Bacon, his wife, and their pal Blair P took a trip to Hampton, VA to catch Phish perform the second and third night of their highly anticipated comeback run at the beginning of March. He sent over this report and pictures from his experience at the shows last week, and the read was quite enjoyable, so we thought we'd share it with you all.

See how his Hampton Phish experience went after the jump

Sweet merciful crap, what a run. Phish is back. I was one of the lucky few to score tickets, and I somehow got both Saturday and Sunday at the Hampton Coliseum through Ticketbastard [for the tech nerds out there, we had 3 computers going with different browsers on a fiber connection... the rankings, probably related to demand, were Chrome (Sundays) > IE (Saturdays) > Firefox (FAIL Fridays)]. We flew into Richmond on Friday, an interesting experience due to an equal smattering of Phish fans and dudes in military uniforms on the plane. Richmond is a cool town for sure, and we enjoyed some good food and walking around the ‘First Fridays’ art exhibits throughout the town. My jaw dropped when I saw Eggs’ text and checked Friday’s setlist the next morning – almost 4.5 hours with a “Fluffhead” opener?!?! We headed down to Hampton on Saturday with heightened anticipation, made it to the lots around 3, and steered towards the Mothership to snag a good spot in line before tag-teaming to check out the lot. The line was fun, with folks selling beer and snacks in between getting confiscated and ticketed, seemingly at random.

There were also plenty of fun-loving phans walking around with a finger in the air, hoping for that miracle. The most interesting trade I saw Saturday was a guy carrying around a nice new snowboard he was willing to trade for an extra. And I sincerely hope someone was moved by the cute-as-hell dog wearing a sign that read, “I ate the Sundays – help please!” While the wife waited in line for a bit, I cruised the lots to get a feel – and damn it was a good one. Tons of friendly people chillin; everyone in a great mood from
either witnessing or hearing about the insanely good show on Friday night…seriously, even the bike cops were smiling. Really made me wish BOT and my other phish-loving friends had gotten tickets. There were vendors selling the usual necklaces, glass, posters, and often-clever shirts... and evidently loads of other goods if the widely-reported arrest numbers are accurate.

Made it back to the line in time to discuss the art of ticket trading with some old-school fans from Arizona – seriously, someone should write a paper on the economic wizardry of getting into the shows you want while making enough cash to pay for travel; it’s supply and demand at its finest. The line got fatter as soon as it started moving... I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and say that it was people meeting friends who were holding down a spot and not just asshole linecutters. The excitement was palpable once we got in, with a lot of people sprinting upon entering the door. This wouldn’t have been possible about an hour into the night, when the concrete hallways and stairs turned into a damn slip-and-slide. We ended up on the floor, about twenty people back, directly in front of Trey’s mic stand... amazing. The wife stayed up there for most of the show, with me getting separated at set break and ending up further back on the floor Page-side. It’s hard to describe such a great two nights of music, but I figured the best way would be to summarize each night, then go through my top moments, especially since most of you have listened to the shows by now anyway. The sound couldn’t have been better both nights, kudos to the new guy for nailing it. The lights were, of course, AMAZING - thank goodness for Kuroda and his impeccable timing. Alright, onto Saturday...

I have only listened to Friday on tape, but IMO Saturday was the weakest of the three nights in terms of execution, jams, and song selection. This was evidenced by the fact that Trey quickly removed his axe after an amazing “A Day in the Life.” Both Page and Mike were looking at him immediately after the song and Mike definitely seemed reluctant to put his bass down. Also, the balloons hanging from the rafters – which dropped on the last or second-to-last song on both of the other nights – were never let loose on Saturday. Trey was a liiitttle bit off for a chunk of thenight, and even Fishman and Mike had a few flubs. I am absolutely NOT complaining though, because this show is still better than nearly anything played post-hiatus1. And we in the crowd didn’t really notice at all – our favorite band had come back in a big way and we were getting down. All in all, I thought Page played the best throughout Saturday night and was calling the evening a definite Page night. However, after witnessing Sunday’s show and thinking the same damn thing, I think Page has just taken his playing to a new level. When you match that with Trey returning to form and Mike and Fish remaining solid, well, it’s time to get excited for summer. Purely speculation, but I think Trey’s bust and sobriety led Page to get clean too, and we’re all the beneficiaries of the improvement. Alright, highlights...

1) “Wolfman’s Brother” was my favorite of the night, and contained a jam that should remind us all how incredible it can be when these 4 guys are firing on all cylinders and playing as one: Fishman holding it down while working in some interesting variations that only he can pull off, Mike funking it up with some deeeeeep bass slapping, Trey shredding and placing perfect notes, and Page synching up all of the greatness with the the clav and baby grand.
2) Second for me was “A Day in the Life,” because of its unexpectedness, great execution, and my undying love for the original band of four geniuses. It also capped off my supposed Page night nicely.
3) A close third was “Reba” – near perfectly executed, if unfinished (hey if it was gonna happen, this weekend would have been the time). The jam segment was wonderful too, with Trey taking the lead and keeping the spaciness under control. With all the talk of the Ross Compressor being back in play, his tone seemed pretty late period to me. Listen to the “Reba” jam for a good example. I don’t mind it at all, though... we are still witnessing the work of a Jedi.
4) Fourth was probably the “Gumbo” right before it, which had a really nice little jam before the ragtime ending.
5) I’ll go with “Guelah” for the fifth spot. Unexpected and well played... it wasn’t perfect but it was damn close. The dance was a surprise too, and the roar you hear on tape is in response to the white-boy goofiness. Great show, all in all.

On Sunday, I left the wife in our shady Norfolk hotel (America’s Best Value, my ass) and went with one of my oldest and best friends (Blair Phillips, who you can thank for the photos) to the show. Much of the same scene existed on Sunday with the only difference being an even greater influx of ticket-seekers. Sunday definitely seemed more crowded both inside and outside; I dunno if it speaks to the increased urgency that people had to get in or the knowledge of hardcore fans that the Sunday night of a 3-night run is usually the best. We talked to a guy who came from Denver for the weekend by his lonesome and didn’t get a ticket until Sunday – and paid a mean 4 hundy for it – and he was as happy as I have EVER seen a person when he compared his ticket to ours and realized that it wasn’t a fake. On Sunday, Blair also caught Matisyahu waiting excitedly in line to get in, just like the rest of us, which makes me even more stoked to see him at Wakarusa this year. Another favorite was the desperate dude with a desperate plan and a water bottle begging people in line to help him out...paraphrasing, all spoken with great emotion and urgency while shaking the water bottle:

“Alright, I’m not here to beg for an extra, I JUST need a small favor. So some tickets haven’t been scanning at the door --- IN CASE this happens to you, I want you to take down my phone number. If your ticket DOESN’T scan, wrap it around this water bottle with a rubber band, go back to the door and CHUCK IT as HARD as you can out to ME. PLEASE PLEASE help me out... Will anybody take down my phone number?”
“Uh, do you have any rubber bands?”
“Aw man, YOU’RE RIGHT!! ARGH!!” [Sadly as he walks away] “Well......... have a good show everybody.”

On Sunday, we decided to head for the seats instead of the floor, mostly to avoid the separation that happened to the wife and me on Saturday. We ended up Page side, fairly high up on the lower deck. It ended up being a much better view of Page, Fish AND, almost as important, the lights. Kuroda is a genius – in addition to managing a huge lighting rig to perfection, he lit up each of the balloons hanging in the rafters with appropriate patterns. During Sanity, for example, the entire ceiling and balloons mimicked a starry sky. The crowd in the seats seemed a good bit older than the crowd on the floor from the night before. The guy next to me on Sunday had been seeing them since ‘93 and had caught over 90 shows in all. He was witness to some absolutely epic moments in Phishtory – from the hot dog show to Big Cypress. He ranked Friday’s Hampton show in his Top 5. If Saturday and Sunday hadn’t been so great, I’d really be cursing myself for not finding a way into Friday. Argh, who am I kidding, I still am. For those interested, he ranked 12/01/95 as one of his top shows – played at the home of the Hershey Bears, buy that shiz here.

The night did not disappoint, and I think it blew Saturday out of the water. Better jams and a perfect (well, if you take out “All of These Dreams”) setlist. I also enjoyed being in the seats more than the floor (this might just speak to my age), but there was a better connection to the energy of the entire crowd and, by extension, the band. The second set, in particular, was unreal. And sorry, but Sunday was so good that my Top 5 has expanded to a top 10.

1) “Down with Disease” was my favorite for the night and of Sat/Sun. It contains what (IMO) is easily the best jam of the weekend. Shiz, listen to all 4 of them going off at around the 9 minute mark. Great set opener too.
2) Pretty close was “My Friend, My Friend,” which is my favorite Phish song at the moment... you know how it changes. Executed to near perfection, it illustrates the skilled composition, playfulness, and beautiful dissonance of America’s greatest band to a tee.
3) Wow, “2001” hit at the perfect time. It segued expertly from a spacey “Twist” jam into a funktastic “Moma,” with CK5 lighting up the place in green alien lighting while the crowd tossed around a giant inflatable alien.
4) I’ll rank “AC/DC Bag” next, for the tight little machine-gun jam out of the song and the fact that our boy Trey was singing through a smile the entire time. Also, the energy from the jam went directly into “MF,MF”... holy crap.
5) “Contact” comes next, thanks to its stellar positioning as encore to a 3-night run, the great funk breakdown, and the awesome Happy Birthday to Fish’s dad immediately before the song. My sorry ass was calling “Jack McConnell” and expecting tap-dancing whenever Trey starting talking up one of the parents, but the payoff ended up being even better.
6) “Free” comes in at 6. This was one of the many Sunday tunes that actually had our portion of the Mothership shaking beneath our feet. We all felt the feeling we forgot.
7) The “CTB” leading into “Free” was great too, and it showcased more of the Page pwning that I have been referencing throughout. Easily the best “CTB” I have ever heard, on tape or otherwise.
8/9) “Wilson” and “Gin” come in at 8/9 thanks to killer playing and a personal connection. At the first ‘Roo, Blair and I bailed early on Sunday night to beat the traffic, and ended up missing Trey (and the Phish-hungry crowd) belting out these tunes. We have regretted it ever since, and were discussing the choke in line right before the show. Getting them both within the first 4 songs kinda brought things full circle.
10) Finally, I’ve got go with “Horse” > “Silent in the Morning” barely edging out the keytar’d up “Frankenstein” – again due to a personal connection. My other phriend Brett and I once took an ill-advised trip to Mexico on the 4th of July with Rift as our only CD. “Silent in the Morning” was the jam of the weekend, and I still disproportionately love the tune and its lyrics to this day. “Shower in the Morning!”

On the way out, I was a little bummed by the depressing ‘Tank City’ set up along the trees directly outside the Coliseum. I understand the depression of not getting in but, seriously, there were 100+ people sitting around huffing gas. The d-bags with tanks must have paid off the cops. Whatever, it didn’t take anything away from an incredible Hampton run. Phish is BACK and primed to keep rippin’ it up for a long time to come.

Get excited for summer. Got any extras?

Words by Bacon, Photos by Blair Phillips