August 4, 5, 6, 7,  1996

I was back from Europe for barely a week before I headed off to Colorado for my first time. My brother had just finished his first year at law school in Boulder, and this was my only chance to see him all summer. And the opportunity to see Phish at the most beautiful venue in the country was too irresistible to pass up. The Allman Brothers played Red Rocks the night before Phish's four-night stand, so it was five straight nights at the magnificent Red Rocks Amphitheater.

The entire trip is a foggy blur. I remember meeting up with Sam and Mike at the Allman Brothers show, with Sam trying to sell "The North Phish" stickers. The Allmans played a standard great show, with a St. Stephen jam mixed in. Me, Mike, Sam, Brett and his girlfriend Sarah shared a hotel room in Golden, eight miles from Morrison. Each day at the hotel posed a new challenge -- how to get to and from Red Rocks.  We had all flown to Colorado and at 19, I was the oldest one of the bunch and still too young to rent a car. Red Rocks is not a good place to go to without a car.

Before each show, we would catch a cab and take it as far as it would go up the mountain where Red Rocks is situated. I can't really recall how we got home each night, although I do remember that on the night of the riot in Morrison we walked along the highway for at least  two miles before being picked up by a kind stranger with a big car.
 

Both photos below courtesy Sean Reynolds

Despite the hassles of the commute, Phish made it worth our while. Coming out in the bright Colorado sunshine, Phish performed some stellar shows. The run kicked off perfectly with Chalkdust, Funky Bitch and Guyute (which was still ultra-rare). Sam got his first Fee to follow (one of our first favorite songs) and we got styled with a Sloth, an AC/DC, a Loving Cup, and a Page theremin solo (to the theme of Star Trek) in the encore.

A natural amphitheater carved out of enormous rocks, Red Rocks has great sound, general admission seating, and an unmistakable, magical aura. Huge wedge-shaped monolithd stick out on both sides of the seats, prompting Phish to play Wedge in '94 and also in '95. Playing smack in the middle of the "Great Divide" didn't hurt either. But I would have to wait until Limestone, Maine for my first Wedge, also very appropriate.
 

Roaming the lots before the second show, I ran into Andy and Larry and the rest of the Pharmer's Almanac boys. We drank a few beers in the hot sun and reflected on how lucky we were to be there. I bought an incredible Mike's Song T-shirt and wore it that night, certain the Mike's was destined for another night. Alas, it followed the acoustic mini-stage (below).  I remember clearly an intense thunderstorm during the third night, prompting Phish to play Prince's Purple Rain. This after Trey ran circles on stage under bolts of lightning, with Fish asking, "Why do I want to kill you?" If you listen to the tape from that night, you can actually hear the thunderclaps, adding intensity to the Harry Hood that followed Purple Rain.

The Harry Hood from that Red Rocks run was the first to introduce the fan interaction of screaming "Hood!" in the chorus. Props to whoever came up with that idea and passed out flyers to promote it. Someone also tried to get the Destiny chant going, and I sadly informed him it wouldn't work.  An incredible marshmallow fight occurred during the set break and proved nearly as much fun as the show itself. Someone had apparently smuggled in tons of bags and tossed them around the venue. Within seconds, hundreds of innocuous white blobs were flying through the sky, creating a marvelous effect. To all you glowstick-haters out there, buy marshmallows! They bounce of your nose and you can only laugh.

For the Red Rocks finale on Sam's 17th birthday, Sam wore a Punch You In The Eye shirt to commemorate his favorite song, and Phish granted him his wish as the opener. Tim O'Brien joined Phish for a few songs on mandolin while they played a bunch of odd traditionals. A Forbin's Narration was fun, and David Bowies Life on Mars was fitting as we had just discovered a rock from Mars that may have had life. Fishman sang Big Black Furry Creature From Mars the night before, so perhaps he's psychic as well as psycho. The monumental run ended with an odd Bouncin, Golgi encore which bummed a lot of people out. Not me, though. I was still giddy from the Dinner and a Movie in the first set.

By the end of the stand, everybody knew Phish would never return to Red Rocks. With a 9,100 capacity, they had outgrown it in their 13th year -- just as The Dead did in 1978. Help preserve Red Rocks!

For my first time visiting Colorado, I didn't see much of it beyond the eight-mile stretch of highway between our hotel and the Red Rocks Amphitheater. But I did get to spend a day in Boulder before heading to Golden, and besides, that wouldn't be my last adventure in Colorado. Only next time, I'd have a car.