On July 26 and 27, 2013, I will be returning to Quincy (or is it George?), Washington for the seventh Celebration of the Lizards at the Gorge. I have not missed a Phish show at this amphitheater hewn from the living rock of Gamehendge...and you really shouldn’t either. Each of the twin-bills to date (1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2009, and 2011) has to me musically portrayed in graphic detail the myriad geologic processes that formed the stunning otherworldly landscape that supports and surrounds the venue. This blog post is intended to highlight the tastiest jams from each of the “Cave P” vintages past while exploring the rugged terrain that provided the terroir for the tunes. The Gorge Amphitheater lies in a land shaped by both fire and ice. Over the course of their past six visits, the music Phish has produced in this setting has covered every emotional facies change from happiness to sorrow. Such a traverse obviously includes some time spent in sonic puddles of lukewarm water. Digging down deep, we’ll work our way from the bottom to the top, chronologically speaking.

In simplest terms, the geology of the Columbia Plateau can be broken down into three phases. Similarly, Phish has visited the Gorge Amphitheater during each of its 1.0 through 3.0 incarnations. The three pre-hiatus weekends (1997, 1998, and 1999) represent the Miocene-aged volcanism that erupted in the form of the massive Columbia River Basalt Group. The two post-breakup weekends (2009 and 2011) could be well equated to the cataclysmic Missoula Floods and their scouring of the Pleistocene-aged sub-glacial landscape deposited downstream of the Fraser Cordilleran Ice Sheet. The single post-hiatus/pre-breakup visit in 2003 thus conveys the turbulence within that led to the deformation and uplift of the plateau that is associated with the incipient eruption of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and by extension the building strife that would result in the breakup of the band in 2004. Much like the largely obscure basement that underlies this geologically recent mantle, the Gorge Amphitheater also has some older rock in its history that predates Phish.

The Gorge Amphitheater began its life sometime between 1985 and 1987 as the 3,000 seat Champs de Brionne Summer Theater operated by Bauer-Kinnear Enterprises (BKE). The original venue consisted of a simple stage in the lower bowl with the upper terraces and lawn in use as one of the Champs de Brionne winery vineyards planted by Vince Bryan (now owner of Cave B Winery). On the strength of performances by the likes of James Taylor, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Doobie Brothers, The Allman Brothers, Crosby Stills & Nash and Fleetwood Mac, by the early ‘90s the grapes were forced out and the venue capacity was expanded to 19,000. In 1993, both BKE (the bookers for Champs de Brionne) and the Power Station ticket agency (owned by BKE principal Ken Kinnear) who sold the ducats went dark. The prospects for the 1993 summer season at Washington’s largest outdoor venue seemed grim until the Bicycle Day 1993 announcement by the newly formed concert promoter MCA Concerts that it had purchased the entire site from the Bryan's and would indeed be bringing shows to the soon to be renamed Gorge Amphitheater. Fueled by the almighty power of the grunge tsunami originating in Seattle, the 1993 Gorge lineup included Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Uncle Neil...the godfather of grunge himself, and Lollapalooza ‘93 (featuring a just moved up from the second stage Tool). This wave would no doubt have crested during Nirvana's planned Lollapalooza '94 headlining gig at the Gorge August 31 and September 1 (dates now usually owned by DMB's annual visit) had Kurt Cobain not succumbed to his Saturn return. His grieving widow ironically returned on Independence Day 1995. Since the Gorge is now entering its 27th year and subject to its own Saturn return...this summer is sure to be tumultuous...as evidenced by the early cancellation of the debut Jambase Live Festival planned for July 5 and 6. Based on the geologic past, Phish should be one of the high points, as evidenced by the following.

The Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) is a thick sequence of basalt that covers approximately 63,000 square miles of the Pacific Northwest. Unbelievable as it may sound, approximately 99% of the flood basalt's approximately 174,300 cubic kilometer volume was erupted in approximately three million years. Primary source vents are concentrated along the Idaho border with both Oregon and Washington. Individual flows can be traced from these vents to as far west as the Pacific Ocean near the mouth of the Columbia River. The Columbia River Basalt Group is subdivided into individual flows, which correspond well with the three pairs of Phish shows from the "Fire" stage of their musical history at this venue.

The earliest flows are the Imnaha and Picture Gorge basalts which erupted between 17.4 and 16.5 million years ago (MYA) and approximately 16 MYA respectively. They are coarsely porphyritic basalts, meaning their flows are littered with some major gems, much like the two 1997 shows. Most notable in this two-day earliest sequence are the 8/2/97 first set "Split Open and Melt", second set "Diseezer Redux" (see 11/27/96) which concluded in a fiery "Johnny B. Goode", and "Harry Hood" encore wherein CK5 was asked to douse the lights so we could experience the outdoor vibe. Although the day two Picture Gorge equivalent is overshadowed by the volume of its Imnaha predecessor, it did have its first set "Twisted Jesus" and second set best "Julius" ever! Throw in some "Simple>Fluff" and you have yourself a good time.

The Grande Ronde (16.5 to 15.6 MYA) and Wanapum (15.6 to 14.5 MYA) basalts were the next eruptive stages of the CRBG and together account for approximately 95% of the volume of the entire CRBG. These flows are laterally extensive, extremely thick, include classic examples of columnar jointing, and host inter-beds that feature entire fossilized forests (see Ginko State Park at Vantage at all costs!). The 1998 Phish shows at the Gorge were equally impressive. Flipping the sequence from their initial visit, night one was the lesser of the pair, but the double doses at the Gorge should always be viewed together so why cleave columns? The first night highlight (belying the overall width of the average good first night) was a stunning sunset inducing "Reba" that was complexly layered and positively slow enough for me. Night two is where the peaks of the Grande Ronde and Wanapum sequence arise. It opens with a reggae sun-splashed sequence of "Makisupa, Ya Mar, and Gumbo" with "Divided Sky" sunset. It concludes with the four song second set behemoth that was "Also Sprach Zarathustra>Mike's>Groove>Zero"...this set is hot and heavy...true LISTEN TO IMMEDIATELY if you haven't in a while material.

The final eruptive stage of the CRBG was the Saddle Mountain basalts which erupted intermittently between 13.6 and 6 MYA. The Saddle Mountain basalts are laterally extensive, covering depressions along the central axis of the entire Columbia River Basin, but are extremely thin and without the density of their immediate predecessors. Here again, the rocks equate pretty well with the 1999 Phish run at the Gorge. The fire displayed in 1997 and 1998 was starting to wane and get distorted as the approaching stresses of the Cascade deformation front (the rise of TAB?) were beginning to be felt. Which is not to say the 1999 shows are not without a certain richness of texture and tensile strength owing to an advanced maturity of the magma source. Notable features of the Saddle Mountain shows include Phish debuts of "Gotta Jibboo, Sand, Will it go Round in Circles, and Heavy Things," the first west coast "Meatstick," the ambient space of "What's the Use" and a dark and down "I Saw it Again" that is worth checking out. All in all...not special to the average fan...but 9/11 is my birthday...so I was stoked to be at my favorite venue seeing my favorite band.

With the cessation of CRBG volcanism, the uplift of the Cascade volcanic arc located along the western boundary of the Columbia Plateau became the dominant geologic feature to be expressed in the region. As the mountains grew, they deformed the flows of the CRBG into a sequence of anticlines and synclines best seen in the Yakima Fold Belt as you approach the Gorge Amphitheater from points west. The snow capped peaks of the Cascades are a chain of strato-volcanoes generated by subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath North America. Their magma is more silica rich (read as lighter in weight), more volatile (read as gassy and bloated), and as a consequence more explosive for far shorter durations than the extensively voluminous and effusive eruptions of the CRBG that preceded. The post-hiatus return of Phish to the Gorge in 2003 contains many characteristics of the Cascade Orogeny...most notably its audible hues (a decent "Scents and Subtle Sounds") and the ICE COLD frosty snow capped peak (must hear "Seven Below" on the "Third Stone"). First time Phish performances during this visit included "Mock Song, Two Versions of Me, and Army of One." The pairing of "Ghost" and "David Bowie" to close the second set of night one was explosive but far too brief in duration. The deformational strain building within the band is evident in the music. "Seven Below" is a gleaming Alpine glacier minding its own business grinding inexorably down the slopes of a rugged volcano. Without warning the sleeping giant erupts into a searing hot pyroclastic flow. The heat of the gravity driven stone wind pulverizes and vaporizes the alpine glacier. The hot rocks and ice combine to generate a lahar that rumbles chaotically downslope into the surrounding river channels eroding everything in its path. The deluge unleashed by this unexpected outburst of volcanic Ready Mix foreshadowing the Ice Age torrents to come.

The Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs which followed the onset of Cascade deformation are characterized predominantly by thick layers of clay, silt, sand, and gravel that were transported to their depositional basins by both wind and water. The coarser grained sand and gravel were typically transported to lake basins by streams and rivers. The clay and silt were largely wind-blown deposits that ultimately blanketed the entire Columbia Plateau in a dusty upper layer of loess. The Pliocene and Pleistocene stage of the Gorge geology is clearly representative of the time Phish spent apart during their breakup. Not much was happening but the passage of time, the outfall of some dirt, and the settling of dust on top of some amazing rock outcrops. This would change fairly abruptly with a sequence of massive outburst floods from Glacial Lake Missoula. These floods would mark the end of the Pleistocene, the onset of the Holocene, and the return of Phish to the Gorge.

Glacial Lake Missoula was formed by ice-damming of the Clark Fork River by the Purcell Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. The impounded water behind the ice dam was up to 2,000 feet deep and had a volume equivalent to that of modern day Lake Michigan. As the Cordilleran Ice Sheet began to withdraw northward, the volume of the ice dam decreased to the point where the impounded water was able to lift the more buoyant ice dam. As the ice dam floated, cataclysmic torrents of water surged beneath the dam, escaped their basin en masse, and traversed the ancestral drainages of the Columbia Plateau. The floods rapidly scoured anastomosing channels through the layer of dusty loess. At depth they exploited the fractures between the columnar joints of the underlying CRBG flows and tore apart the underlying rock. The waters raced westward across the Columbia Plateau carving the magnificent landscape of the Channeled Scablands and Columbia Gorge, depositing ice rafted erratics, formed mega-ripple bars of sand and gravel, scouring the canyons, making both dry and wet falls, boulder fields, coulees, and potholes. Such then is the power and majesty of the 2009 and 2011 Phish shows at the Gorge. They scoured through the dust, exposing the fire-formed rock of an earlier age, and fashioned a magnificent new landscape that is comprised of some of the more durable features of all that came before. The 2009 torrent is best known for the spellbinding "Sneaking Sally in a Cavern," a tasty "Light," and the best batch of "Bathtub Gin" in the '09 vintage. The deluge that followed in 2011 was equally powerful, again carving new channels through the "Rock and Roll" scablands before ultimately bursting the dam and releasing a roiling mass of mellifluous tones that rent anything in its path asunder. The 8/6/11 show was astounding and well worth the trip I had made the day before from the shores of Glacial Lake Missoula. That show, above any other Gorge Phish show, really paints the picture of the entire Columbia Plateau as it now stands. Solid rock, a veneer of dust, and some amazing canyons, cliffs, channels, and peaks that when taken in as a complete entity makes you glad to be alive to have seen it.

Having safely arrived in the future past we must now forecast the likely coming events in the Columbia Plateau. Geologically speaking we are on the precipice of a time period that geologists are referring to as the Anthropocene or Age of Man. The mighty course of the Columbia River is hamstrung by dams. Nuclear waste from our weapons program is buried and slowly seeping into the Columbia at the nearby Hanford site. Groundwater in the Spokane Aquifer (deposited by the Missoula Floods) is being depleted at an alarming rate through irrigation in a largely arid zone. Our daily actions are leaving a mark that will be undoubtedly preserved in the fossil record. As we shit in our own bed, the forces or nature are continuing on in their natural cycles. Sooner or later another one of the Cascade volcanoes will erupt. Whether it is Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Baker or Mount Rainier...the Gorge is likely going to be downwind of the ash fall. Basin and Range extension that is pulling apart the desert southwest has extended northward into Oregon. Eventually this "Rift" will propagate into the Columbia Plateau. The Yellowstone Hotspot, long thought a possible source of the CRBG basalt plume is due to produce another caldera forming eruption. When it does tephra is sure to be deposited throughout the Pacific Northwest. Then there is the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This plate boundary is due to slip having built up strain for over 300 years. When it does, life to the west of the Cascades will never be the same. Perhaps rather than rebuild, the survivors will move east.

As we look forward to Phish at the Gorge 2013, we must also study the signs to see what may be in the offing for this time around. Side projects are abounding. Phish is working on a new album...reportedly writing in the studio as a foursome for the first time in a long time (if ever?). Keeping in mind that some of the "best" things Phish has done since returning from their breakup have been messing around at soundcheck, the four of them working together on producing new music may be the best possible outcome. Considering past Gorge shows have been the venue for the debut of new songs, we are almost assured of hearing a few of the works in progress. I for one am counting on being surprised. Just when I think I have them completely figured out...something new will appear. Just like the geology.

If this will be your first time at the Gorge...I extend you a hearty WELCOME!!! Since Phish no longer plays in Oregon, the Gorge Amphitheater is my "home" venue. Your experience will be unlike any other Phish show you have attended. By now you have probably worked out whether you are camping in Premier or braving Thunderdome. You may have a room or vineyard yurt reserved at the Cave B Inn. Perhaps you are "Glamping" on the Terrace, raging a riverside condo at Crescent Bar, making the daily drive from a motel in Ellensburg, or getting buck wild at the Wildhorse. One thing's for certain...you will be HOT...you will need lots of water and some way to sit in the shade during the merciless mid-afternoon sun. Pearl Jam played the Gorge on similar late July dates back in 2006. Daytime temperatures reached 114 degrees. I'm talking it was so hot Eddie Vedder had to wear shorts for the first time in over a decade. When pitching your tent, consider that you are allowed to drive your vehicle in and out. You may want or need to take a ride down to Vantage to soak in the icy waters of the mighty Columbia. Please remember when making the dusty death march back to the campground, mooing has never and will never be funny. Be prepared for a tortilla war down in the bowl. Watch out for the irrigation ditches in the dark. If you venture out into the corn fields...you may find Malachi. The night sky will be amazing and replete with rockets red glare after the show. The high desert can be chilly after dark so pack a hoodie. The sunsets will be hazy pastels of rose and gold. Be sure to stake down your tent...the topography and temperature inversions can induce some powerful dry air vortexes. Campground and venue security is on the whole pretty mellow. Considering that recreational cannabis use in now legal in the state of Washington, that may be even more the case now. Of course, both venue and campground are private property...the staff may have its own set of rules. However, based on reports from Sasquatch, the pall of smoke down in the bowl evoked images of a prairie fire. Beverages inside the venue are not cheap. The old Champs de Brionne winery building is occupied by a general store for any sundries you may need replenished or forgot to bring. Thunder Road usually extends in two or three spokes from the north side of the premier camping pie slice out into Thunderdome. If you come to the Gorge and fail to have a life changing experience...please consider a new hobby...you aren't doing this one right.

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