Going Alone
If you find yourself with a ticket to a show this summer, but nobody to go with, just go, because who knows what could happen.
I’ve only arrived to one Phish show alone—11.17.97—and it fundamentally changed the course of my life. I graduated in Spring ’97 and come Fall, my closest show-going cohorts of ’95 and ’96 were off doing other things. Thus, Fall ’97 represented a transition in my Phish life. I planned to do different parts of the tour with different friends, and I was planning on going to the Denver shows with my non-Phish buddy, Leaguer. After a particularly hectic first night, suffice it to say, he had no desire to go back to the circus. Thus, I brewed up some mushroom tea at his Boulder apartment, put it in a Nalgene bottle for the show and headed down to Denver on my own.
I had a floor ticket for the evening, but when I went to my seat, I noticed plenty open up ahead. I walked up a section or two and found an aisle seat, asked if it was taken and sat down. As is usually the case, these guys told me they weren’t in their seats either, but I was welcome to stay there. We talked before the show for a while, officially meeting each other. Then the lights dropped and the infamous first set started with “Tweezer.” Taking gargantuan Phish jams to the dome one after another, we all bounced behind the seats into the larger space in between sections and blew it up. After the set ended, a bunch of their friends found their way to the floor and I met a series of people that I would never remember the next day, let alone the next hour. I hung out with the original two people I had met for the whole show, said good bye and went on my way back to Leaguer’s.
Fast-forward to Cleveland two weeks later. In a story far too absurd to get into, I broke away from the girl I went to the show found a platform to rage on my own. In the middle of the first set someone surprised me by saying my name and passing me a bowl. I turned around, not recognizing the person at all, and he explained that he had met me back in Denver during setbreak. Things immediately made sense and we hung out and raged the set together. For reasons still to absurd to get into, I had every desire to find some some new people to hang out with, and joined them behind the stage during setbreak to puff joints. I re-met the same guy and girl—Jon and Sarah—that I sat next to in Denver. I continued meeting people from their extensive group of friends—all from their hometown—and I got along well with all of them. I wound up hanging out with some form of their group of friends for the next couple shows before they hopped off. Good peeps.
Fast Forward to Europe ’98. Jon—the original guy I met in Denver—was spending the summer in Prague, and we met up at The Grey Hall on the first night of tour in Copenhagen. As we introduced each other to our respective friends, one of the guys I met that night became my tour comrade and co-psychonaut through 2009, and one of the girls I met became my wife. Ever since that Europe tour, I, more or less, merged with their extensive group of friends for the duration of 1.0, 2.0, beyond Phish tour, and still to this day.
SO…if you don’t have a partner in crime for any given Phish show this summer, you should go anyway—you just might find your wife!
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NEW TO PHISH?
Everyone was a noob at one point, and we all sought information about the scene from anywhere and everywhere. Just recently, fan, Brent Nichols, sent me a link to “Phish: A Guide For Beginners” that he had written. If you’re reading this blog, odds are you don’t need to read his, but his piece serves as a great resource for that person in your life who just won’t listen to you about your favorite band. Check it out…
Tags: 1997, Culture
I would love to hear a Caravan now.
Man, I would be pumped to meet my wife at a Phish show, but confused about who was with the kid.
Sillywilly – Robear is looking for a ride from Chicago to Blossom and I sadly cannot bring him along this time.
Thx Silly. Stoney is getting the full court press from mgmt to do the whole midwest 7.
“but confuse about who was with the kid”
just lol’d that one, AJ.
Robear
do it!!!
My show routine, find seats, look at the peeps aroind me, pick someone out, and hand them a phresh bowl of nug. Its like paying it forward for good show luck, then wait for the lights to drop
Don’t tease me with caravan talk, mia.
I flew down to Miami 09 solo. Went right from the airport to the venue, suitcase in tow. Nowhere to stay.
Lucky for me, AW gets booted from his seats during ‘Makisupa’. I follow him and K back to their hotel. Spot friend in lobby, share room for run.
Crop dusted elevator.
big ups to everyone’s favorite comrade, sillywilly!
i’ll have my white socks on in solidarity for the tour opener, no doubt
“crop dusted elevator”
So, I was up in the UP last week, and I learned that in the UP crop dusting doesn’t mean crop dusting.
I always thought it meant farting
but in the UP, apparently, it’s a little more serious….
maybe Robear knows?
i would like to hear a bit more patience in troy’s playing this tour
summer phish: http://vimeo.com/27393091
indoor summer phish: http://vimeo.com/27832855
have a good one kids. anticipation building!!
Awesome story Miner.
I just hate dress socks, man
they make my feet feel weird.
I don’t know.
would you play a football game in dress socks??
my point is this: Doing a trial is way more intense than a football game. At least for me it was.
gotta take care of your feet in both situations.
dancingfool looking like the Hockey Messiah
Happy one-year anniversary to Steam. We love you but want you to be weirder.
haha how about them Kings
“I find myself all giddy again. Excited about what’s about to happen. The unknown. It’s all very exciting.”
LOL, as soon as you posted the “fading feelings” post a while back i just knew we’d be getting one of these from Willowed. I never lost faith in you brah!
Df, we now believe you are from Canada.
11-17-97 was the last birthday show i saw(excepting mike/leo at fillmore).Wow!bet you’re glad you didn’t miss it Miner.show changed my life monumentally and i’d been going to tons of shows since early 90’s! really wish they’d do some more november tours.got to make the chess move in west palm beach(11-16-95) shake their hands on stage and ask them to play more beatles’ songs.they opened the set with ADITL!met timmy and lisa at the miami 09 shows because i had extras for every night and went to FL alone.it’s always nice to meet new friends.
DF is the shit.
great tour partner.
Great stuff, Miner.
Just what I needed to hear.
This guy is most likely going to Woostah alone for the ride.
I have recently questioned whether I should make that ride alone, but I know I will cross many of you and many new friends.
That’s very often half the trip and the magic of doing this thing we call Phishing.
I can’t wait.
No ticket in hand, but I will find myself in Worcester ready for those first opening moments that make my heart sing.
The rest will be gravy.
ok.
I’ve just had a flurry of email activity regarding the next few weeks of tour.
I just want to sit by my computer and talk to all of you until tour starts.
If you think about it, it’s kind of like chilling in lot just like 3 days early….
why not??
That elevator crop-dusting lasted all weekend, for those who don’t know.
The unbridled, sheer power of Humboldt Cty.
I bow to thee.
Upwind.
Pretty sure I saw a shadow in that elevator.
“Pretty sure I saw a shadow in that elevator.”
Ha ha ha
Two words:
Plink.
Oh!