After a long cross-country commute, I have finally plopped down a hundred yards from Worcetser’s DCU Center—the long off-season is about to come to an end. The band has been here rehearsing since the beginning of the week on the heels of extensive practice sessions behind closed doors, and i f I had to guess, the guys will be raring to go tonight. With all of summer ahead of them, in mere hours, Phish will take the first step—and an important step it will be. Here we are in the first week of June and the entire community is salivating for new music. If my own listening patterns were in any way indicative of the whole, those MSG shows haven’t seen the light of day on many stereos, as New Years Run didn’t give us that warm boost of Phishiness in the dark days of winter to which we are so accustomed. Labor Day weekend at Dick’s seems like a former lifetime as we sit on the brink of the tomorrow’s tour opener, as the excitement has been building for almost a year. With plenty of time to frolic in the lots and amphitheatres of summer, there’s nothing quite like kicking off tour in a grimy old arena with a rich Phish legacy.
I would wager big money that tonight’s show will elevate. Phish knows the situation, and I foresee them coming out with a two-set effort to knock the socks off the New England audience. Could I be wrong? Of course, but I just don’t see them coming out flat tonight. With a rabid Bostonian crowd who will clearly infuse Celtics chants into the show experience, the energy in the room will be sky high for a number of reasons. But first and foremost, the Phish are back in town and it’s time to step into the muthafahkin’ freezaaaaah!!!
=====
“No Spoiler” Downloads—Summer 2012
This summer, thanks to mastermind, Craig Harris, Phish Thoughts’ Free No Spoiler Downloads will continue! If you have the ability to stay away from Phish sites during any show this summer, you’ll be able to live the unfolding experience as it happened. Each set will be downloadable with in a single, unlabled file, so that you can just press play and let it roll. The ETA of the download links will vary according to show locale, but we will always shoot for around 12 pm MST.