before i begin, i could be wrong, but i think i completely forgot to mention that last week marked the 6 month anniversary of this little project i began. things have already been pretty awesome and ive been busier and busier, and there have been some haters as of late. which i guess is a sign of success, if anyone wants to take the time to do so. heres to many more months!

last wednesday was a pretty exciting day for me for a multitude of reasons. first, it marked the opening of the fall phish tour. as many of you may know, i have a nice little history with this band and was really looking forward to seeing them at the legendary cobo arena in my hometown of (metro) detroit. every time ive seen them, it has involved a 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 24 hour road trip, so the fact that i was able to go to work and drive 20 minutes was pretty effing sweet. my friend doug and i checked into the greektown casino hotel (along with the multitude of phish fans that did the same) and headed out to the old shillelagh for a drink. since there was a red wings game that night as well, downtown was abuzz with excitement.

what was even more exciting for me is that i was able to obtain a press pass for the show. while i had done so already for a number of smaller acts, it seemed completely implausible that little old me would be able to take on such a feat for a band as huge and legendary as phish at somewhere as huge and legendary as cobo arena. but alas, i did. we arrived at the arena a bit after 7 where i met up with the contacts that would walk us into the pit. i finally met abby in person — she was the one that helped me in getting the pass and it was great to meet face to face rather than over email and/or twitter. we waited anxiously as it seemed the two of us were the only ones who happened to be there for both business and pleasure. and finally, they walked us into the arena past the crowd and into the pit.

when i saw how close i would be to the group, i tried my best to maintain composure and a professional demeanor, but you better believe i was grinning from ear to ear. i took a few test shots and tweaked my settings a bit, and just like that the lights went down and the fearsome foursome took the stage. after the sunday night show at bonnaroo, i was sort of hoping for another ac/dc bag opener because it set the tone so well, and sure enough i got it! although i was so frantically trying to get as many pictures as possible that i dont even remember hearing the song. the same goes for the second track, foam. i think they sounded good but i really have no idea.

for better quality versions of these pictures as well as LOTS more that i didnt even post here, check out the dailybeatz flickr page. it was tough to get page/fishman shots on account of the pianos and drums.

and then, just like that, we were told we had to leave the pit as our 15 minutes was up. it seriously felt like about 2 minutes, but we were almost into the third song so i knew our time was up. i wasnt sure what the protocol was on whether or not we could continue shooting from our seats so i quickly headed up there, security checked my bags and said “oh, you just have that camera equipment? youre all set” and then i was on my way. heres the whole setlist to be used for reference before i give my 2 cents on what i remember. even though im finally listening to the recording now, im going to try to do this from what i remember and not what im hearing right now.

Set 1: AC/DC Bag, Foam, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Bouncing Around The Room, Sample In A Jar, Kill Devil Falls, It’s Ice, Horn. Mountains In The Mist, Poor Heart, 46 Days, David Bowie

Set 2: Runaway Jim, Down With Disease -> Free, Waste, Taste, Bug, Wading In The Velvet Sea, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Cavern

ac/dc bag and foam – like i said, dont really remember this as i was in a photo-induced mental haze. when we walked away i felt a little like will ferrell in old school. “what just happened? i blacked out.” i think i missed all of stealing time and bouncing while i was heading to my seats and finally met up with doug during sample in a jar. all pretty standard.

kill devil falls was pretty driving and the jam seemed to get everyone going a little. i actually didnt even know what that song was (im a little out of the loop these days) but i really liked it and the jam that went with it. its ice and horn were also pretty standard but enjoyable. i dont think id ever heard its ice live before so that was nice. mountains in the mist was not the break i was looking for, but it was fine. poor heart is always pretty fun, and i dont know if id heard that one live either. maybe once.

then 46 days. this isnt really my favorite song, but i do like how they tend to jam it out and its usually pretty funky. a little through the jam was my favorite part of the show, at least visually. for those who havent been to cobo, the stage is surrounded by these huge white walls on either side. since chris kuroda is a lighting genius, he realized that he could essentially project onto these walls on either side to create a really neat effect. combine it with a dark 46 days jam and you get the awesomeness seen in the video/pictures below.

they closed out the first set (which clocked in at about 90 minutes) with david bowie. ive seen this song quite a few times live, but this one was my favorite. im not quite sure what it was, but somewhere in the middle of the jam, there was about a minute that was just so over the top beautiful, and simultaneously extremely subtle. it reminded me of how i feel during the pretty part of the 7.10.99 chalkdust torture, just that same sense of “wow, how did they get to this place?” i havent really heard anyone mention the bowie, but it definitely stuck with me for some reason or another.

setbreak was pretty short at only a half hour but we were able to meet up with some other friends just in time for it to start in the C level so that i could take some shots with a straight on view of the stage (which came out lovely i might add). we almost didnt make it thanks to the super old school ramps of cobo arena. we began on the right side of the stage and thought we were zig-zagging our way up, but ended up on the complete opposite end of the stage when we finally made it to the top.

the second set opened with runaway jim which was fun. i always love hearing down with disease, and i seem to hear it quite a bit, which i am more than ok with. but this one was just totally different. super experimental and way way out there, in a GREAT way. segue it into free, and even better. free has i think one of my favorite phish guitar riffs ever, just pure joy. the only one i think of off the top of my head that brings an even bigger smile to my face is the big in the first half of divided sky, the riff with the huge bend to start out, i think you know which one i mean.

then began the “all the songs my friends loved in college”. first up was waste which, despite being a slower song, didnt bring me down too much, especially at the end when i swear i heard tela teases, but i was probably just tricking myself into thinking that. next up was taste. ive always loved this song with its complicated rhythms and quick playing and chromatic rises, and it was great to see it live. i think id only seen it once before. bug and wading in the velvet sea would have normally made me do a big “bleh” if i saw the setlist, but in person i did not really have many complaints because they were both pretty rockin versions. mikes groove was pretty killer in my opinion too. i love the contrast between all three songs right in a row. closed out with a standard cavern, and the crowd went nuts forever before the band came out for a character zero encore.

then the show was over, the crowd dispersed, and we walked back to the hotel, taking a few pictures on the way. i was hoping to get a picture of the hundreds of empty balloons strewn about the sidewalk from the far end of cobo arena all the way to the end of cobo hall, but my camera decided to malfunction at that point and i wasnt able to do so.

all in all, i had a complete blast. i was a little in shock to read the reviews of all the haters the following day because im not sure if those people were in the same arena feeling all of the same energy that i was. im not one of those people that listens to shows over and over again, but i do know that in the moment everything was pretty spectacular, and that even a bad phish show is better than most other live shows, but i think this was still a great one. im not as lucky as some people who can go to every single show, so every chance i get to see them is a great one.

again, a reminder that high quality verisons of all of these pics, plus many many more, are available on the dailybeatz flickr page. for todays track, im giving up the studio version of “taste”, cuz i like it so very much. enjoy.

phish – taste

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