “last” concert, Coventry, live on XM radio at work.  It was so bad, I sheepishly shut it off. I was completely embarrassed after having told so many co workers how great the band was.  Coventry may have been emotional, but there’s a damn good reason you don’t see it  on too many fans iPods.

Then came the arrest.  And the resurrection I witnessed at ROTHBURY.

Now it’s 2009, and after playing together at a friends wedding they announce a 3 night run at the Hampton Coliseum with a tour to follow.  We were on the edge of our seats…could they do it?  Would it be the same?  Better?  Different?  Hampton turned out to be a barnburner, and I knew the tour would be steaming.

And so it has been.  A few flubs here and there, but that’s only expected after so long apart from each other.  They’re playing a handful of songs a LOT, but introducing new tunes and busting out some old goodies too.  As a spectator, the biggest change has been the ability to watch the shows as they’re happening. I’m watching and listening to tonights set at Bonnaroo as I type.  Cell phones have come a looooong way.  When I was on tour, I had a pager.

Tori, Tiny E and I are heading to our old stomping grounds in the cornfields next week.  This may very well be the last show I see at Deer Creek, and will certainly be the last time I see Phish before were a family of three.  It’s gonna be a blast taking our unborn child to see so many friends, and four very special ones indeed.

Rothbury 2009 looks like a go thanks to an agreement between AEG Live and A U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee that allows the concert promoter to lease the Double JJ Ranch in Michigan once again this summer.

For the last few years the promoters of Bonnaroo have successfully transformed the event’s image from Hippie Jam Fest to the nation’s best and biggest music festival. If they signed both Phish and The Dead for Bonnaroo 2009 they’d lose all the credibility with the mainstream audience they’ve worked so hard to build since 2002. The folks behind Rothbury don’t have that problem. AEG Live and Madison House embraced the jam fans and have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being the first festival to feature both bands in the same lineup.

Of course, we’ll be headed into the third trimester, but hey…a guy can dream, can’t he?