i'm not going to try and review big cypress, i don't have the bandwidth for such a major undertaking, but i thought i would share my thoughts on some highlights, as others have done.

day set: great set. it was a laid back vibe, with everyone enjoying themselves and not taking things too hard. we stood near the back of the field, near a relay tower and had great sound and plenty of space. the melt>catapult was SICK, but the highlight of the day, if not the entire weekend, was the after midnight. you can hear it on the tapes, but to be there and feel the shockwave of energy that swept through the crowd once everyone realized what song they were playing, was one of the most magical experiences i have had with this band. you have to remember, we knew they were playing one long set all night, but we really didn't understand how it would work in practice. after midnight was the statement that we needed from the band that it was going to be ON.

we had all planned to nap after the first set, but we were all WAY too hyped up from the after midnight to sleep.

the midnight set was just amazing. so surreal in moments (the sunrise during roses, the band just walking off the stage at the end of the set) and so intense at others (after midnight tease in drowned, all of rock and roll, a 4am bowie). but my favorite moment was the hood tease before 2001. needless to say at this point we were all, uh, dazed, you might call it. but even in that state, once fishman hit the drums the entire crowd seemed to stop for a second and say "wait, didn't they already play hood this weekend? did they forget? are we misremembering? do we even care?". it was another great moment to experience in the middle of all that madness. it was phish being phish.

the walk back to our campsite was another thing. no one was talking. it was silence from 80,000 people. no one could quite understand what had just gone on for the previous 7 hours. people passed out everywhere, some sitting in chairs some under blankets. and the wordless crowd filed out calmly, everyone blissed out in their own special way. we got back to the campsite and decided the only sensible thing to do was make screwdrivers. we sat there, drank our drinks, and laughed for what seemed like hours trying to put into words what had just happened. one of those magical times.