| We left Friday afternoon for the second of two shows in Holmdel, New
Jersey, en route to Oswego, New York. While waiting on Broadway and 19th
for Doro and Alex,
I snapped the picture of Beth
and her sister Chrissy below. Doro
and Alex are the two younger siblings of my tour buddies Max
and Sam -- both missing
Oswego due to job constraints -- and together with Adam's
sister Alison, this fine weekend in July was a true Phish family event.
I had a blast with the Jersey girls at the Jersey shows, dancing my tail to the tune of The Boss's Born to Run. Finding fireflies in the pavilion on my 5th anniversary show on July 15th, Jersey treated my kindly. "Counting the cars on the New Jersey turnpike," sang Paul Simon on the ride north as Adam handed me my first New Jersey quarter. Jersey redeemed. |
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| We drove 300 miles overnight from the 7/16 PNC show in Holmdel, NJ
to Oswego, NY. Caravaning behind Adam,
I drove the parents' car while the "kids" slept in the back. It was a tough
drive, with awful traffic and a merciless sun greeting us early on Saturday
morning. Within miles of the venue, I fell asleep every time traffic stopped
and woke up only long enough to pull up to the next car and fall back asleep.
This pattern continued for the four hours it took to get parked.
The restless drive took a lot out of us, and at one point we even wondered aloud if Phish was worth the hassle. The Tube opener later that night answered that question. |
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| It was soooo hot. With no shade whatsoever, Adam used his M.I.T. engineering skills to craft a makeshift shelter using sticks and twigs. On the left, Adam seeks liquid while his sister Alison and girlfriend Carmen stay cool under the tarp. On the right, Beth seeks liquid while Adam takes a midday nap. Both shots were taken from my bed, part of our four-tent complex. Notice the branches sparing our lives. |
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| We danced all night on Saturday, proving that even with no energy and
on no sleep, Phish can still make you groove.
Then we slept very hard. |
| Waking up in a hot tent is never fun, but we made the most of it. We
sat like lumps in our shade, sparking the glass and dumping our heads in
the cooler every 30 seconds. Mostly though, I watched the scene.
I'm the only one of my friends who made it to each of the four major summer events: The Clifford Ball, The Great Went, The Lemonwheel, and now Oswego. I love it. I love every second of it. Even at 99 degrees, I still cruised the scene with permagrin. I was content to wander the crowd and simply people watch. At right, a man named Cavin walked in stilts that made him 10 feet tall. I taught him the Meatstick Dance and told him to lead the choreography. Standard Oswego circus. The first two sets were unspectacular (except maybe for a rare reggae Have Mercy), but I invented a great game to keep my interest. I followed a beach ball as it bounced around the audience, grooving my way through rows of dancing, smiling strangers. A personal big ball jam, if you will. Making the ultimate sacrifice for work, I left Oswego after the second set, one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. Alas, we made it out in no time and I was in bed by 4:20. Seeing the setlist Monday morning was tough, but word was that Trey was drunk and perhaps not his best. Until next time... |
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| "It seems to me the whole reason Woodstock '99 failed was because
of the kids. Kids from all over came to Rome and had no sense of authority,
and did not care about any but themselves. The promoters should be held
to be blame, but also the irresponsible people who attended. It seems a
strange contradiction. The week before Woodstock '99, 120,000 people gathered
in Oswego New York to see the rock band 'Phish'. The event was in
more cramped quarters, and was just as hot, and to my understanding no
major problems were reported. Maybe if people behaved like they did at
the Phish event this wouldn't have happened."
-Gov. George Pataki Governor of New York |