had traveled clear across Europe to
see Phish, then
drove with Mike over
6,500 miles throughout
the midwest, catching 13 Phish
shows in 20 days. Then I borrow the family car to drive to the Lemonwheel
in the northernmost point in the continental US. Estimated travel time
from New York City to Limestone, Maine? 880 minutes. With no traffic.
Mike skipped The
Wheel after being disappointed with both The Ball and
The
Went. My brother
Jordan,
back from a summer successfully studying for the California Bar Exam, and
my girlfriend
Beth,
straight off the plane from San Diego, joined me instead. United with about
69,997 other Phishheads, we converted an abandoned air force base into
the largest metropolis in the state of Maine -- for the second year in
a row.
|
Maine is so cool. The entire state revolved around Phish
for four days, and the natives treated us kindly. After clearing out every
store in a 200 mile radius the year before, Maine prepared for Phish's
arrival with welcome signs and fully-stocked shelves. They sold everything.
I skipped Vernon Downs to rest up for The Wheel and replenish my poster
supplies. After dodging venue security for three weeks (and nearly getting
arrested at the previous show in Pittsburgh), the chill attitude of a Maine
campground was a welcome relief.
They don't call it Vacationland for nothing. |
 |
|
Phish's third annual end-of-tour weekend festival proved
to be my favorite. And for so many reasons. It was better musically, the
venue was better adapted to the chaos that a Phish carnival brings, and
there were just tons of little experiences that added up to a wonderful
time.
To the left, my brother holds a cardboard display of my poster while
I let the wind blow over my face. Photo by Beth
Cornwell. |
The music over the weekend was phenomenal. The first of the six sick sets
was a 12-song Mike's
Groove that included a Split Open and Melt, a Divided Sky and a Funky
Bitch which morphed into Cities. Trey sang alternate lyrics to the Talking
Heads classic remarking on "The Garden of Infinite Pleasantries" that the
city of The Lemonwheel offered.
The first night closed with an unbelievable fourth set, a purely instrumental
hour-long set of ambiance. Playing without stage lights, Phish used candles
made by fans throughout the day to light the stage. Because candles were
placed around the stage, Trey explained that they were in fact playing
in a "temple of fire" as the advertisements for summer tour shows had claimed.
Exhausted, I laid down and fell asleep immediately with my head in Beth's
lap. I awoke feeling revitalized and with an indescribable sense of peacefulness.
Below, Earth and Sky demonstrate their devotion to Phish in the form
of rocks and clouds
Everything about the weekend was incredible. The traffic was not nearly
as bad as it was for The
Went, and I had much cooler neighbors this time. And, with a lot of
help from my friends, I sold nearly as many posters as during the rest
of the summer tour.
There were some strange happenings during the carnival. Only Phish
could choreograph such stuff and get away with it.
Sunday was a waking dream. After Phish's performance the night before (they
began around 4:30 p.m. and ended nine hours later) and scenes like the
two above, reality hardly seemed real. Especially in a city of 70,000 that
made Amsterdam look tame in terms of unabridged freedom.
As for the Sunday show, it rocked. Fishman covered Sexual Healing in
a set with Piper, Antelope and Down with Disease. The third set opened
with the Beastie Boys' Sabotage (Beth
was psyched) which turned into the theme to 2001 and then Wilson. The tour
ended with a Harry Hood (complete with glowstick war, naturally), followed
by The Baby Elephant Walk, a Henry Mancini cover last played on 12/1/92.
A Giant elephant-shaped structure near the stage came to life, blew smoke
out its trunk and lead the elated crowd out to the campground. Ah, Phish.
On Monday morning we sold the remnants of our posters. Below,
Jordan sells to
a couple in a VW Bus.
|
US Summer Tour
1998
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Images of The Lemonwheel
Next show in Las Vegas,
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