Be Kind
The final words of Fare Thee Well, two words and a simple message. It was a message that everyone in Chicago seemed to embrace this past weekend. Fans were kind to everyone they met. The people of Chicago were kind to the visitors. Deadheads were kind to Phans. Cops were kind to Wookies. We were kind to each other.
This was one of the best weekends of my life. It was everything I thought it would be and so much more. And this was due to the city, the community, really everyone I came across just being kind. In an article by the guy from sonic youth he said a stranger said to him something that stuck with him all weekend: "When have you ever been among 70,000 people who were all this happy?" What a truly special and memorable experience.
A huge shout out of gratitude to the Windy City. Chicago was the perfect host this weekend. Top to bottom Chicago had such a welcoming vibe, the host with the most. Every single local person I interacted with, whether working or hanging out, was so pleasant and enjoyable and helpful and happy. The people I already knew in Chicago went out of their way to make sure it was an incredible time, the people I didn't know did the same. So much so I was going out of my way to thank everyone on my way out of the stadium after each show - ushers, guards, cops, bartenders, etc. Jar and JW thought it was a bit much when I thanked the garbage men on LSD (Lake Shore Drive - the people on actual LSD were at Soldier Field). There really isn't another city in the world that could have done better hosting Fare thee Well. Thank you Chicago, you were just exactly perfect.
Trey might be at the absolute peak of his greatness. He not only put hard work, time and dedication into GD50, he put his heart and soul into this incredible challenge. He is as well practiced and tight as he has ever been. He has a new musical wand in his bag of tricks to razzle and dazzle us with, 70 songs to reference and draw from. He must be feeling the love and respect from the community - everyone has (deservedly so) been singing his praises. He will also be stoked to be back playing with his guys, in his comfortable pocket. He will be playing with guys that he has played with for 31 years that all know how to play and jam together. He will want to be the definitive leader of a band again where everyone's role is defined. Gordon's recent tour was on point. I have no doubt that Page and Fish will be ready. There aren't that many shows and the band is taking the fall off. Quality, not quantity. Go see Phish this summer.
While overall the music, outside of Trey who was outstanding, was good and not great to me, this truly was one of the best weekends of my life. I will remember this weekend forever. So many thank you's...Thank you to everyone that made it possible. Thank to you the city of Chicago and its citizens. Thank you to Shapiro and Madison House and everyone that put this together. Thank you to the Core four, Trey, Jeff, Bruce. Thank you to the production crew. Thank you to the Soldier Field staff. Thank you to the incredible artists. Thank you to all of the amazing and talented musicians I saw this weekend. Thank YOU, you are part of our community that has made this such beautiful and transformative experience. YOU brought such an amazing vibe all weekend long. Thank you to my sister for watching the dogs and Ali for hooking us up with tickets. Thank you to Lance, Jar and JW for being some of my best bros in the world and everything y'all did to make this all possible. Thank you to my Chicago homies Brad and Pingel for truly representing Chicago proper. Thank you to Miki for taking a break from life and touring with me. Thank you to the new friends I made along this journey. Thank you to all of my friends that I didn't even see but still brought the energy and good vibes to Chicago. Thank you to all of my friends (too many to name but you know who you are) that I saw and hugged and laughed with and got down with and ate with these past week. Thank you to my friends that weren't in Chicago - the best part of my life is the friends and family that I love so much and give me so much love me back. Thanks to my family, especially my mom and dad for everything.... you were the best parents and teachers a kid could ever have. I owe everything to you both.
Peace, much love and BE KIND.
This was one of the best weekends of my life. It was everything I thought it would be and so much more. And this was due to the city, the community, really everyone I came across just being kind. In an article by the guy from sonic youth he said a stranger said to him something that stuck with him all weekend: "When have you ever been among 70,000 people who were all this happy?" What a truly special and memorable experience.
A huge shout out of gratitude to the Windy City. Chicago was the perfect host this weekend. Top to bottom Chicago had such a welcoming vibe, the host with the most. Every single local person I interacted with, whether working or hanging out, was so pleasant and enjoyable and helpful and happy. The people I already knew in Chicago went out of their way to make sure it was an incredible time, the people I didn't know did the same. So much so I was going out of my way to thank everyone on my way out of the stadium after each show - ushers, guards, cops, bartenders, etc. Jar and JW thought it was a bit much when I thanked the garbage men on LSD (Lake Shore Drive - the people on actual LSD were at Soldier Field). There really isn't another city in the world that could have done better hosting Fare thee Well. Thank you Chicago, you were just exactly perfect.
I woke up again around noon, another night with not enough sleep. As Warren Zevon says, I will sleep when I'm dead (or at least when I get back home to San Diego). I headed over to Liz and Meg's Sunday Bruch at a place appropriately called Brunch. With such an uninspired restaurant name, Meg and Liz spent a lot of time thinking of a good name for their event - ultimately deciding on Franklin's Tower of Pancakes. Some of the other brunch names: Eggs of the World, French Toaster Nutbag, Here Comes Sunny Side Up, Lox of Rain, Stella Blueberry Pancakes, Flapjack Straw, Me and Bloody Mary, Jack Strawberry Pancakes, Feed thee Well. Always fun to catch-up with this crew and talk story. Everyone had a blast, everyone was in a great mood, talking about how incredible the vibe and energy and music and their individual experience was.
After brunch I had to handle some Phish tour business (ticket exchanges with people from Cash or Trade and the like) and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for Sunday Funday at the lots. Getting ready = t-shirt time!
T-Shirt Time
I was originally going to wear my official US soccer jersey from the world cup due to the US Woman's World Cup final. I put it on and wore it to brunch but ultimately decided to change it for the show. The shirt was a little tight last year when I rocked it on tour, one year later I have put on a few pounds (time to get in tour shape) and didn't feel like I was going to be very comfortable wearing it. Another sign that my Nectar's shirt was a good call for my new Sunday shirt.
We once again headed down to the lots and tail-gated at Pingel's spot. Despite the fact that everyone had been going really hard for 3 days, people surprisingly had a ton of energy and were in great spirits. Something else about being part of this special thing was giving everyone the energy required to make it through the final push. Or maybe it was just the ubiquitous adderall.
Everyone was in such a good mood, I made so many random new friends and I saw many old friends. Over the weekend I didn't see as many of my friends as I would have liked. In a sea of 70,000+ people it was hard to say hello to everyone I wanted to see in Chicago, one of the many reasons I am looking forward to the relative sanity of Phish tour (might be the first time I have referred to Phish tour as sane.)
We headed into our seats and got situated for the final show. Tonights crew included me, JW, Pingel and Miki. Once again we saw some similar faces in the seats around us and met some new awesome people. The vibe and energy of everyone around us was again outstanding.
Music Review
China->Rider opened the final set and was a good time. Estimated featured my favorite jamming of the night once again led by Trey. Trey was in the zone, in a groove, happy and comfortable in his role. I have said it in every blog about these shows but will say it again: Trey has been absolutely unbelievable, I am so proud and happy for Trey. We are witnessing an artist at the absolute top of his game. Bravo Trey, Bravo. Built to last was a throw away, Samson was fun, Mountains and Throwing Stones were above average featuring some meandering and at times directionless jamming. However, once again Trey nailed his solos. I was staring to get the feeling that the band was getting pretty tired by this point, however the first set was most enjoyable.
Set 2 opened with only the second repeat of the tour, Truckin'. I think they really just wanted to give everyone in Chicago the opportunity to shout what a long strange trip its been. Cassidy was ok, Trey on point but the band again sounded tired and not synched up. I really loved Trey on Althea - one of my favorite tunes by my favorite guitar player, unfortunately for me it was the last musical highlight from the show. I was excited to hear the first notes of Terrapin but then I heard Phil's vocals. Hard to recover from that. I loved hearing Trey playing Terrapin in person but Phish's version from Virginia Beach blows this very mediocre version away. Musically, the rest of the show was pretty boring and slow for me. I have made my feelings on Drums/Space very clear, nothing new to report here. Unbroken Chain (Phil's vocal's killing me again, I don't care if it's his song), Days Between pretty sleepy numbers. In fact at one point I said to JW, "This is putting me to sleep." He responded by saying, "Thanks for waking me up. What did you say?" The Not Fade Away was fun. I enjoyed the sing along even if it lasted a bit too long. I appreciated the irony of Bobby walking out in the Let Trey Sing shirt (especially since we had discussed that exact shirt on Saturday), then of course Bobby sang most of Touch of Grey. The overall celebration by the audience of NFA and sing along to Touch of Grey were great, even if the band's versions of these songs weren't, again reminding me how much fun this weekend was, mostly because of the shared experience with 70,000+ like minded souls. I understand why they selected Attics of My Life to close out the run but musically it didn't do it for me. Regardless, this very sleepy and not that enjoyable second set to me didn't take away from the overall weekend at all for me.
We said our goodbyes to our new and old friends and exited the stadium via the dope secret exit - another under 5 min exit. We walked outside and had planned to rent a bike but they were all gone so we eventually took a pedicab to our hotel. This was pretty ironic as one of the many mistakes Jar and JW made in their adventures was not taking a pedicab due to Jars aversion to them. At this point it was Miki, JW and myself and somehow we found the cutest and probably most interesting pedicab girl out there, Lindsey. She was traveling the country in a bus and her pedicab that included some awesome tunes. She had been to Coachella, electric forest and countless other music festivals and events with just her bus and pedicab. Cool story, we gave her a huge tip that she really appreciated and made our way to the hotel.
Lance had rallied the troops to close out the run by heading up to House of Blues / Foundation room for one last show - Steve Kimock and Jackie Greene. Fun show, Kimock was bringing it. It really seemed like he was showing off and making a statement that he believed he, not Trey, should've been the choice for these shows. Trey was the obvious choice, the only choice. The show ended, JW and I said goodbye to the last members of the crew that were still standing and headed back to the hotel. We got to the hotel and there was a Lithuanian singing convention closing down. Awesomely strange way to end the evening.
DJ Phink Musical Recommendation
(forgot this in the last update)
My Morning Jacket
The Waterfall
Just about every night (and some days) we would return to our hotel and Jar would put this album on. It is easily my favorite album of the year and quickly becoming one of my favorite albums ever. It's nuanced, textured, moving, brilliant...Jim James is a poet and musical genius surrounded by incredible musicians (especially dig the drummer, Patrick Callahan). It's an album that keeps growing on me and gets better with each listen. I like every single song on the album, there isn't one throw away - put the album on and listen start to finish (old school). My favorite song on the album is Tropics. Jar refers to this as MMJ's stairway to heaven. With Phish not touring in the fall, we are going to hit one or two Jacket runs. We will lose our shit the first time we here Tropics live.
Fare the Well Final Thoughts
One of the main take aways for me is how awesome Phish is going to be this summer. If you have any chance at all, even if inconvenient or challenging or difficult, put the effort in. I have been known to be guilty of hyperbole, however I am confident this is going to be a phish tour for the ages.
The community is alive and strong and has been moved to take this feeling out in the world and do good with it. We will bring the amazing vibes and energy created in Chicago to Phish tour. I am so excited to see my people, fill my heart with music and friendship and love for each other.
After brunch I had to handle some Phish tour business (ticket exchanges with people from Cash or Trade and the like) and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for Sunday Funday at the lots. Getting ready = t-shirt time!
T-Shirt Time
I was originally going to wear my official US soccer jersey from the world cup due to the US Woman's World Cup final. I put it on and wore it to brunch but ultimately decided to change it for the show. The shirt was a little tight last year when I rocked it on tour, one year later I have put on a few pounds (time to get in tour shape) and didn't feel like I was going to be very comfortable wearing it. Another sign that my Nectar's shirt was a good call for my new Sunday shirt.
We once again headed down to the lots and tail-gated at Pingel's spot. Despite the fact that everyone had been going really hard for 3 days, people surprisingly had a ton of energy and were in great spirits. Something else about being part of this special thing was giving everyone the energy required to make it through the final push. Or maybe it was just the ubiquitous adderall.
Everyone was in such a good mood, I made so many random new friends and I saw many old friends. Over the weekend I didn't see as many of my friends as I would have liked. In a sea of 70,000+ people it was hard to say hello to everyone I wanted to see in Chicago, one of the many reasons I am looking forward to the relative sanity of Phish tour (might be the first time I have referred to Phish tour as sane.)
We headed into our seats and got situated for the final show. Tonights crew included me, JW, Pingel and Miki. Once again we saw some similar faces in the seats around us and met some new awesome people. The vibe and energy of everyone around us was again outstanding.
Music Review
China->Rider opened the final set and was a good time. Estimated featured my favorite jamming of the night once again led by Trey. Trey was in the zone, in a groove, happy and comfortable in his role. I have said it in every blog about these shows but will say it again: Trey has been absolutely unbelievable, I am so proud and happy for Trey. We are witnessing an artist at the absolute top of his game. Bravo Trey, Bravo. Built to last was a throw away, Samson was fun, Mountains and Throwing Stones were above average featuring some meandering and at times directionless jamming. However, once again Trey nailed his solos. I was staring to get the feeling that the band was getting pretty tired by this point, however the first set was most enjoyable.
Set 2 opened with only the second repeat of the tour, Truckin'. I think they really just wanted to give everyone in Chicago the opportunity to shout what a long strange trip its been. Cassidy was ok, Trey on point but the band again sounded tired and not synched up. I really loved Trey on Althea - one of my favorite tunes by my favorite guitar player, unfortunately for me it was the last musical highlight from the show. I was excited to hear the first notes of Terrapin but then I heard Phil's vocals. Hard to recover from that. I loved hearing Trey playing Terrapin in person but Phish's version from Virginia Beach blows this very mediocre version away. Musically, the rest of the show was pretty boring and slow for me. I have made my feelings on Drums/Space very clear, nothing new to report here. Unbroken Chain (Phil's vocal's killing me again, I don't care if it's his song), Days Between pretty sleepy numbers. In fact at one point I said to JW, "This is putting me to sleep." He responded by saying, "Thanks for waking me up. What did you say?" The Not Fade Away was fun. I enjoyed the sing along even if it lasted a bit too long. I appreciated the irony of Bobby walking out in the Let Trey Sing shirt (especially since we had discussed that exact shirt on Saturday), then of course Bobby sang most of Touch of Grey. The overall celebration by the audience of NFA and sing along to Touch of Grey were great, even if the band's versions of these songs weren't, again reminding me how much fun this weekend was, mostly because of the shared experience with 70,000+ like minded souls. I understand why they selected Attics of My Life to close out the run but musically it didn't do it for me. Regardless, this very sleepy and not that enjoyable second set to me didn't take away from the overall weekend at all for me.
We said our goodbyes to our new and old friends and exited the stadium via the dope secret exit - another under 5 min exit. We walked outside and had planned to rent a bike but they were all gone so we eventually took a pedicab to our hotel. This was pretty ironic as one of the many mistakes Jar and JW made in their adventures was not taking a pedicab due to Jars aversion to them. At this point it was Miki, JW and myself and somehow we found the cutest and probably most interesting pedicab girl out there, Lindsey. She was traveling the country in a bus and her pedicab that included some awesome tunes. She had been to Coachella, electric forest and countless other music festivals and events with just her bus and pedicab. Cool story, we gave her a huge tip that she really appreciated and made our way to the hotel.
Lance had rallied the troops to close out the run by heading up to House of Blues / Foundation room for one last show - Steve Kimock and Jackie Greene. Fun show, Kimock was bringing it. It really seemed like he was showing off and making a statement that he believed he, not Trey, should've been the choice for these shows. Trey was the obvious choice, the only choice. The show ended, JW and I said goodbye to the last members of the crew that were still standing and headed back to the hotel. We got to the hotel and there was a Lithuanian singing convention closing down. Awesomely strange way to end the evening.
DJ Phink Musical Recommendation
(forgot this in the last update)
My Morning Jacket
The Waterfall
Just about every night (and some days) we would return to our hotel and Jar would put this album on. It is easily my favorite album of the year and quickly becoming one of my favorite albums ever. It's nuanced, textured, moving, brilliant...Jim James is a poet and musical genius surrounded by incredible musicians (especially dig the drummer, Patrick Callahan). It's an album that keeps growing on me and gets better with each listen. I like every single song on the album, there isn't one throw away - put the album on and listen start to finish (old school). My favorite song on the album is Tropics. Jar refers to this as MMJ's stairway to heaven. With Phish not touring in the fall, we are going to hit one or two Jacket runs. We will lose our shit the first time we here Tropics live.
Fare the Well Final Thoughts
One of the main take aways for me is how awesome Phish is going to be this summer. If you have any chance at all, even if inconvenient or challenging or difficult, put the effort in. I have been known to be guilty of hyperbole, however I am confident this is going to be a phish tour for the ages.
The community is alive and strong and has been moved to take this feeling out in the world and do good with it. We will bring the amazing vibes and energy created in Chicago to Phish tour. I am so excited to see my people, fill my heart with music and friendship and love for each other.
Trey might be at the absolute peak of his greatness. He not only put hard work, time and dedication into GD50, he put his heart and soul into this incredible challenge. He is as well practiced and tight as he has ever been. He has a new musical wand in his bag of tricks to razzle and dazzle us with, 70 songs to reference and draw from. He must be feeling the love and respect from the community - everyone has (deservedly so) been singing his praises. He will also be stoked to be back playing with his guys, in his comfortable pocket. He will be playing with guys that he has played with for 31 years that all know how to play and jam together. He will want to be the definitive leader of a band again where everyone's role is defined. Gordon's recent tour was on point. I have no doubt that Page and Fish will be ready. There aren't that many shows and the band is taking the fall off. Quality, not quantity. Go see Phish this summer.
While overall the music, outside of Trey who was outstanding, was good and not great to me, this truly was one of the best weekends of my life. I will remember this weekend forever. So many thank you's...Thank you to everyone that made it possible. Thank to you the city of Chicago and its citizens. Thank you to Shapiro and Madison House and everyone that put this together. Thank you to the Core four, Trey, Jeff, Bruce. Thank you to the production crew. Thank you to the Soldier Field staff. Thank you to the incredible artists. Thank you to all of the amazing and talented musicians I saw this weekend. Thank YOU, you are part of our community that has made this such beautiful and transformative experience. YOU brought such an amazing vibe all weekend long. Thank you to my sister for watching the dogs and Ali for hooking us up with tickets. Thank you to Lance, Jar and JW for being some of my best bros in the world and everything y'all did to make this all possible. Thank you to my Chicago homies Brad and Pingel for truly representing Chicago proper. Thank you to Miki for taking a break from life and touring with me. Thank you to the new friends I made along this journey. Thank you to all of my friends that I didn't even see but still brought the energy and good vibes to Chicago. Thank you to all of my friends (too many to name but you know who you are) that I saw and hugged and laughed with and got down with and ate with these past week. Thank you to my friends that weren't in Chicago - the best part of my life is the friends and family that I love so much and give me so much love me back. Thanks to my family, especially my mom and dad for everything.... you were the best parents and teachers a kid could ever have. I owe everything to you both.
Hope to see everyone on Phish tour.
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