First thing's first, I should note that the headliner for this show was actually Jazz is Phish, and Reed Mathis was the opener. Because my recording of Jazz is Phish didn't turn out as well as the Reed Mathis recording, though, I'll just focus on the Reed Mathis set.
To be honest, I hadn't even heard of Reed Mathis before this show. I didn't know what to expect from his set, and I was pleasantly surprised. I liked his choice of covers, and his original song was good (certainly better than is to be expected from today's jambands). The lineup of bass, drums, and keyboards is something that appeals to me in general, and that's exactly the lineup here.
As alluded to above, I was recording the set. You can listen to the final product here. I think the recording came out well, in no small part thanks to Dane sharing his recording of the soundboard feed. As described in the link, I took my audience recording and mixed it with the soundboard feed to create the final product.
At the end of the day, this was a solid set of improvisational music and set the right tone for Jazz is Phish's sets (which were also good...take a listen to your choice of recordings here).
Friday, February 2, 2018
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
My first Phish show
Though I sometimes wish I'd started seeing Phish earlier, I don't know how reasonable that is considering the first time I saw them I wasn't even old enough to drive (legally, at least). On August 7, 1993, I was just over four months away from my 16th birthday. Luckily I didn't need to drive that day, as I was able to get a ride with a couple guys (whose names I don't remember). I don't really remember anything about the drive or the parking lot scene. That was nearly 25 years ago, and my memory isn't the best. A couple parts of the show itself, however, are still rattling around in my head.
That first Phish show was only my second concert of any kind. The first was the Grateful Dead at Rich Stadium on June 13, 1993. (It's been quite a while since I listened to that show. I should probably rectify that soon.) I remember thinking that the Dead show would be some four-hour affair like I'd read about them doing in the past, but in reality they had long since left those freewheeling ways behind. I don't remember if I had any preconceived notions of what the Phish show would entail, and if I did I certainly don't remember what they were.
Two things in particular stand out in my memory about my first Phish show. The first is Page's solo during Maze. I remember the lights combined with his solo really grabbing me, and for whatever reason that moment has stuck with me as the moment that I really got into Phish. (I'd certainly listened to them before the show, and enjoyed what I heard. I had a copy of A Picture of Nectar that I believe came to me via an art teacher at my school, Mr. Day. He knew I was into the Dead and recommended I check out Phish. I don't remember if I had heard any live recordings of Phish before my first show.)
The second thing from that first show that really stands out in my mind is the encore. When the band left the stage at the end of the second set, the guys I was with wanted to head for the car to beat traffic. I was reluctant and held them up as much as I could. The first song of the encore was a song that I vaguely recognized as being some sort of old timey traditional number. (Unlike the Soggy Bottom Boys, I was not steeped in old timey.) I think that as the band made their way through the song, we were still moving across the lawn and towards the exit. When the second song of the encore began, though, I stopped in my tracks and refused to leave. I instantly recognized the song from my lifetime of listening to classic rock radio. It was a song I'd always liked, and I would have never guessed that Phish would cover the song. It was the ZZ Top classic, "La Grange."
I'm not going to say that Phish did the song better than ZZ Top could, but it was still a solid cover and a great end to what I would later learn was one of the better shows of August, 1993 (a month that had enough solid shows to stand among the band's best periods of live performances).
I wish I could say that, at the time, I was fully able to appreciate the Mike's Song > Kung > Mike's Song. I wish I could say that I appreciated any of that first show the way I would now if I could hear it again for the first time. What I can say is that I had a great time and that this show was the beginning of a big part of my life. Since then I've seen Phish around 50 times, and spent countless hours listening to them. I'm listening to 8/7/93 as I type this.
The hardest part is that while I will hopefully see Phish live again, I'll never see August '93 Phish live again.
That first Phish show was only my second concert of any kind. The first was the Grateful Dead at Rich Stadium on June 13, 1993. (It's been quite a while since I listened to that show. I should probably rectify that soon.) I remember thinking that the Dead show would be some four-hour affair like I'd read about them doing in the past, but in reality they had long since left those freewheeling ways behind. I don't remember if I had any preconceived notions of what the Phish show would entail, and if I did I certainly don't remember what they were.
Two things in particular stand out in my memory about my first Phish show. The first is Page's solo during Maze. I remember the lights combined with his solo really grabbing me, and for whatever reason that moment has stuck with me as the moment that I really got into Phish. (I'd certainly listened to them before the show, and enjoyed what I heard. I had a copy of A Picture of Nectar that I believe came to me via an art teacher at my school, Mr. Day. He knew I was into the Dead and recommended I check out Phish. I don't remember if I had heard any live recordings of Phish before my first show.)
The second thing from that first show that really stands out in my mind is the encore. When the band left the stage at the end of the second set, the guys I was with wanted to head for the car to beat traffic. I was reluctant and held them up as much as I could. The first song of the encore was a song that I vaguely recognized as being some sort of old timey traditional number. (Unlike the Soggy Bottom Boys, I was not steeped in old timey.) I think that as the band made their way through the song, we were still moving across the lawn and towards the exit. When the second song of the encore began, though, I stopped in my tracks and refused to leave. I instantly recognized the song from my lifetime of listening to classic rock radio. It was a song I'd always liked, and I would have never guessed that Phish would cover the song. It was the ZZ Top classic, "La Grange."
I'm not going to say that Phish did the song better than ZZ Top could, but it was still a solid cover and a great end to what I would later learn was one of the better shows of August, 1993 (a month that had enough solid shows to stand among the band's best periods of live performances).
I wish I could say that, at the time, I was fully able to appreciate the Mike's Song > Kung > Mike's Song. I wish I could say that I appreciated any of that first show the way I would now if I could hear it again for the first time. What I can say is that I had a great time and that this show was the beginning of a big part of my life. Since then I've seen Phish around 50 times, and spent countless hours listening to them. I'm listening to 8/7/93 as I type this.
The hardest part is that while I will hopefully see Phish live again, I'll never see August '93 Phish live again.
New York City
Note: I forgot I even had this blog until today (January 16, 2018). The following is a draft from more than six years ago, when I apparently lost interest in the blog:
KY to VA: 531 miles
VA to NYC: 264 miles (conservative estimate)
KY to VA: 531 miles
VA to NYC: 264 miles (conservative estimate)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
An overdue update
Location: Billings, MT
Local time: 7:11 pm
I left Vermont on June 22 and headed back to Rochester for the last hurrah in Upstate New York. After spending some time with family I headed to Marcellus, and then to Ithaca on June 25 for a good friend’s quasi wedding. Instead of getting married, he and his partner had a commitment ceremony that incorporated a lot of elements from various traditions. Their reasoning was that as long as gays are not allowed to marry, they wouldn’t either. I think that’s a pretty awesome stance to take. After camping in Ithaca that night I returned to Marcellus on the 26th to pick up Arrow and leave New York. Between the time I left Vermont and when I was ready to leave Marcellus I clocked another 485 miles.
On the night of the 26th I stayed in Manassas, Virginia, again. This time I stayed only one night and didn’t do any sightseeing. I did score myself a free copy of Dan Fisk’s new album though. It’s good to be the king. On the 27th I got to Cleveland, Ohio, and stayed there for a couple nights. Marcellus to Cleveland added another 794 miles to the odometer.
I went from Cleveland to Lexington, Kentucky, to stay with my mom for a bit. I ended up staying in Kentucky until July 5. Add 343 more miles to the tally.
My plan when I left Kentucky was to go as far as Columbia, Missouri, and stay the night there. I found myself in Columbia around 3 pm and with no success finding a place to stay so I decided to just keep going and see where I ended up. I planned to keep going west until Kansas City, and then take 29 north to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I’d turn west again to go to Montana. It turned out that a stretch of 29 was closed because of flooding so after some twists and turns through rural Missouri and Iowa I called it a day when I got to Council Bluffs, Iowa. I was exhausted from driving and the thought of sleeping in a bed was too tempting. That’s how I ended up staying the night at the Motel 6. I have never smelled meth before, but I imagine it smells like that Motel 6. I was tired enough that I just crashed and got a good night’s sleep in spite of the questionable odors.
The next day, July 6, brought me to Sundance, Wyoming. Instead of going north on 29 I decided to cut across Nebraska. I looked at the map a bit and ended up taking 275 northwest through Nebraska until I got to 83 which took me north into South Dakota. I have seen some storms in my day, and rain strong enough to nearly bring traffic to a halt, but I have never driven through a storm like the one that hit me on 83 in South Dakota. The wind and rain were unreal. It was nearly impossible to see anything, and I thought the car might get blown and/or washed off the road. I pulled into the parking lot of some sketchy little casino in the middle of nowhere and waited out the rest of the storm. After that it was smooth sailing on 90 to Sundance.
I stayed the night with friends in Sundance and then went to Devils Tower on the morning of July 7. I have wanted to see Devils Tower for a while, and I was not disappointed. The only negative part of it was that I couldn’t hike up to the base because they don’t allow dogs on the trails. We were able to get close enough, though, so I was happy with the stop. From there I drove to Billings, Montana. The whole Lexington to Billings trip was 1,760 miles.
We walked around downtown Billings a little bit and I was not very impressed. It seems like a nice enough town but I wouldn’t want to live here. I am looking forward to Missoula tomorrow. After a couple days in Missoula we will go to Bozeman for a night or so, and then it will be time to head back to Denver. There are definitely other parts of the country I would still like to see, and some I have seen that I’d love to spend more time in, but I am getting tired of all the driving. Also I have figured out a plan for how I want to move forward with working, and I’m kind of excited to get that in motion. I am of course nervous about finding a job when I get back to Denver, but I don’t want to worry about that too much now. I am going to enjoy these last handful of days and then get to the next step in the process. I don’t intend this to be the last road trip I ever take, so the other places I still want to see will just have to wait.
This was in the campground we stayed at outside of Billings.
Total miles to date: 6,955.1 (Something seems fishy about this total. I will need to go through and double-check everything at some point.)
Local time: 7:11 pm
I left Vermont on June 22 and headed back to Rochester for the last hurrah in Upstate New York. After spending some time with family I headed to Marcellus, and then to Ithaca on June 25 for a good friend’s quasi wedding. Instead of getting married, he and his partner had a commitment ceremony that incorporated a lot of elements from various traditions. Their reasoning was that as long as gays are not allowed to marry, they wouldn’t either. I think that’s a pretty awesome stance to take. After camping in Ithaca that night I returned to Marcellus on the 26th to pick up Arrow and leave New York. Between the time I left Vermont and when I was ready to leave Marcellus I clocked another 485 miles.
On the night of the 26th I stayed in Manassas, Virginia, again. This time I stayed only one night and didn’t do any sightseeing. I did score myself a free copy of Dan Fisk’s new album though. It’s good to be the king. On the 27th I got to Cleveland, Ohio, and stayed there for a couple nights. Marcellus to Cleveland added another 794 miles to the odometer.
I went from Cleveland to Lexington, Kentucky, to stay with my mom for a bit. I ended up staying in Kentucky until July 5. Add 343 more miles to the tally.
My plan when I left Kentucky was to go as far as Columbia, Missouri, and stay the night there. I found myself in Columbia around 3 pm and with no success finding a place to stay so I decided to just keep going and see where I ended up. I planned to keep going west until Kansas City, and then take 29 north to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I’d turn west again to go to Montana. It turned out that a stretch of 29 was closed because of flooding so after some twists and turns through rural Missouri and Iowa I called it a day when I got to Council Bluffs, Iowa. I was exhausted from driving and the thought of sleeping in a bed was too tempting. That’s how I ended up staying the night at the Motel 6. I have never smelled meth before, but I imagine it smells like that Motel 6. I was tired enough that I just crashed and got a good night’s sleep in spite of the questionable odors.
The next day, July 6, brought me to Sundance, Wyoming. Instead of going north on 29 I decided to cut across Nebraska. I looked at the map a bit and ended up taking 275 northwest through Nebraska until I got to 83 which took me north into South Dakota. I have seen some storms in my day, and rain strong enough to nearly bring traffic to a halt, but I have never driven through a storm like the one that hit me on 83 in South Dakota. The wind and rain were unreal. It was nearly impossible to see anything, and I thought the car might get blown and/or washed off the road. I pulled into the parking lot of some sketchy little casino in the middle of nowhere and waited out the rest of the storm. After that it was smooth sailing on 90 to Sundance.
I stayed the night with friends in Sundance and then went to Devils Tower on the morning of July 7. I have wanted to see Devils Tower for a while, and I was not disappointed. The only negative part of it was that I couldn’t hike up to the base because they don’t allow dogs on the trails. We were able to get close enough, though, so I was happy with the stop. From there I drove to Billings, Montana. The whole Lexington to Billings trip was 1,760 miles.
We walked around downtown Billings a little bit and I was not very impressed. It seems like a nice enough town but I wouldn’t want to live here. I am looking forward to Missoula tomorrow. After a couple days in Missoula we will go to Bozeman for a night or so, and then it will be time to head back to Denver. There are definitely other parts of the country I would still like to see, and some I have seen that I’d love to spend more time in, but I am getting tired of all the driving. Also I have figured out a plan for how I want to move forward with working, and I’m kind of excited to get that in motion. I am of course nervous about finding a job when I get back to Denver, but I don’t want to worry about that too much now. I am going to enjoy these last handful of days and then get to the next step in the process. I don’t intend this to be the last road trip I ever take, so the other places I still want to see will just have to wait.
This was in the campground we stayed at outside of Billings.
Total miles to date: 6,955.1 (Something seems fishy about this total. I will need to go through and double-check everything at some point.)
Friday, June 24, 2011
Jingle bells
For a while now I've thought about how jingle bells seem to make such a good, and unlikely, contribution to hip hop songs. Some examples:
Fun fact: Both of those songs sample Average White Band's "Schoolboy Crush."
Good stuff. Real talk.
Fun fact: Both of those songs sample Average White Band's "Schoolboy Crush."
Good stuff. Real talk.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Vermont
Location: Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont (N 43° 15.302' W 072° 53.703' elevation: 1,659 feet)
Local time: 7 pm
Today's drive took me west through northern New Hampshire and into Vermont. From what I've seen, Vermont and New Hampshire are beautiful. Once in Vermont I went south along the border and then turned west again into Rutland. I stopped in Rutland for a bit to get something to eat and find an internet connection. The visit to Rutland was a success on both accounts. Maybe it was just luck or some different attitude on my part, but I found the people I came across in Rutland to be very friendly. Naturally Arrow attracted the most attention.
I've gotten a lot of reading done in the last couple days. I'm now more than halfway through Game of Thrones. I also listened to all the Joe Rogan podcasts I had stored. Even though Brian Redban is annoying the podcasts were pretty good overall. When you get right down to it, though, it's just some guys getting together and talking. Many times I found myself thinking, “hey, I wouldn't mind doing one of my own.” Something to marinate on.
June 21 miles: 204
Total miles to date: 3,573.1
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Massachusetts and New Hampshire
Location: White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire (N 44° 20.009' W 071° 13.024' elevation: 1,305 feet)
Local time: 7:15 pm
I traveled from Newburyport, MA, today and will be spending the next couple nights here camping with Arrow. I stayed in Newburyport this weekend with a good friend from college and his wife (and their dog). Newburyport is a picture-perfect New England town, and it was a good weekend. Driving up here there were a lot of bikers going south from some kind of bike rally in New Hampshire (I think the name of the town is Laconia or something like that). I would Google it but the White Mountain National Forest is sorely lacking in the wireless internet department. The next couple days here will hopefully be relaxing and give me plenty of time to catch up on reading.
Miles traveled while in Upstate New York, and to Newburyport: 894
June 19 miles: 129
Total miles to date: 3,369.1
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