Posted by @757phan in the SBIX Essay Contest. This esay received the most "thumbs up" from phish.net users. This entry concludes the SBIX essay series for the phish.net blog.

A Journey of the Mind, Body, and Soul with Camp.net at SBIX

I want to start off by saying thank you to Phish, Phish.net, Team Camp.net, and to everyone in my life who helped me make this journey, especially my soon to be wife Amy. Amy is a phan and could not go, but encouraged me to go no matter what and made me promise to dance extra hard for her. I love that girl.

Here is a randomly written account of my experience last weekend. This is also a free write exercise in that it has only been edited for spelling and to include photos and some .net handles. Everything else was simply thoughts spilling out onto my computer as they raced through my head. I have included some photos and a few videos, but I really didn’t take many of either. I was too busy trying to live while I’m young. It is way too long, so I tried to chunk it up. If you want to read just one section great, the whole thing cool, or read nothing and look and the pictures it’s all good. Do you.

As far as my overall Super Ball experience goes, it healed my soul! Colors have been brighter since Super Ball and the sun seems just a bit warmer. Several co-workers and friends have commented about how happy I look all week long. That’s what a great weekend of Phish and friends/family can do for you. It’s the best medicine money can buy and we call it happiness. If you’re mentioned in this article thank you as well. It’s not an experience in till you bring someone along. If you're not mentioned but we hung out or talked, thank you too! So, thanks for reading phamily, I love all of you.

Thursday

Time to travel:

15 North on the way to WGI.

I woke up at 8am. Barley slept the night before, took Amy out to breakfast and hit the road. Thank god for Live Bait Vol. 5, because I basically was alone in till I got about two hours outside of the Glen. I took 15 north through the Poccano’s from VA and it had to been one of the most beautiful drives I had made in a long time. The scenery was breathtaking to say the least, and I couldn’t help but snap some photos. I picked up my friend Julie at a random Wal-Mart in Lewisburg, PA around 5, and then booked it to Curly’s resturant in Watkins Glen, NY.

Most of team .net was already there and waiting, but lucky for me Evan (@Ienjoymyself) was behind me still. Never be the last one to arrive! Pretty good lot scene in Curly’s as well. Some introductions to soon to be new friends and we were off to the campsite. Getting into SBIX was the smoothest experience I have ever personally experienced going to a festival. We got the 7 car caravan (well 6, we lost one to a bad clutch on the way in), scored some space, and it was PARTY TIME!

Line to get in.
My tent.

Night 1:

So I guess I should explain some things. We had about 16 people at our camp site (it grew though), and roughly 12 of us we’re .netters. @SplitOpenAndMunz, @taste4fee, @ienjoymyself, @Frizzle_phriend, @stagebanter, @punchyouinthealex, @calico4twenty, @lexington, @adamhall, @fishfoodeater, @conradjohansen, @slothelot. We would have had @Ivy_light and @phishybanjo too but they got stuck at the border coming from the land to the north. Lucky for them, they ended up in Hawaii. We had been loosely organizing a pre-meet up so we could camp together, and it worked even better then expected. We landed in South Dakota right near the tree line and the old barn. The first night was fun, let’s just say we drank a lot and there was a constant cloud of smoke coming from the camp site. Also, the word “ball” came up a lot, haha. Some of us headed to ball square, and some of us stayed behind to set up and get our minds right. We got set up around mid-night and decided to stroll to ball square. First thing I did was get on the Ferris wheel. It was so amazing to take in the air up there on the first night. I could see headlights from cars heading towards us from miles around, and I knew that this place would soon become one of the most magical cities on earth. Here is what I saw.





The Super Stage.
The Super Ball.

Friday

Wake up and smell the sausage:

After about 3-4 hours of sleep, I woke up around 11:30 am to the smell of Duffy and Mike cooking sausage. This was the view I had.



It took me a minute to really comprehend where I was and how lucky I was to be in such a place. I thought of my fiancé (a big phan) who I had left behind in VA while staring into the mountains. She loves music in the mountains, but who doesn’t. I took a hike around the Dakota’s and talked to some random folks. I got back to the camp site, had a cup of Charlie Sheen’s coffee, and headed off to practice some Yoga.

Yoga, Phish Prints, and the bonus of brining your own toilet seat:

Several members of our group had gone to get into the poster line, and I really wanted to grab the prints. I needed to concentrate on my body and mind first though, so Yoga won out. As luck would have it we ran into Jim Pollock on the way to Yoga, so I had a very positive feeling going into the Yoga class. The class was 100% set to Phish and freaking amazing! I hope to attend another over Labor Day in CO.

Phish Yoga =)
Brand me.

After Yoga I went and got in the line for the prints. Despite being told by several people I would be screwed, I landed them both. Headed over to meet Pollock again, but he was gone. So I grabbed the SBIX cars, ate some lunch and Ben and Jerry’s, and then took about an hour walk around ball square just chatting with folks and checking out the art. Oh, I left my phone at recharge too. Did this multiple times throughout the weekend and never EVER had one issue with my phone. So cool of everyone to be chill in the tent. After the walk I headed back to camp because I had to poop like a champ and it was now time to bust out my secret festival weapon. I bring my own toilet seat! You laugh, but you know I got compliments from everyone about it. One dude even gave me free jello shots because “…I like the way you think”…as he put it.

Me with the prints.
Duval on top. Ames Bros on bottom.

Night 1:

View of the Dakotas

Julie, Leslie, and Me.

Hearding cats. Jesus, never ever try to get more the 6 people to stay together at a show. It’s just too difficult. Although we still took a stab at it. The entire camp site got together for the first set and it was fun being with everyone. We raged next to the beers of the world tent, and I promise you Duffy (@phishfoodeater) did the entire world beer tour. That man is a drinking machine!

Set 1:

The first set had its high points for sure, and I think everyone was just generally happy to be there and have some tunes. Possum was almost like a joke, and it was great to hear Peaches played in the second spot for the second time in a two week period. Three two’s are a sign of good luck. Torn and Frayed was great and sounds even better on the SBD. Gin is one of the overlooked jams of the weekend, but it never strays far from the original structure. Life On Mars?!!!!!!!! I swear to you it was the last real song I was chasing besides SaSS for the year. Got ya! Although, to be honest it’s not the best version and I think the rust showed for sure. Wolfman’s to Quinn is a pure takeover by Cactus. Gordon just hits the super funk switch and dropped enough bass bombs to shake every booty in a small third world country. Give it a listen, everything from Wolfman’s on is dominated by Mike! He also looked uber cool in his new shades. The set ended, our group went 95 different directions, and we ended up moving to get a better view of what CK5 was about to do to us.

Set 2:

Still waiting….Nope, they’re back on stage. What would they open with? I hope Golden Age, as I have yet to catch it live. Nope, C & P! The tune showcased some weird ambient pyschdellic sounds that would appear again and again throughout the weekend. A stright up Chalkdust and fun Sand and before you knew it we were into the Groove. Now I have about 4 or 5 .netters that can vouch for me. The second the opening licks to Mike’s Song came on I turned to our group and said “They will go into Simple after this and it’s going to be an epic Simple”. The basis for such a bold statement? I’d made it twice before this summer (Camden and Charlotte) so I figured what the f*** why not say it again. The Simple got so weird and spacey towards the end and almost hinted at what would go down during the Storage Jam. It was the first time we got to really understand CK5’s SBIX light rig. In case nobody has mentioned it, it was hands down bigger then anything on leg I. I think this was because of how high the stage roof was. CK5 blew my mind that night. Truly, what is a band without saxophones?

It took me 26 shows, but I got my first Bug as well. Really great tune that doesn’t get the respect it deserves. The Horse > Silent was a serious buzzkill. I didn’t get it then, I don’t get it now. Why Trey, why? Groove was too short as well, and by the time Joy came on I was thinking to myself “what the f*** happened to this set”? Honestly, IMHO this is the weakest set of the weekend. It was so weak in fact, that I didn’t even want to party after the show. I found some tasty “special” rice crispy treats, took a sleeping pill, and was asleep in my text by 1am. I got 7 hours of sleep at a festival that night! Since my first festival in 2004 I have NEVER gotten that much sleep at a festival. Shit, even at home I normally only get 6.

In awe.

It goes round and round.

Saturday


Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run.

Woke up around 8:30 on Saturday. I couldn’t believe I had been asleep that long. I seriously passed out within an hour of the show ending Friday night. I found @Ienjoymyself and @Fizzle_phriend and we discussed the night before. I headed off to get a smoothie and scarf down some fruit. By the time I came back everyone was getting up because many of them simply slept on some air mattress outside, except for @slothelot who was passed out in a chair (this guy can sleep anywhere). I took a gold bond shower, had a couple more cups of Charlie Sheen’s coffee, and took off for the Runaway Jim 5k. Let me assure you, I was REALLY ready to run.

On my way to the starting line I ran across the What Cheer? Brigade and got to talk to some of them for a second. Gothic marching bands rule! I ran into some interesting characters on the track. Guy with a Homer Simpson puppet, couple of Uncle Sam’s smoking cigars, and my personal favorite, a barefooted wook in a patatatto sack. Holy shit that was funny. They kept us waiting for too long and as mentioned above I was feeling a need to keep moving. @Dave Vann shows up in a golf cart, couple of photos, and within a minute or two we are off. First part was uphill and a total funky bitch. We got to run all across the track though and I LOVED the phans cheering for us! I setteled in with the Uncle Sam’s and a guy dressed a Waldo. We saw girls flashing, the naked jogger, and sang Wilson really loud. It was a perfect moment, and I never felt tired once. At the two mile mark, Waldo and I took a break and blazed a bowl. Thank you Waldo. How many times in your life will you have the chance to blaze on a NASCAR track at a Phish festival with a guy dressed as Waldo? Well ok, maybe I’ll get another chance ;-) I kept my mouth open during the fire hose spray off and that was a big mistake. I started chocking on some water and messed up my breathing. However, a man with a saxophone was playing around the bend and his music truly kept me going. Thank you saxophone man! On the way to the finish line I saw Cody and Leslie cheering me on, which was awesome. Thank you both for coming it meant a lot to me. I literally leaped across the finish line, finished in 31 minutes and 15 seconds. Not bad for zero training and no experience running I thought. What Cheer? Brigade rocked my face off and I thanked God for allowing me experience that moment. It was at this point, that I started taking the festival a little slower. Before I knew it, this beautiful moment would be gone.

A view of the track.

I finished! 31 minutes and 15 seconds.

The .Net Meet Up



I got to the meet up and saw some familiar faces and some faces of folks I had never met. I spoke with @Phishybanjo, @Ivylight, @Jackl, @unoclay, @conradjohanson, @bizzarojerry, @stagebanter, @ and a handful of others. For those who don’t remember me, I was in all white, just finished running, and was mauling a piece of chicken on a stick. Damn that was some good chicken! It was great meeting everyone and I am really thankful to the admins of .net for setting it up! Sadly, I left the meet up after about a half hour. I really needed to shower and get back in time for the afternoon set. I seriously regret doing that, because from what I understand the meetup got more crowded after 1pm when I left. I should have showered, then hit the meet up, but I did it all in reverse. Oh course, I missed @johnnyD and would never find him again all weekend. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to hit a Bisco show in VT to find him ;-) Oh, on the way out I met a pin maker named Eli who I spoke with about some of my favorite topics: Politics, Phish, Pins, and Star Wars. He hooked me up with this:



Set I

After a shower and a quick bust out of the toilet seat I was ready to rage again. I made it back to the field and found all our friends. I ran into @BillCaspian and his wife @waterinthesky as well. I had met them during the NYE run and it was so great to see them again! Anyways, time for music!

I’m going to let this video do the talking here. This is how the day kicked off. That is @taste4fee hand getting down to the beat too. You can see a lot of .netters in this video as well.





As far as the set goes, it was LONG. Also, I personally thought the song selection was perfect for a long daytime set. Divided Sky was wonderful as always, but the pause for the cheer was super weak and dragged into the 2 min mark. I think Trey was mad nobody was cheering. Boogie to Cities was funky town time again lead by Mr. Mike Gordon dropping bombs of course. Poor Heart was a blast and was the old blue grass tune of the weekend! I loved it. Everything else in the set never really got off the ground with pretty straight forward playing from the boys as they moved from one tune to another. Suskind Hotel was cool and it was great to hear a Mike original. Please play Idea again btw. Monkey Man was weird. I didn’t know what it was and I had to pee, so I left to pee.

Frizz what do you think of all these hippies?

Set Break

After one sort of meandered around during this break. It was very clear that a lot of people in the crowd had eaten their party favors a little too early, which made for some highly entreating people watching. After hitting the recharge tent for awhile, I made my way back to camp. I fully understood that when I left camp this time, I would not be back in till the early morning hours. I knew there would be a secret set, and I knew it was going to be tonight. In fact, a lot of people did. Filled the rage pack to the brim and went off to find @taste4fee, who had locked down a KILLER spot! I ran into @Goober420 on the way in too. I love Goobs! This guy is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He hooked me up with this other Pin I had long been searching for. Two pins in one day! Should be a good day.



Set II

After randomly running into Callie at recharge again (recharge was the shit to find people), I found the group down near the front. Page side, in between Page and Trey. My favorite spot to see a show from! I was super pumped about what tonight might bring. A very predictable Runaway Jim kicked us off. It was cool to see the winners. Finn McCool was awesome! McGrupp! Evan had a running joke since MPP that he would not shave in till they played McGrupp, he got lucky, and for those following along he shaved (way) later that night. I was so, so on this set musically, but my spots for the show were amazing! That always helps things. It’s Ice and Rift were standouts and Page CRUSHED them both. SaSS was the only one of the three songs I was chasing all summer. I nailed Harpua in Ptown, for Life on Mars? the day before, and now I had my SaSS! Thank you Phish! SaSS was beautiful and has only sounded better in the days since SBIX ended. Antelope is never boring and CK5 rocked the light show. As soon as the set ended our group got smart. Instead of scattering like sheepeople, we waited for a group to move and ended up in the same spot about 5 deep from the rail. Talk about perfect!





Set III

As we sat around cracking handfuls of glowsticks, our entire group knew we were in for a solid set. Not that set I and II weren’t great, but it was time to jam and we all knew it. Phish needed to push the musical boundries and what better time to do that then Saturday night. Golden Age! Yes! This has got to be my new favorite cover, and I am sure I am not alone in that pool. Love, don’t you falter. A smooth dripping Prince Caspian washed over us next, and the blue lights brought me back to the ocean for only a moment. Brian (@lexington) called the Piper coming and boom there it was.

Now this is the part where my show got semi-ruined by some dickheads. Time to call you out f***ers! Ok, so as mentioned we had prime real estate. Two couples came up on my right and one of the girl eventually got to my left. I kept seeing her looking at her friends like “I wish you could be on this side of this guy” so I decided to let them over. This separated me from the group, but I was happy to give some other fans a great view. Then right as Tweezer kicks off the two guys do something that took a minute to process. They pulled out a giant bag of rubber bands (the big ass ones) and started shooting them at Trey. Security starts flashing lights on us almost right way, but one of these f***ing asshats doesn’t get it. Your shooting things at the band and now you’ve brought heat to my people buddy, you got to go! I tap the jerkfuck on his shoulder and explain to him that NOBODY thinks what he is doing is funny or cool. Several fans gave me the thumbs up and gave Team Asshats the stare of death. He needs to stop and him and his girl need to move. He didn’t like this, and I was happy to know @Fizzle_phriend was close by just in case, but he said sorry after a second and I got my spot back. f***ing asshat! Rule #1! DO NOT THROW SHIT AT THE BAND NOOB! Sorry, rant over. BTW, killer glowstick war during Tweezer. Way to make it rain people.

Julius and # - were rock anthems and Twist was the shit. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the “what?” antics from MPP came back during Twist. 2001 was too short and not that great, however CK5 and his amazing light rig again shone bright as the MVP. I was super geeky when my second Hood of the summer started up. Like most 3.0 Hoods, it just fails to really peak out. I thought it was great then, but since taking a re-listen it does fail to soar. Cavern was a sing along and a dance off, I have always loved Cavern and seriously take credence in the notion of taking care of your shoes. I guess I had a really clear sub-consicous connection with Trey that night, because I knew Golgi would come next. It did. Great Golgi as always, but weird to not have my ticket stub in my hand. I cheered my ass off as the boys closed out the set. I always attempt to give Page a shout out when I am that close. Julie, Evan, and I have made contact with him in Camden, Charlotte, and Portsmouth already this year, so I was extra loud because I wanted him to know I was faithful to the rage side even at the Ball. I swear he looked again and gave us the nod and wave =) We love you Page, and your new shirt looked great! The Loving Cup into Tweeprize encore is always a great one two punch. You get your chill song and then your “go out and party it up” rocker to send you on your way. However, we we’re about to be sent somewhere totally different.

Set IV

We knew it was getting ready to go down. The chatter had been buzzing all day. Julie, Leslie, Brain, and I all agreed to go grab some lemonaide (sunshine in a cup) and some pizza and march are asses to the Super Ball. We got there and saw a taper mic already set up. I also quickly spotted guys in all access passes getting close to the time machine part of the USA storage shed. This spot was sort of near the ball for those of you who did not attended but have seen pictures. We met some great people waiting for that set as well. I ran into a really great phan named Brian who I first met in Charlotte and then again in Portsmouth. He loves to ride the rail near Mike and Fishman and has made the FB page before. What’s up Brain! Have fun out west man! I was right next to Leslie on the rail about 6 feet from where Fishman would appear. We saw the lights get set up and the doors to the shed roll up. It was go time. This youtube video will explain our spot.
Hidden behind some sort of canvas screen and backlit by lights, Phish was ready to blow some minds. The rail got so tight and it literally became people on top of people. Some girl behind us tried to pull the media pass card, nice try lady. A lot of talking during this jam, I wish you people would have just shut up. It was really spacey and really cool. Please take the time and listen to it for yourself. I can not really describe it. I will say this. At several points in the jam Fishman is on keys/synth and at one point Trey is on the drum kit. Mike came in and out of my view, but I never ever saw Page from our spot. I’m sure it’s on youtube, but I haven’t looked yet. The jam slipped into what many phans claimed to be the coolest Sleeping Monkey ever. IMHO, the entire thing was genius and allowed us, the phans, to gain an access into a part of Phish we rarely if ever see or hear. I felt as if Phish was saying, we’re awake still and if you want us to just mess around for you we will. And we did, and they did. It was all super trippy….super badass…super ball. Next thing I knew, the sun was up.







Sunday

“Let’s just drink and eat everything we have at camp”

In my house, Sunday is fun day. At Camp Team.net this was no exception. I woke up around 11ish and I briefly contemplated hitting Yoga again, or perhaps the line for the White Tape album. However, so good friends encouraged me to take a chill day at SBIX. After all, I had literally been running around all weekend long. So I decided to do just that. We made tons of food, bacon was around. I went and got a pork and bacon wrap too. So needed. After washing my face in the bacon grease, we decided to tap a mini-keg of New Castle we had. This is the results.

Yeah I'm drunk, so what!

Needless to say, I spent the next five hours drunk at camp and didn’t go to Ball Square in till like 5ish. I sort of regret that because I missed the last daytime events at Ball Square, I did have a blast at camp. It was really a serious bonding time amongst a lot of the .netters that camped with us. We had seen six sets of Phish together, spent two whole days and three really long nights. Friendships we’re cemented on Sunday. As soon as we got to the grounds we needed to lock down a super chill middle spot. We wanted to be able to see the band, but also the lights. Some of us had decided tonight would be perfect for Uncle Albert’s Medicine and I too decided to venture into the rabit hole for the first, and only, time this weekend. I love it when an experience just comes together. Our spot was perfect, the sky was beautiful, and we have an amazing group together again. It was also the one of the few sets Evan and I would rage together. You have to understand Evan is one of my best friends period. I call this kid like three times a week just to bullshit and he is also somebody I trust immensely. Furthermore, he can discuss the intelligent side of Phish when it comes time and also get to with some Star Trek dance moves. I was overjoyed to have him around at that point. Sadly, you wouldn’t be able to tell from this photo, hahaha.

I love this guy! Those are our thinking faces btw. We were thinking hard.

Set I

Fire it up! This is going to be a good one. Generally, shows that include Soul Shakedown Party are pretty good at least from how my memory serves me. I had said Bag would be the opener, so I was one off. Funny story, during the “let ‘em fight it out” part I normally do like this fake one-two punch dance move. Anyways, Evan happened to be raging next to me when I busted it out and I punched him in the jaw. Seriously, I felt awful. Sorry E. Ok, the Curtain With (love this song, and it’s the third one I have seen with E in less then a year)…..wait, not With! Just the Curtain! At this point I’m thinking it’s the tabs kicking in because I swear they are playing the opening notes to Forbin’s. OH MY GOD! Two Forbin’s in less then a month. Only a 5 show gap since my last one. There might be something different here though, be patient Greg. Nariation! I just loved listened to Trey talk about them driving through Watkins. Best driver, PAGE! That whole thing was classic. Did anyone else think Mike didn’t like Trey making fun of him for journaling. Hahaha, you could see all weekend long how much fun they were having. Hell, all tour long. The explanation of the Storage Jam blew my mind. Done, mind gone. Somebody hold my cell phone and my shoes because I’m flying off with the Famous Mocking Bird for the next few hours.

I wandered away right as Destiny started, I was just following the Mocking Bird. Bad idea. Shouldn’t have been walking around alone at that point, but I was guided back to my friends by Mike’s footbell and deep impact sounds moving my body in ways I didn’t know was possible through a mob of people. Thanks Mike! Direct quote from Evan “Best Wilson I’ve ever heard and best Mound ever” as soon as Mound ended. I couldn’t agree more. That was my first Mound as well, Phish or MGB, so I was super pumped! ASIHTOS is one of the most beautiful jams from the entire weekened. However, what you at home missed was the sun. Actually, maybe you saw it in the vimeo video, but I haven’t watched that yet. Phish made the sun set! No seriously, Phish commanded the sun to set, and it did. It was beautiful and I could feel the energy of the crowd become engulfed in the night as we ready ourselves for the final get down with all our friends.

Time Loves A Hero is another fantastic cover. Who can’t Phish cover? Reba. I was so, so happy for my friends and us. Leslie (@taste4fee) had been wearing a Reba shirt and saying all day she wanted the Reba to come out. You got it girl! This Reba is amazing. It does what Reba should do, and that is touch your soul and mind in a way that only music can. The boys lock in super tight and the only way it could have ended better was if they whistled. HOLY SHIT! They are whistling! Just when I thought I might have been getting control of my mind again there it went. Thanks boys. Oh, and you’re going into a spacey ass Bowie as well. Excuse me Trey, could you just go ahead and melt my face off for the next 15 minutes. I want to thank my friend Julie for mopping it up for me after that one. On a serious note though, Reba and Bowie literally took up at least a half hour and we’re in prime darkness of night. CK5 was so on point during Bowie too. Amazing way to end a REALLY strong first set.

Set II

Set break was weird. I lied down because I wanted to stare at the stars. They were pretty good actually. We through some glowsticks through a LED hula hoop, we actually became pretty funny because the girl holding the hoop was getting pummeled by glowsticks. Sorry lady, don’t hold you LED like a target at a festival if you don’t like it. Here come the boys!

Big Balls! Holy shit those are big balls! I wanted to include this other person’s youtube video because I want you to understand how Big the Balls were. Very big balls!





DWD came next and would turn into the highlight of my weekend, musically speaking. To the guys behind me, sorry I was jumping during the start of the tune, I got too excited. I have heard older heads those with far more Phish musical knowledge then me refer to a “butter jam”. I never really knew what this meant, but I felt like the Ghost from NYE at MSG took me to the place a butter jam should take you. I felt it again tonight. At approximentally, the 8 min mark on the Live Phish SBD you can hear them warm it up. Trey strums this little note over and over around the 9:30 min mark. It gets super funky and fun. I loved it, sorry if you don’t. What happened next made us all feel lucky we we’re indoors. If we had been, the roof would have blown off. Warming the lights up as the boys slipped into space grooves from the night before in the shed, out came No Quarter! Page, you sir are amazing. Thank you. Jason (@stagebanter) and Alex (@) I know I told you this before you left on Sunday, but your aura during No Quarter was super bight. Thanks for sharing those moments with us.

PARTY TIME! Our group got down to this Party Time. Super dance off and we fired a few up to celebrate the musical journey we had just made it through. Perfectly placed Party Time if you ask me and it jams more then normal. When Ghost came out, Evan looked at me and gave me the fasten your seat belt sign. I really thought it was on. Sadly, I do not care for this Ghost. It’s too short, attempts to go places too early, and is cut off by Jiboo. Don’t get me wrong, I like Jiboo, but I would easily have given it up for another 8 minutes of Ghost. Light was a great tune, but I could almost feel a vibe in the audience like why Light, why now? I though CK5 killed it and the jam in Light is really nice. It’s one of the better versions of Light I have heard. Waves was a wonderful time to reflect on things, and I really like the tune. I’m an ocean minded man, and tunes about water always touch me. Also, the lights shone through the ambienent music creating the illusions of sunlight breaking through the ocean ceeling. As somebody who often looks up at the light when under the ocean, I felt so at peace in this moment. I understood the message Phish, if there even was one. CK5 pulled the lights in so tight right before What’s The Use I thought the stage would turn into a rocket ship and blast off. I loved WTU! Meatstick got super fun, Stealing Time has it’s moments, and the Star Spangled banner made me cry. I love you America. Thanks for being the home of the free and brave!

Basking in the light. Thank you Phish!

First Tube and Slave are my favorite encores for a show. I think both are perfect. I have discussed with Evan before that Slave says go be at peace to the crowd. First Tube says go celebrate and party! First Tube it was! With Fireworks! Our friends Brain and Julie just happened to be at the top of the Ferris wheel during this whole deal. They said it was a once in a lifetime view, and we all know it truly was. I think the weekend came to a close nicely. Phish had done it. They did what they wanted. They did what we wanted. They said goodbye with Fireworks =)

Final Night

I don’t want to say too much about it to protect the innocence of everyone involved (myself included). Epic adventure! Pinball Lounge was the jump off! Glowstick wars in Ball Square. Groove is in the Heart dance off on the ball fields. 3d tent. The canvas tent! Surprise! A DITCH PARTY!!!! Nitrous guys in the camp ground, better move my car. Manski the ginger! Want to go back to the ditch party? Nah, it's full of f***ing wooks! Is that the sun? I need to drive tomorrorw. Goodnight SBIX! I love you!

My last images leaving the venue




:::tears of joy:::

Thank you so much for reading a small part of my adventure! Thank you for being a small part in my adventure! See you next time phriends.

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