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.

08/15/08 Deer Tick & others (Paradosaurus Wreck) @ Dilboy VFW Hall, Somerville, MA

Having avoided Boston for nearly the entirety of several friends' collegiate careers, my brilliant and talented friend finally cajoled me into a weekend there.

The lure of an art happening thrown by nerdy hipster weirdos was too tempting to pass up. Deer Tick was just beginning to make waves on the national scene with the gritty country fried twang of their debut album War Elephant, although given the group's New England roots, their inclusion in this DIY event was not entirely surprising. They were icing on the cake.

Deer Tick went on early and played most of the album including my favorite track "These Old Shoes". Echoes crashed around the low ceilings and slate tiled floors. The rest of the music varied between utterly forgettable and disturbingly strange.

The art element involved projections on catwalk models clad entirely in white. It worked better in concept than in practice.

The event ended, as things in Boston are wont to do, a little after midnight, which was just as well, since we had a bus back to NYC Saturday morning for an incredibly packed day.