For the trip, we rented an RV with a couple friends of ours that we first met through Twitter (sounds like my Festival 8 trip, huh? well, it sort of was, except we had already met the vast majority of these people in person). We took our RV, picked them up in Albany, and met up with the rest of our crew, another RV and 2 carloads of people, in Elmira, just south of the venue. We then formed a caravan to drive into the site. Getting in was simple. Security was lax. The search was minimal.

The venue was huge. The only NASCAR track I have ever seen was Loudon, NH. It’s tiny compared to Watkins Glen. A lot of walking was involved to get to the venue, which was in the infield, from our campsite, and the venue was uphill from the campsite, which made it loads of fun doing the walk a couple times a day.

The venue was quite different from Festival 8, my only other Phish festival experience. It was open 24 hours a day during the fest. Ball Square was a neat little area of art installations and demonstrations. The concert field was an odd shape. Instead of spreading from the stage, one side was kind of cut off by a line of trees, where they added vendors. The shape of the field didn’t really matter since the festival only had 30,000 attendees. Had they sold out at 60,000, it would have been a lot tighter in there. In fact, I’n not sure it would have worked all that well. Other than that, however, I thought it was a great venue. The staff all seemed nice and helpful. The place had a nice relaxed vibe. And the views of the rolling hills were incredible. It’s a very beautiful area of New York State.

The crowd differed from Fest 8 in that it was a bit more rowdy, though I have a feeling that’s due to the fact that a lot of younger people were able to attend, being on a holiday weekend in the summer. But while the crowd may have been a bit more rowdy, it was still pretty mellow and everyone had a good vibe. As I said, the area was very relaxed. It has an effect on people. However, I also didn’t go to the general tent camping area, which was probably more of a party scene than the RV lot.

On Saturday, I “ran” the Runaway Jim Memorial 5k. I actually walked it. It was so hot and the race took place on the track. It started around 11:30. With the sun high in the sky on an asphalt track with no shade, it was brutal. I did finish with a time of 50:54 (give or take a minute, as I heard the clock was a minute off). It was really neat to be on the track. I had no idea auto tracks had hills in them. This one was uphill for much of the length with a short steep downhill section. The banking of the turns was killer on my legs. And, of course, there was the heat. My feet were burning by the time I finished.

Now… the music. Overall, the music was awesome. There was a set (second set, second day) that started out great, but quickly died as it turned quite song based. Luckily, there was still a third set to destroy it. My personal highlights were all the covers… Peaches, Life on Mars, Torn and Frayed, Monkey Man, Big Balls, etc… and the great jams… day one second set opener, Storage Jam, Golden Age, Crosseyed and Painless, Simple, Waves->What’s the Use. Then there was the final night. They finished the last set with Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, but before leaving the stage, they sang the national anthem. When they came back for the encore of First Tube, fireworks started going off. The fireworks lasted longer than the song and the house music played Simon and Garfunkel’s America. It was really a beautiful moment.

It was a great festival and a great way to spend the 4th of July weekend. Our crew had 18 people, 3 cars, and 2 RV’s all in our 2 RV spaces. We had 5 tents, 4 EZ-Ups, 2 sun shades, and more chairs than we knew what to do with. Everyone knew each other from Twitter. It easily falls within my top 3 weekends and is easily the best time I’ve had at a Phish, or any concert, event. It marked my 29th, 30th, and 31st shows, and they were all excellent shows. The glowstick wars were incredible, but I think the beach ball war that took place during the afternoon set on the second day beats out all the glowsticks. I had never seen so many beach balls bouncing around in the audience, and I’ve seen Jimmy Buffett perform to a crowd of about 50,000 (Gillette Stadium). I am looking forward to the next Phish festival. I really hope they do one next year, and I hope they return to Watkins Glen.

Pictures

This past Memorial Day weekend, I traveled to Bethel, NY to see Phish play three nights at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Bethel Woods is located on the property that was once part of Max Yasgur’s farm, the piece of property where the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held in 1969. Visiting Bethel was like a pilgrimage for me, having been quite interested in Woodstock and the 60′s hippie culture since I was about 10 or 11. This post is mainly about my visit to the area, along with some pictures, and what it was like being there, and my thoughts on the venue. I will cover the three Phish shows in another post that will follow.

The Venue

I’ll start with the venue because it’s the easiest part of this. Bethel Woods is sits on a huge piece of property where the Woodstock festival was held. The property includes the amphitheatre, where Phish played, the museum, and the huge piece of land that was the main location for Woodstock. There is a flat dirt spot where the Woodstock stage stood in 1969. There’s also a monument commemorating the event at the corner of the property.

Once you enter the gates, the place is pretty expansive. The amphitheatre is nothing like the standard outdoor music venue. There is no fence in the back of the lawn like most venues. You can just walk around up and down the lawn all you want. In fact, you don’t even have to go into the venue to hear the music. You can just hang out inside the gates. It’s extremely relaxed. The inside is open air with no sides. The sound from everywhere is pristine. I sat in the lawn, in the back of the pavilion, and in the lower section of the pavilion. While the sound obviously got louder as I got closer, it was still crystal clear out on the lawn. The views of the stage are also great from everywhere inside, including the lawn. There are no big screens on the outside of the pavilion, just one on either side of the stage. There are trees on the property that line the back of the venue, but they are also spread around the rest of the property. The vending areas are clean and neat and there was even a stream and pond with a fountain in one area. The bathrooms are clean, and, apparently, the women’s room is staffed.

The parking lots are grass, gravel, and pavement. The lots were nice and had both trash and recycling barrels spread throughout. They were setup perfect for the style that the Phish followers use with vending and tailgating.

The staff at the venue, including venue security, was super pleasant. You felt like a customer, not an annoying concertgoer. They were all friendly and helpful, unlike anything I have ever seen.

Needless to say, I will be returning to Bethel Woods. It was the perfect concert experience from the arrival to the exit and everything in between.

The Museum

The museum at Bethel Woods is a great interactive gallery of 60′s memorabilia, quotes, information, and videos that explain the world and local events leading up to the Woodstock festival. It gives a great history of the times and the culture. Most of the museum is dedicated to, obviously, the Woodstock festival, but there was a good amount leading up to it that explained where the world was headed and why Woodstock was so important. The information about the festival itself was so in depth from the original schedule (that they didn’t stick to) to the interactive aerial map of the site detailing where everything was and what happened in various places. It was definitely worth our while to visit the museum. I thought the $15 was a bit pricey, but felt it was worth it afterward.

The Area

Finally… the area, including the town of Bethel. We stayed in Lackawaxen, PA. It was about 20-30 minutes from Bethel Woods. This area of New York and Pennsylvania is very rural and hilly. It sits in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains (or, more specifically, the Catskills and the Poconos). It’s mostly farmland with some great rivers and lakes. We were right on the Delaware River where there are a lot of tourist activities. The town was extremely conservative, and very gun friendly. It was almost amusing. We had fun, though. The people that worked at our hotel, which also was one of the only restaurants and bars in town, were very friendly and helpful. I’d probably stay there again.

Overall Thoughts

All in all, this was one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had. The venue was great. The area was beautiful. The people were fantastic. As for the shows? They were pretty awesome, too, especially for tour openers. If Phish ever plays Bethel again, I’ll be there. Heck, I might even consider that part of New York for a vacation someday. It’s just beautiful peaceful country out there… and so close.

First, the venue… It’s in the old Black Rep a few doors down from Tazza. While I had never been to the Black Rep, it was sad to see it close. I know people who really enjoyed that place. I was happy to learn that something new opened up there. It’s a small little space with a tiny stage and a balcony with some tables. It has an L shaped bar with a lot of jazz/Harlem-influenced decor. It’s a nice room, perfect for the location. I don’t know if they have food or not, but they did have a decent, though small, beer selection. They had two taps. One was Peak Organic’s IPA, and the other was a Wachusett seasonal. They also had a small bottle selection. I can definitely see myself hanging out there. It’s got a cool vibe to it. It seems to fill a void in the Providence music scene. What I like about it is that it’s owned/run by the Providence Inner-City Arts, a non-profit organization that holds community arts events.

Now, the music… The band was made up of a bunch of musician friends who had never played together as a group – Scott Murawski on guitar, George Garzone on sax, Lionel Cordew on drums, Gregorio Vento on percussion, Tony Betancourt on guitar, and Baron Brown on bass. They were billed as “Jazz Jam” and that’s pretty much what they did. It wasn’t entirely free-form as they played songs, though I don’t have a setlist. While the music wasn’t mind-blowing, it was solid. For a group of people who had never all played together, they were pretty tight. You could tell they were all great at listening to one another as they jammed. It was a free show, and totally worth it. Heck, I would’ve paid $5-10 for this. I hope they continue to play as I’d love to see it again. Apparently, they’ve played as “Jazz Jam” before, but not all the same musicians. Scott is obviously an amazing guitarist, but I think the MVP of the night goes to Gregorio. That dude can beat those congas!

All in all, it was a great night of music at a great new venue in the city. I got to finally meet someone I had known on the Internet for about 6-7 years now, and I got to see some great music. If you’re in Providence, I highly recommend you check out Roots Cafe, and if you ever see Jazz Jam billed nearby, check them out.

UPDATE: Noticed some people came to this post via searching “jamjazz roots”. I figured I’d update with a link to a recording of the show as well. The links call it “Jam Jazz”, but they billed themselves as “Jazz Jam”.

24-bit FLAC

16-bit FLAC

Comparing TAB to MGB is comparing apples to oranges. While the leaders of each of these bands might come from the same band, they are very different musicians and individuals, and it shows in their individual bands. The biggest argument made is that Trey has been a sloppy guitarist since Phish returned in 2009, and Scott Murawski is an awesome guitarist. I can’t argue against either point. They’re both correct. Trey has been sloppy since Phish came back. However, Trey has not been sloppy the majority of the time. Scott is an awesome guitarist and it’s great that the author finally realized that, after admitting to brushing him off as a “generic jamband guitarist”. They’re both incredible guitarists. He concentrates on the Mound MGB did in Denver. One thing he ignores, however, is that Scott wrote two blog posts where he discusses Mound (here and here). If you read them, you see that he has struggled with it. They nailed it in Denver, but who’s to say they won’t another time? After all, it was sloppy in Eugene. Trey nails songs all the time, but sometimes they get away from him. It happens. It’s live music. That’s what it’s all about. If you spend too much time concentrating on someone nailing a single song, you miss the bigger picture. The one argument against Trey that I really disagree with is that his tone is out of control. During TAB shows, Trey takes the lead, getting things going, and then lets the others have their turn. He’s not always in the spotlight.

The bigger picture is that TAB and MGB, which one can only assume is the main premise behind the article, are two completely different bands. He compares pricing and venue choices. Yes, Mike is touring more out west than he is in the east. He did a bunch of east coast shows in November. TAB skipped around a lot, concentrating in the northeast. That’s where he’s more likely to sell out shows. Ticket price is discussed. Trey is the bigger draw, so it’s more expensive. That’s completely normal. And he talks about mixing up the setlists more. Yes, Mike does that. He’s got different songs. Scott has different songs. His band is more diverse than Trey’s. People tend not to go on TAB tour and they’re playing for those at the show, not the people listening from home.

I enjoy both bands equally, but for different reasons. Mike’s shows are loaded with his quirkiness. They’re more like a small little known band playing small clubs. TAB is Trey’s playground. He uses it to find new songs for Phish. He perfects songs for Phish. He goes out and just wants to have fun. There’s no major jamming because there’s no need. It’s short and concise, as it should be. TAB used to jam for longer. It got boring. Mike uses his shows to experiment a bit more on his own as the leader. It rounds him out as a musician.

I have a very strong feeling that when Phish returns this summer, we’re going to see Trey stepping back a bit more, allowing the others to shine and lead the jams. I have a feeling we’re going to see Mike take the lead more often. I have a feeling we’re going to see more Mike tunes played. What I don’t think we’re going to see is Trey being sloppy as much as this guy thinks he will be.

Overall, it’s a weak article that lacks any direction and makes silly comparisons. I realize it’s just one guy’s opinion, but he could have at least made his argument a bit better. He finishes it with comparing the two bands, but throughout the article, he ignores the bands and concentrates solely on the guitarists. I’m sorry, but if you want to compare the bands, compare the bands. If you want to compare the guitarists, compare the guitarists. Do not, however, start with one and then use the other as your reasoning. It takes your article and argument nowhere. And definitely don’t compare one MGB show to the entire TAB tour.

I’ve liked Phish and Trey for many years now. I’ve listened to them from all different eras and their current era is probably my favorite. There’s a kind of new life to them that you don’t get in some of the other eras. They’re all happy, healthy, and having fun. At the Trey show, you could tell that he was having a blast playing random songs that you wouldn’t expect in solo acoustic form, like Carini. Some of the others he’s played at the other shows are also odd choices, but work so well.

Even during the electric set, he has a lot of fun and, this time around, he’s letting the band take the lead a bit. He’s just playing along, letting them have some space. The band is much tighter than they were last year. What I like most, though, is that they’re keeping the jamming to a minimum and keeping it concise. I was never a big fan of long musical excursions with TAB, even as a 10 piece band, which is what happened. They’d play song for 15-20 minutes and it just seemed to go nowhere. Perhaps it was the drugs, but I just don’t think it was suited for the band and the style. This time, they’re playing much more loosely, but keeping things concise. Trey has a bunch of great bluesy jazzy tunes that are very fitting for the band and I hope to see some of the style come into Phish. The most impressive song, however, was Ocelot. It’s a relaxed Phish song, but with TAB, the tempo is increased a bit and it has a nice beat to it. Oh, and the horns… adding the horns to it blew me away. I’d like to see Phish take a stab at it.

As summer tour approaches, I’m hopeful that Phish will come back and be a bit more loose and relaxed. I think it will help their playing and the flow of their sets. I think this tour that Trey did will help him not take a huge lead in Phish. He’s the definite bandleader with TAB and pretty much the leader in Phish. But having taken a step back this time around with TAB, I think we’ll see four truly equal parts in Phish this summer. Mike going on tour right after Trey will do nothing but help him take the lead a bit this summer. It’s looking like the summer will be a good one for Phish. Here’s hoping they play some acoustic numbers, and maybe do an acoustic set at the heavily rumored festival at Watkins Glen.

You see, when I go to see live music, I go first and foremost for the music. Spending time with friends is a big part of it, but we’re there primarily for the music. You might see me comment to them on something the performer did. I might ask what song was being played if it was unfamiliar to me. But for the most part, I stay quiet while the band is on stage, outside of clapping and cheering when they do something awesome or play a favorite song.

Acoustic music is quieter than electric. It’s just how it is. At this particular show, it was often difficult to hear Trey playing because people felt it was fine to chit chat during the majority of the song, only getting excited and paying attention when he played something different or upbeat. Not wanting to be a jerk, I just stayed quiet and tried to listen as best I could to what he was playing and what he was saying between songs, but it was often difficult to hear.

I have a slight hearing problem in loud places. I have a hard time following conversations unless people are speaking loudly enough and directly towards my ear. I rarely have a hard time hearing a concert. In this case, it was quite different. I could barely hear his playing on slower songs or songs that had musical interludes between the vocal parts because people around me were talking or fussing with drinks.

This brings me to the point of this whole post. Why go to a concert, and this wasn’t a cheap concert at over $45 for a ticket at face value, if you are not going to listen to the music? Why would you spend the money? Why wouldn’t you just go to a coffee shop or a bar if your intention is to socialize and not pay any attention to what is happening on stage?

Concert etiquette is that you listen to the music. Dance if you want. Applaud after songs. Sing along if you feel like it (as long as you’re not drowning out the actual performer). Cheer (just don’t go “WOOO” throughout the entire performance, between songs, sure, after an awesome jam, sure, just not the whole time). Anything else is disrespectful to the performers and to the other concertgoers who paid the same amount of money as you to get into the show. Don’t make it a waste of their money, too.

So the next time you find yourself at a concert, even if you don’t like the music or what’s being played at the moment, show some respect to the performer and the rest of the audience. If you want to have a conversation, leave the general area of the concert and talk out of earshot of the audience, or just leave the venue. You’re clearly not there for the music if you have no problem talking throughout the entire concert. Let those who are enjoy it to the fullest extent possible.

I joined Twitter in early June of 2008. The first people I followed were mainly local people and people they followed. Soon after, some Phish fans started following me (prior to protecting my account for various reasons) and soon I had a small following of Phish fans. I really enjoyed following people and started following more, including celebrities, news sites, bands, etc. I have since stopped following many people, especially celebrities and news sites, because they just aren’t relevant to me and I don’t care what celebrities have to say. To me, the social web was, and still is, for real connections, not listening to celebrities talk about some unimportant news, or even some important news, but in a way to make them feel important and influential.

Phish announced their reunion after nearly 5 years since the Coventry festival in 2004, which was to be their last show. Ever. They were getting back together for 3 shows in Hampton in March of 2009. The world was abuzz with this news, including Twitter. I gained more followers and followees than ever before, simply because of my interest in Phish. One of those people was @UNOlker (aka UNO, for brevity’s sake). Hampton came and went. There was a small tweetup of some of my initial Phish Twitter folks at the shows. Phish had also announced a summer tour, which was to start the last day of May at Fenway Park in Boston. In April 2009, UNO created a group on a site called twibes.com for Phish. The Phish Twibe was born. While we rarely used the Twibes website, we did use the name for our group. Those initial Phish Twitter folks all joined, and a tweetup was scheduled for the Fenway Phish show. It was the first “official” Twibe tweetup. There were probably 10-15 of us in attendance, all meeting for the very first time, though one or two had met prior at the Hampton tweetup. The rest of Summer Tour 2009 was filled with smaller tweetups at the individual shows.

Sometime that summer, the band announced they would be holding Festival 8 over Halloween weekend in Indio, CA. It was the band’s eighth festival and fifth Halloween show. Plans were made. Several of us got together and met up in Las Vegas and took an RV to the festival. There were seven of us on that RV, most meeting each other for the first time, though we had each met at least one other at some point prior. Since we were all friends on Twitter, it was like a family reunion. We already knew each other quite well, and the course of the weekend was a great time. What was arguably the most successful “official” Twibe tweetup was held on Halloween afternoon. There was somewhere between 30 and 35 people in attendance, many who we had never met prior, some who we have not seen since. More tweetups were held during the Fall Tour 2009 and the New Years run in Miami. We all met up again during the summer of 2010, when the @phishtwibe Twitter account was created to help organize tweetups and give a single point of contact for people looking for information on Twibe happenings. More large tweetups were held in Atlantic City, for the band’s Halloween 2010 run, and in New York, for the band’s New Years 2010 run at Madison Square Garden. In November 2010, PhishTwibe.com, known simply as #theboard on Twitter, was created. It is a “secret” (though clearly not-so-secret) forum for the Twibe to have conversations in more than 140 characters.

Many of us have become great friends in real life as well as on Twitter. There have been romances created within the Twibe – some started prior to the Twibe’s inception, some are due to the Twibe. I consider the people of the Twibe to be close friends. I consider them to be some of my closest friends, in fact. Several of us have even gone so far as to permanently show our love for the Twibe in the form of a tattoo. The Phish Twibe is a true social media success story, and it only continues to grow. This is one story that remains unfinished, and will likely remain unfinished for years to come…

For more information on the Phish Twibe, simply follow @phishtwibe on Twitter or visit PhishTwibe.com.

I have personally met many people from the Phish Twibe in real life, and track them through a list on Twitter.

First off, the Hartford shows on June 17 and 18 were awesome. They were both a ton of fun and featured some great songs, great playing, and great fun from the band. Going completely on memory, my favorite of the two was the second night. I felt the band had more energy to their playing. They seemed to have fewer problems with the sound system. They also seemed to be having more fun. The crowd also had more energy and it was reflected in the band’s playing.

The first show seemed disjointed. It seemed that the band didn’t know where they wanted to go with each set. I remember one standout moment after the great Down With Disease > Sand when they were jamming out Sand and it seemed as though Trey decided he wanted to play The Horse>Silent in the Morning. The segue seemed abrupt. Compare that with the segues of the second night and it’s night and day. The segues of the second night were patient and smooth. The first show also had Farmhouse come in and kill what energy existed after a great Guyute. While on its own, that Farmhouse was awesome, it took the set to a standstill. The band could have tore it up with the Mike’s Groove that followed had they not dropped, as one person put it, the “clusterfly song”. What should have been a raging set kicking off with Party Time ended up falling apart with that Farmhouse.

On the other hand, the first set was strong, though there seemed to be some sound problems during Divided Sky, which were worked out during the setbreak as the guitar techs were on stage the entire break, which seemed extended. Esther and When the Circus Comes were played for Cirque du Soleil, which was taking place across the street. The Walk Away had a HUGE jam that was completely unexpected, about as unexpected as the song itself. Sugar Shack had a nice jam that was also unexpected. While there wasn’t a ton of flow to the set, each song was strong on its own.

Now when the second night came along, the place was full of energy from the first notes of Fee straight through the last notes of the second (yes, second) Tweezer Reprise in the encore. The first set was full of energy, especially with Possum, Moma Dance, Julius, Reba, and Cavern. While Julius saw some flubs from Trey, who had a hard time with the lyrics, Reba was played with absolute precision. Possum, which doesn’t usually excite me, was loaded with energy that had the entire place bouncing. It also featured the new song Summer of ’89. It started out slow, but was a great ballad. I think this one may take some time to grow on me in the live setting, but it was a pretty song.

The second set was full of segues and flowed absolutely perfectly. The Light>Billy Breathes was beautiful and then the Tweezer>Theme from the Bottom was patient and perfect. The place went nuts when they started Harry Hood and the transition to Wading in the Velvet Sea was beautiful. That song made my wife particularly excited, though I also love that one. The only part that I was a little surprised about was the Stealing Time set closer. I was hoping for something bigger, like a YEM after such a great set.

Then came the encore. I was expecting YEM. It would have put a nice cap on the show, but Trey started playing Sleeping Monkey and then paused to tell a story about a sign someone had the night before. The song concluded with an audience singalong and the band started Tweezer Reprise, which was particularly energetic. The second they finished, Trey says they’re gonna play it again because they didn’t in Hershey. They start it up again and the crowd blew the roof off the place. They had even more energy than the first. Everyone walked out on cloud nine talking about the encore. Rarely is the encore the highlight of the show. In this case, it was more than a highlight. It was the theme.

As you can tell, I greatly enjoyed the second night the best. The Walk Away and Sugar Shack from the first night were my favorites from that night, and I always love a good Horse>Silent. Aside from the encore, the highlight of the second night were the segues of the second set and Reba from the first set. Tomorrow I’ll do it all over again at Great Woods (aka the Comcast Center) in Mansfield, MA.

The crowd was very mixed. I was actually surprised by it. There were a few flatbrims that I wouldn’t have expected at a bluegrass show, but I’m guessing they were there more for the scene than the music. There were some obvious fans who follow them all over the place. There were the older people, the younger people, but the majority seemed to be in their 20′s and 30′s.

The opening act was the guy from Dispatch. I never understood why people loved that band as much as they did. I never got into them and never really thought they were anything special. They were good, but not amazing. I felt the same way about the guy opening for Railroad Earth. It was a slim crowd for him, not surprising.

When RRE came on, the place filled up, but it was still mostly empty. It was a perfect sized crowd. Since it’s so far beyond when I saw them, I can’t really talk about much other than how much fun I had. They put on a great show. They put on a seriously fun show. I was dancing my heart out the entire time. There were a couple of seriously standout moments, one of them was the encore, Roadhouse Blues.

Anyway, since I can’t really write much else, I will just say this. Go see them if you get the chance. While I would have preferred it outdoors, because that music is meant for the outdoors, it’s awesome and fun no matter the setting.