Ok, I’m finally ready to write about this one.
I had the distinct pleasure of taking my buddy J.J. to this who’s never really paid much attention to Phish. He’s a monster guitar player and digs the Allman Brothers and STS9. We arrived around 7:00ish and split a Sierra Nevada Torpedo in the parking lot. Went in, filled water bottles, I grabbed a shirt from merch, then we hit the pissers and made our way to the floor. We easily worked our way in to about 40 feet off the stage in front of Mike and posted up there for first set. It so happened that we were standing right next to some other folks from our town, so we had great conversation up until Phish came on around 8:10. From the very first notes of Bag, the floor around us was ecstatic. Didn’t feel crowded at all, and we had short people in front of us, so the view was perfect. Bag was tight, and I could tell right off the bat that Trey was on top of his game and having a blast. I was so wrapped up in the music that I wasn’t really keeping tabs on J.J. until partway through Wolfman’s when I glanced over… He was totally under the spell! Sort of dancing, but with an expression on his face like he was having a religious experience. He saw me looking at him and said something like, “This is incredible!” I smiled and told him that they were getting warmed up and to fasten his seat belt. Happy Birthday was fun, and the whole Russel Wilson (Duh Duh, Duh Duh) jersey thing before Wilson was awesome. Possum and Tube were both fun. Secret Smile was BEAUTIFUL. I never thought I’d be stoked to get that song at a show, but I was. After that, the combo of McGrupp, Curtis Loew, and SOAM capped off my first set in pure bliss. I’ve only gotten one other SOAM, and that was at Coventry… so yeah. I’ll count this one as my first. 
First set summary: I got my first Timber, Tube, Secret Smile, McGrupp, Curtis Loew, and (kinda) SOAM. J.J. got his mind blown.
During setbreak, all the folks down front who’d been swilling beer all afternoon ran for the pissers and we moved up to about 25 feet of the rail, almost dead center. Just as they were taking the stage for second set, a joint came by and I hit it once. That toke, and the half a beer before the show, are the only drugs I ingested the whole night, which makes this the soberest I’ve ever been for a show. I really enjoyed it!
The floor was raging during CE&P, and the glowstick wars were epic. Twist seemed a bit strange at first, but I didn’t mind. Steam was hypnotic, and where we were standing there was a ton of room, so we were able to move and dance without bumping elbows. I remember around this point being totally stoked on Trey’s playing. To my ears he’s more patient and tasteful than he’s been since '97 or so. I knew the CE&P teases were coming like four bars before they started, and I felt like I had successfully tapped into the groupthink on stage. When Waves dropped, I remember I stopped moving and looked up at the sky, my consciousness bobbing along in the waves of dancers around me. I’ve always loved Waves, and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face that I was getting one this night. Twenty Years later was everything it usually is… I kind of checked out for a second to reflect on what had happened up to that point, drink some water, roll a cigarette, and ground myself for a bit. I was glad I did, because Bug and Bowie sucked me right back into the fold. I was pretty convinced that Bowie would end the set, so I was delighted when they gave us Rocky Top. I figured that would be the cherry on top, but at that point, I think Trey was having too much fun to stop. Character Zero (like Hood) is a song that I strongly associate with The Gorge, and when they launched into it, I knew it was going to go places. Now, I’ve heard Trey do a lot of shit, but I’ve never heard him howl at the moon before. Being down on the floor for that, with my back to the stage, surrounded by people howling at the moon, with Trey and his guitar howling up on stage was a truly memorable experience. Hard to describe. Maybe impossible to describe. I was certain the Hood encore was coming, and while it didn’t hit the perfection of the Gorge ‘09 Gin>Hood set closer, it was beautiful. Fire was a TOTALLY unexpected bonus, possibly a nod to the forest fire on Hwy. 97 that re-routed so many peoples’ path to the show.
Second set summary: My first CE&P, Steam, Waves, 20 Years Later, Rocky Top, and Fire. J.J. pretty much couldn’t speak. About 15 minutes after Fire ended, while we were trudging up the hill, he finally managed to say, “That was a REALLY good idea.”
J.J. went home and has done little besides watch Phish on youtube ever since. He bought the stream for all three BGCA shows. He’s hooked, big time. My work here is done.
