I just re-listened to this run again. Sure can't believe it's about to be exactly 20 years since this night. I caught the whole run starting in Vegas, missing the Guy Forget show, like an idiot. The whole run, the closer it got to this night, you had this feeling with every song, that this might be the last one ever. It was sad, but exciting, and it added this extra-ness to everything. By the time it got to Shoreline, things got more serious, as every song was definitely the last one for a long time, if not forever.

About that, I was pretty confident that the band was clear that they were taking a hiatus, which implied an end to the hiatus. So I didn't think this was the end, most likely, but we also had no idea how long that hiatus would be. Years? Many years? And of course, you just never know. So it got serious, even for optimists like me. It got most heartbreaking and sweet in the Cities and the Simple from night one, which are just beautiful and so sad. Night one I probably listen to more.

I was up on the lawn with maybe ten friends, rollicking pretty hard on all sorts of supplements, as you did in 2000. The memory is clear, though, it was an emotional night. You can hear in the audience tapes, which I also recommend, that with each song, the crowd gets excited, like always, and then deflates as we all realize, oh shit, this is maybe the last ever [song]. It was rough, and hard to have a good time. Not horrendous, though, like Coventry, which was just terrible. This night was bittersweet and beautiful. It just seemed so strange that they would break up when they were clearly at the height of their powers. That's the thing, it was sad, but man, they could rage so hard during this time. It did feel strange that Trey didn't say anything at the end. The crowd ovation to the crew was something special, even from up on the lawn.

I'd say it's important to listen to if you're interested in the history, but the earlier parts of this week have a lot less emotional baggage, and will knock your teeth out, 2000 style.