18 years ago today, I saw my first Phish show at MPP - the "Sabotage show" as many refer to it now. What a time!

THE TRAFFIC: I don't ever remember more brutal traffic driving into Colombia. Not sure what it was all about but, man, it took forever to get those last few miles to the venue.

THE SHOW: Just listen to it. Awesome stuff. Solid Wedge opener. Nasty Sally. Excellent Piper. Sweet Jane (really wish they would play it more often). Fishman singing Sexual Healing. And, of course, the energy bomb, Sabotage -- still never seen that much energy at a show since, Phish or otherwise. What a way to end a show. Everyone was FIRED UP exiting the venue (screaming and high fives everywhere). No one expected that kind of finish.

THE SECURITY: Pretty sure you had to be a bald redneck with a goattee to work this show. They were brutal, angry, and ready to kick some concert goer ass. Really sad. We watched a poor kid who had passed out get carried out by two mongrels...one carrying his feet, the other his head. Kid comes to as they are carrying him out of the gig...starts squirming...then these pricks drop him on his head (on concrete no less). I can still hear his head hitting the ground. Lots of people were screaming at these security guards afterwards. Just brutal.

The back of the lawn has a little wooden fence that you can sit on (not sure if it's still there, I haven't been back). If you hop the fence, you hit a steep hill that goes down to a sidewalk that traverses the rear of the venue (you can't see the stage at all if you are walking on this sidewalk). My buddy had a medical issue mid-set, so we parked on this hill while our friend sough help. Our view as we sat on the hill was directly toward the hurricane fence marking the rear of the venue. The bald, goatted security guards were patrolling this fence like robot sentinels. As the two guards made their way closer to the sides of the venue (away from us on the hill, near the middle of the sidewalk), a group of 8 or so wooks come running out of the forrest, jump onto the hurricane fence (must've been 10 feet high), scale it, run up the hill we are on, and then disappear into the crowd. Hysterical. The redneck guards didn't have the speed or strength to follow suit. I don't like gate crashers or endorse that conduct; however, the cheers from the fans at they watched the angry guard's helpless efforts to catch the gate crashers was great.

OVERRALL: Super fun show albeit really short (just over two hours). Lots of fun covers and originals -all well executed. This show changed it all for me. Highly recommend giving this one a listen. Still shines 18 years later! Listen all of y'all....!

-John

(Posted 18 years later on 8/8/2016)