SHARING THE SHOWS
Night two. After bopping around Ghirardelli Square during the day, I had to snooze for a bit. I’ve been hooked on this Netflix series GLOW, about female wrestlers in the 1980s. By the time my mini—binge watch (two episdoes) ended, it was about 7:00, and I had to get to the venue. Phish is known for starting the show 45 minutes or so after the start time mentioned on the ticket. Instead of walking, I took the BART. A pretty simple system, but the trains aren’t labeled (at least not at Montgomery Station), so that makes for a pretty interesting ride. I did make it to the neighborhood at 7:30, the ticket’s start time, but I needed sustenance. I don’t typically eat fast food, but time was of the essence, so I downed a double cheeseburger and some 4-piece chicken nuggets from Burger King (don’t judge me). When I got inside, the venue had moved the bar from the main floor. More room to dance, woo-hoo! The band started with “Roggae,” a mellow opener. “Tube” was groovy, and I always love “NICU.” The lyrics “back in those days when my life was a haze” always gets a loud ovation from the crowd, and for obvious reasons. “Runaway Jim” rocks and “Silent in the Morning” is a tear-inducer in my eyes. Now, a little tangent: I happened to glance at the “Addicted to Phish” Facebook page and saw people bitching about what they perceived at the show’s lameness. Seriously, folks? They’ve been entertaining us for 35 years now, and they experiment with different things every night. The show’s beginning was a little tame in comparison with others, but so what? Not all shows are going to be powerhouses, and you should be grateful you can actually stream it from your couch. You couldn’t do that 20 years ago, so kwitcherbitchin! Some of those folks complained too soon (IMO), because they went into a debut, “Keeping It Reel,” for which I had to move back a few spaces because I needed the room to dance! “Driver” is another chill one. “I Saw It Again” evokes horror movie images. “Ocelot” is an okay tune, not my fav, but a lot of folks love it. “Waking Up Dead” was next; a trippy one. I think I’m in the minority on this one, but I love it. “Backwards Down the Number Live” bops, and the first set closed with “More.” I can’t hear this song without thinking of the wonderful video done by filmmaker Kelly Morris, who also responded to my Composition II students when they asked her questions about the video. Once again, great job on both fronts, Kelly! Set 2 started with Trey Anstasio’s “Set Your Soul Free,” which I had never heard before. Yelling “woo!” during “Twist” is one of my top three favorite moments during a show. “Makisupa Policeman” is chill, and “Scents and Subtle Sounds” had a hell of a jam. I’m in the minority with “What’s the Use?” When they played that, I went to get water. During “The Wedge,” some drunk dude bumped into me, a pretty normal occurrence at a general admission show like this. HE then tapped me and said, “thank you for not giving a shit…” and then he said some other stuff in a slur I couldn’t quite comprehend, as he then gave me a hug. All I did was smile widely and go “yeahhh”and hug him back. After this was “Possum” during which another dude was jumping around and crashing into me. I swear, gen admission Phish shows are more hazardous than mosh pits. “Sorry, I’m high on sugar,” the dude yelled as he showed me his Peanut M&Ms. They encored with “Lizards,” which I had never seen at a show. After the show, I got an awesome hot dog from a street vendor. The kid in front of me got three. Those munchies will do it.
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April 2024
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