A review of my first show:
I don’t typically start conversations. If I intend to do so, the words are seated in my brain’s lobby waiting to be said. The moment is there and will pass at any instant yet I stand there and ponder my position in this crowd. As these much older and experienced faces gather on the floor of the Moody Center, I look at myself and realize that I am an outlier. A lot of 18 year old Mexican Americans don’t listen to Phish, let alone know of their existence. But here I was feeling like an oddity in a crowd of predominantly caucasian adults. How was I gonna fit in here? It was only a matter of time before I found out how. I take my attention to a long-haired bearded man and manage to let out “I’m a bit nervous”. The man asks why and I follow up by saying the four magic words that make you go from “average joe” to “special”: “It’s my first show”. Immediately, I’m met with an enthusiastic reaction and a load of words that range from “Welcome” to “You’re gonna have a great time”. I guess these pre-show interactions helped me let off those jitters, but still I waited and waited until the lights came down and a roar filled the longhorn’s cauldron. It was showtime. Just as Trey and the gang took to the stage, the same man from earlier pats me on the back and says “Enjoy your first show”. The smiles and cheers all lined the rows as I first caught sight of all four of my musical heroes. I really had made it to this point and things were about to go down, but what would be played first? More than likely, it was going to be a song that I would instantly recognize having heard it lots of times throughout Classic Phish and Current Phish alike. But then to my surprise, the first drops of sound fell and it took me longer than 20 seconds to decipher what it was. I thought about the key and the BPM and I finally landed on Crowd Control; a rarely played tune from Undermind that is also the name of a fan hosted program on SiriusXM Phish Radio. My first response was to move my body and share in the groove because I guess getting this as my first ever live Phish song was something to be happy about. I was satisfied with my first serving and I eagerly awaited what else this band had in store. That’s when the first notes of Mike’s Song rang out and HOLY SHITTTRAPPEDINTIEMANDIDONTKNOWHAHHHHHHH!!!!! During the rest of the set, I experienced a community so vibrant yet kind of fucked up at the same time. Fucked up in a way that I was able to get by because the joy overshadowed the drinks, marijuana and mysterious small bags of “nose candy”. They all danced and related to my excitement at getting some of my favorite Phish songs (Taste, Divided Sky, their cover of Cities, Weekapaug). Heck, I was even given another bustout with Daniel Saw The Stone, last played at the Baker’s Dozen in 2017. Needless to say, I had become comfortable with the Phish crowd and I resorted to aimlessly walking through the arena having been mind blown. I quickly grabbed a bottle of water and a box of Reese’s Pieces as I made my way back to the floor ready to take on whatever was coming. Set 2 has always been what makes Phish the very best of the best. Whether Set 1 hit or missed, Set 2 was there to guarantee that there would be something more to talk about at the end of the night. Lucky for me, Set 1 was already hot, so Set 2 was where the fire was about to burn brighter. The band came back on stage and began No Men In No Man’s Land. I’m not exactly the biggest fan of this song but that opinion quickly goes out the window once the jam comes along.
I believe that that was a major theme of this set: Phish songs that I don’t usually care for that happened to prove me wrong in just 90 minutes. The No Men’s jam, while shorter, was my first taste at this kind of euphoria that I can’t describe. Trey was approaching a peak in the jam where my jaw began to drop and a rush entered my system. I’m gonna call it the Drew Carey feeling. I don’t have to tell you what that means because you can look it up for yourself, but yeah, it was good. To make the moment even more special, a group of two fans put their hands on my shoulders just as Trey closed in on the mountaintop. They were like guardian angels showing me to the other side where the face of God appeared to me. In response, I let out the only thing I could think of: “YEAHHHHHH TREYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!”. I’d like to take a moment now to recognize the random guy that yells out that exact phrase during the Digital Delay Loop Jam on 12/31/95. He is my muse and inspiration to how I react to seeing Trey Anastasio in person and several feet away from me. The show then transitioned into the two twin towers of the night: Fuego and Golden Age which stacked together for a whopping 50 minutes of music. For that entirety, there was never a beat that missed. It was a complete rollercoaster ride going up and down between keys, speeds and moods. Perhaps the greatest moment came during a segment in Golden Age where the band slowed down and held a steady groove. It sounded like a death march was unfolding before my very eyes and I stopped and took it in the sight and sounds happening. Somewhere deep down, my heart, limbs and head took a breather. Things stayed like this for a few minutes, until out of nowhere, the band accelerated into a frenzy. There was that feeling again as thousands of fans jumped for joy and followed the band into another peak. The words “love don’t you falter” had never rang so true. I was now a witness to two back to back Phish jams that were both longer than 20 minutes (Fuego (23) and Golden Age (26)). For a fan during the band’s heyday, something like that was possible but incredibly rare. Yet here I was standing and getting that treatment one show into my career. From that point on, nothing could stop the significance and power of the night. After some well-received banter where Trey acknowledged his Texan roots, the band launched into a number of familiar hits. The Squirming Coil gave Page some time to shine although there was commotion in the crowd due to a drunk passing out and being escorted. Sand followed with a short-sized but strong jam that felt great to dance to, and then finally, being able to cry out the chorus of Character Zero was a big deal for me. With that, the second set was over and I was in a rush of emotion. I didn’t want the feeling to end even though I knew I had a second night after this one. Deep down though, I knew that this first night was going to be more special in the end. These thoughts run like a river through head to toe as these fans ask me what I think the encore would be. My only suggestion was the explosive First Tube as Phish had not played it during the tour yet and I knew that it was bound to appear. And what do you know! They get through A Life Beyond The Dream and then there it is. We jump around, laugh, smile and Trey sends us home with his guitar in the air. I stand as a witness to glory. The first thing I did afterwards: I ate dinner at Denny’s.

That was how it went.
Phil