On a personal level, it was the first album release that happened while I was touring with the band.  After the amazing time I’d had at The Clifford Ball, I knew I was hooked.  Phish played a mini-set of some of the acoustic Billy Breathes songs in Plattsburg that I was lucky enough to be very close to the stage for.  It was the first “pretty” stuff I’d seen them do, and I had a feeling they were on to something special.  I recall (fuzzily) my dad taking me to the mega book & music store in Hamburg to pick it up.  I listened so closely for days.  In particular Prince Caspian (a song I would later come to despise) caught my ear.  But I was also enthralled with Free and Theme From the Bottom.   Fall Tour ’96 started a few days later, and though I hadn’t planned on it, the Buffalo show was the first of 29 shows I’d see before the New Years run.  It was a fantastic run of shows, and I have very clear memories of standing Page Side High watching CK5′s bubbly green lights during Theme and the swirling frenzied strobes for Free.  I was so drawn to these songs, but I never really put my finger on it.  Free rocks, don’t get me wrong…but why did it feel so real to me?

It was years later during a conversation with my wife that I finally figured it out.  The majority of Tom Marshalls lyrics up until BB were about characters, feelings, abstract ideas.  Listen to just about anything on Junta and you’ll get my drift. No one really thought Trey wanted to take them out for Dinner and a Movie.  But Billy Breathes was loaded with personal songs.  Lots of “I” and “you”.  When I heard Trey singing “come waste your time with me…” it really felt like he was addressing me.  Lost, bored, confused 17 year old me.  And it felt nice. I belonged!

Now, at night, I put my daughter to sleep with these tunes.  It’s really special to me…she’ll always remember (in her primal brain, perhaps, but nonetheless…) these songs as comforting.  I’ll always remember them the same way, but with a new layer of love on top.  Watching her eyes flutter closed during Talk is the most beautiful thing in the world.

My name is Joseph, although for most of the people I’ll be seeing this weekend, I’m Tang.  I spent a few years on tour from 1996-1998, and saw shows more sporadically after that.  This Cinci run marks my 102nd and 103rd shows.  I’m partial to long, composed Phish stuff, and machine gunny Trey.  I currently live in Columbus, Ohio with my wife Tori, our two dogs and our 3 month old daughter, Piper Stone.

As far as Phish 3.0 is concerned…I’ve followed the whole thing with great interest.  Someone mentioned on twitter the other day that a defining characteristic of Phish c. 2009 is that you can essentially “do tour” from your couch.  With all the twittering, live streaming and next day downloads, a geek like me feels right at home.  I’ve been doing just that, and I have to say that I’ve been really impressed for the most part.  I can forgive some flubs in composed sections, and while you’ll hear me grumble about Time Turns Elastic and Light, I think Joy/Party Time is a pretty cool album(s).  The summer found us preoccupied with Pipers impending arrival, but we managed to get out for a homecoming of sorts at Deer Creek.  You probably know how that turned out. So in a way, this’ll be the first show I’ve seen of Phish 3.0.  I’m really excited, and can’t wait to see some indoor Phish (always my favorite).

If you see me, feel free to say hi.  You can also follow my usual twitter stream: @jeditang.  See ya at the show!

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.