It's only words...

Just some random quotes I was thinking about.


"I never wanted to be famous; I wanted to be good."
-- Neil Peart


"If you don't ever make a mistake, you're not trying, you're not playing at the edge of your ability. You're playing safely, within limits, and you know what you can do and it sounds after a while extremely boring." 
-- Artie Shaw, 1910-2004


"For the rest of your life, no one can tell you that couldn't do it, 'cause you did it."
-- Bill Parcells, Super Bowl XXI

Phish at MSG and the beauty of shows with friends.

Since returning from an absolutely necessary hiatus in 2009, Phish has been consistently fun and great the several times I've seen them. There was that one bum show in Camden 2009, but that might've been my fault, since we traveled overnight from Boston (where they played a fantastic show, including my first "Fluffhead") and I, for one, was spent. Actually, looking at the setlist now, there were some pretty cool moments!

Besides the stellar music that happens for about three hours, Phish shows also offer me a chance to have a blast with some good friends. There is the anticipation of guessing the first tune (I've never been right); the knowing nods or, at a particularly good song selection, the jumping, back-slapping and high-fiving when hearing its first notes; the occasional quizzical looks to each other for an unknown song (usually, given by me, the Phish neophyte in my group; I've only been seeing them for 10 years!); the assessment at intermission of how good the first set was; and, of course, the incomparable highs when Phish hit those otherworldly levels during a jam, when your friends and the crowd as a whole are all having the same incredible experience.

There are only a few bands whose shows achieve all these things for me. Phish, Pearl Jam, Radiohead and Yo La Tengo spring readily to mind. Unfortunately, I never got to experience the Grateful Dead, but from years of listening to countless live shows, I imagine they'd have to join that list. I also imagine Springsteen would make the list had I see him more than once and NOT at Giants Stadium.

The Phish experience is distinct from the others, though. There is always a buzz (of various sorts) at the start of the show, there is always a sea of smiling faces surrounding you -- whether in a parking lot, on 7th Avenue or in the seats -- and a feeling that everyone there is happy to be there with everyone else. It's the intangible reason why millions love these shows and why just as many frown at the prospect of that many "hippies" and "freaks." I attend these shows with a core group of people that range in their buzzes of choice (from none to massive) and we all can achieve that same music high together. Each show typically has several musical highlights, but, also, there are a few memories related to the people you're with that make each show truly singular. (Falling asleep on Dan's shoulder at Hershey Park in 2000 and waking up at the height of the "Run Like An Antelope" jam; realizing what 9th row means at Nassau Coliseum in 2003; the surreal experience watching the first show of their 2004 Farewell tour at a movie theater on Route 1 in North Brunswick and everyone dancing in the aisles; flipping out next to Evan in Mansfield, MA 2009 when "Fluffhead" began and then doing the same next to Dan a year and half later at MSG this year.) You don't get these moments with just any band.

Bands and fans like this have their many detractors -- some of my closet friends and bandmates are among them! -- but, mostly, I end just feeling sorry for these people. There are few experiences as spine-tingling and smile-inducing than a packed house at the World's Most Famous arena, Phish killing it and the several thousand in attendance having the same feelings of exuberance and exhilaration at the same time for the same reason.

I highly recommend seeing at least one Phish show before you die.


9th row, Nassau Coliseum, 2003.

Same show. Dan, me, Evan, Dave (?)