06/05/09 Phish @ Jones Beach Amphitheater, Wantagh, NY

Set 1: Wilson, Buried Alive, Kill Devil Falls, AC/DC Bag, I Didn't Know, My Friend My Friend, Ya Mar, Theme from the Bottom, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Split Open and Melt
Set 2: Down With Disease > Twist, Piper > Backwards Down The Number Line, Free, Twenty Years Later, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: A Day in the Life

Great show, horrible weather. I remember thinking the rising waters were going to consume us all during the oceanic tunes Theme and Melt. Other highlights included Buried Alive, I Didn't Know, the debut of the appropriately dreary Twenty Years Later, and 2001.

06/04/09 Phish @ Jones Beach Amphitheater, Wantagh, NY

Set 1: Grind, The Divided Sky, Ocelot, The Squirming Coil, Punch You in the Eye, Dirt, NICU, Ghost, Run Like An Antelope
Set 2: Water in the Sky, Birds of a Feather, Drowned > Meatstick, Time Turns Elastic, Waste, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Rock and Roll

The second night of the Jones Beach run featured one of my favorite songs in the opening slot, played much better than the last time I saw it at Coventry. Ghost, Drowned > Meatstick and the Rock & Roll encore were the highlights of the night.

06/03/09 Mike Gordon, Bill Kreutzmann and Scott Murawski @ City Winery, New York, NY

On the day off between Jones Beach shows, Mike Gordon celebrated his birthday at Tribeca's City Winery with an impromptu performance featuring Scott Murawski of  Max Creek and the Mike Gordon Band, and Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead and the 7 Walkers (who actually had a gig scheduled that night). The first set was reportedly short and sparsely attended, but as word spread, the crowd swelled (I drove in from Queens in record time!) and was treated to classics like "Quinn the Eskimo," "Express Yourself," Come Together" and "Peggy-O," as well as the debut of Page's gift to Mike - the fire bass, which would emerge sporadically at Phish performances of "Frankenstein" throughout the remainder year.

06/02/09 Phish @ Jones Beach Amphitheater, Wantagh, NY

1: Runaway Jim, Foam, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan1, Timber (Jerry the Mule), Cities, Driver, Reba, Possum, Farmhouse, If I Could2

2: Mike's Song > Simple > Wolfman's Brother > Weekapaug Groove, When the Circus Comes to Town, Kill Devil Falls1, Harry Hood, Loving Cup

Encore: Suzy Greenberg

1First Time Played

2Last Played 6/28/2000 (101 Shows)

It didn't take too long into Phish's return to catch a local run. As luck would have it, they booked three nights at the site of my first concert ever, with this first date being added to the initial summer tour dates on the same day that Fenway was announced. Like Fenway, the first night at Jones featured a pre-show rainbow. This was my dad's first show, and they encored with a song whose lyrics he likes to bring up when diminishing the band. He and his buddy, Deadheads from way back, enjoyed the show, despite both taking a brief nap midway through the second set.

05/31/09 Phish @ Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Set 1: The Star Spangled Banner1, Sample in a Jar, The Moma Dance, Chalkdust Torture, Ocelot2, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Poor Heart, Limb By Limb, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Down With Disease, Destiny Unbound3, Character Zero 

Set 2: Tweezer > Light2, Bathtub Gin, David Bowie, Time Turns Elastic2, Free, The Ballad of Curtis Loew4, You Enjoy Myself 

Encore: Cavern, Good Times Bad Times, Tweezer Reprise 

1Performed a cappella from the pitcher's mound 

2First Time Played 

3Last Played 2/28/2003 (52 Shows) 

4Last Played 8/2/1993 (620 shows)

After failing to catch the Phish from Vermont at their ballyhooed return gigs in Virginia earlier in the year, we embarked to Boston for the weekend to see their first ever performance at one of the oldest baseball stadiums in the country, Fenway Park. I was so excited for the show that I could barely sleep the night before. When we finally entered the stadium, we were awash in baseball lore. The scoreboard proudly proclaimed, "PHISH."

The start of the show was briefly delayed by rain, but soon a rainbow appeared over the stadium, and the foursome emerged from the dugout and convened at the pitcher's mound for an a cappella rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner." The remainder of the show was average at best, though bust outs of "Destiny Unbound" and "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" placated the song hunters. Plenty of favorites were played, and it was great to see the band once again, and take my girlfriend to her first show.

All too soon, the show ended and we began the arduous late night drive back to New York to catch some rest for the next couple weeks, which would be jam packed with music and travel.

05/26/09 Gang Gang Dance/Soft Circle/PackFM & others @ Lehman Lawn, Barnard College New York, NY

It was a nice treat to see local psych dance rock group Gang Gang Dance up close and personal on a university quad. The earlier part of the schedule lulled a bit, so we crossed over to the Columbia campus and stumbled upon a sparsely attended folk festival.

05/23/09 Star ’69 (Dead tribute) & others @ private party, Queens, NY

Baller BBQ V: One More Saturday Night featured local Dead tribute band Star '69 and a bunch of my friends jamming in the backyard. Good times as always.

05/12/09 Chris Barron, John Popper, Mike Gordon & Joe Russo @ National Underground, New York NY

Acting on an tip from Phantasy Tour, I hightailed it to the Lower East Side and walked in just in time to see Joe Russo and Mike Gordon jam with Chris Barron of 1990s downtown jam darlings The Spin Doctors. Later on, John Popper of fellow radio-friendly jammers Blues Traveler sat in on the Doctors' ubiquitous "Two Princes." Not bad for a Tuesday night.

05/03/09 Kid Koala/Adira Amram @ Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

Kid Koala, also known as Your Mom's Favorite DJ, is one of the best turntable technicians out there and one of the most exuberant performers to watch on stage. Adira Amram is a spandex-clad diva hilariously spoofing '80s pop.

05/01/09 Future Rock/Shout Out Out Out Out Out @ Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

This was a solid night of quality livetronica downtown with both Chicago and Edmonton represented.

04/29/09 The Dead @ IZOD Center, East Rutherford, NJ

With the success of Furthur, this might have been the final run for the remaining members of the Grateful Dead, sparked after a one-off gig for the Obama campaign. After failing to procure a reasonably priced ticket the previous night, I joined my dad for a solid show abetted by Branford Marsalis.

04/29/09 • IZOD Center • East Rutherford , NJ

Set 1: Touch of Grey, Pride of Cucamonga, Crazy Fingers, The Music Never Stopped, Deal, Days Between, Casey Jones

Set 2: Sitting On Top of the World, Doin That Rag, Ramble On Rose > Lady With A Fan > Drums > Space > The Wheel > Terrapin Station > I Know You Rider

Encore: Man Smart Woman Smarter

04/07/09 King Britt/Derek Plaslaiko/Zemi17/etc @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Brooklyn, NY

Though slightly past its prime, The Danger still knew how to put on a spectacle. This party brought ice sculptures and banh mi to the cavernous Brooklyn Masonic Temple, along with an eclectic line up. Things got a little weird.

04/13/09 Mission: On Mars @ Zebulon, Brooklyn, NY

I always thought this Indian classical fusion group deserved a little more love. Both the band and two of my favorite Williamsburg spots at which I saw them are now defunct.

04/11/09 Orchard Lounge/The Indobox @ Sullivan Hall, New York, NY

I think this was a Lotus afterparty. The late night was especially sloppy. I was denied admittance to the venue between acts and eventually ejected for the first time in nearly a decade.

03/08/09 Drive to Hampton, VA

On the final day of Phish's comeback shows at the intergalactic Hampton Coliseum, we decided on a whim to drive down without tickets to bask in the glow and it was glorious. The early March day was unseasonably warm and though we caught no music, a carefree day in the sun was a welcome respite, and set the tone for an extra Phishy year.

03/13/09 2020 Soundsystem/Ralph Lawson DJ Set/JDH & Dave P. @ Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

Ralph Lawson's live band project seemed poised for big things at one point.

02/21/09 The New Deal/Quagmire Swim Team @ The Silo, Reading, PA

A couple weeks after our failed attempt at a day of snowboarding and music, we managed a weekend in Pennsylvania capped off by a very lazy day of riding at Blue Mountain. The venue was conveniently attached to the hotel.

02/19/09 Medeski Martin & Wood w/Cyro Baptista @ City Winery, New York, NY

For the final night of this run, for which I believe each venue was a personal first, the trio was joined by eccentric percussionist Cyro Baptista.

02/18/09 Medeski Martin & Wood @ Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

The second night of this run was part of the Radiolarians album series which honed compositions through live performance.

02/17/09 Medeski Martin & Wood @ 92Y Tribeca, New York, NY

The newest of the bunch, this southern outpost of the 92nd street Y featured organic IPAs and overpriced grilled cheese to accompany stellar sight lines and acoustics. Medeski plucking the inside strings of the piano provided a lasting audiovisual impression.