Phish/July 29,2017/New York,NY

Night #2, and we were excited. The donut theme for this show was Cinnamon. The guys began with one of my favorites: "Llama". They followed up with an energetic "Wilson", but much of the rest of the set was fairly relaxed. That all changed when the band busted into the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus". I was completely surprised and delighted at the same time. The ending of the song was a dive into serious musical chaos. You could REALLY feel the MSG crowd loving it.

Set #2 began with a very exploratory 20+ minute "Blaze On." "20 Tears Later" followed up with an early-70s doom-rock riff on the outro. Later in the set was a fun "Meatstick" preceding a somber "Dirt". Closing out the 2nd set was a euphoric "Harry Hood".


So.....no Cinnamon song yet. Here's when the guys encored with Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl". I found out later that they haven't played that in 20 years. (Almost to the day.) This classic sent us out into the streets of NYC feeling very fine.

Below my ticket stub is a photo I took on one of the three days.

Setlist for this show: http://phish.net/setlists/phish-july-29-2017-madison-square-garden-new-york-ny-usa.html

Phish/July 28,2017/New York,NY

My friend Adam and I were very excited to see our favorite band in NYC for 3 nights of their "Baker's Dozen" run. This would be my 1st time back to Madison Square Garden since the 1993 Jerry Garcia Band show.

Add the fact that our hotel was literally across the street from MSG, and we were thrilled. This show's donut theme was "Double Chocolate". The show began with Phish doing an a capella version of the song "Chocolate Rain". The set continued very nicely and ended with an intense "Sand". Set 2 opened with the mellow reggae of "Have Mercy" before switching gears into a raging 20+ minute "Chalk Dust Torture". The chocolate theme continued with their 1st ever cover of "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate. The crowd went nuts when Trey started with the signature guitar riff. Set 2 ended with a very high-energy cover of the Velvet Underground's "Rock and Roll".

I walked away from this show highly impacted by the intense *vibe* of Madison Square Garden. When the crowd gets engaged and roars, you can really feel it. Below my ticket stub is a photo taken by me on one of the 3 days.

Setlist for this show: http://phish.net/setlists/phish-july-28-2017-madison-square-garden-new-york-ny-usa.html

Steve Kimock/June 11,2017/South Burlington,VT

Mr. Kimock may be the most underrated living guitarist. He's played in a variety of bands for decades. He has played with members of the Grateful Dead,Phish and associated jam bands. Jerry Garcia named him as one of his favorite guitarists.

It's surprising this was my first time seeing the guy in person. I don't know what took me so long,but WOW can this guy shred on the guitar. He played 2 sets with a female singer/keyboardist,a bassist and his son on drums. Aside from originals,he played some Grateful Dead,Talking Heads and Jerry Garcia Band favorites. He's a very low-key guy who actually sits down for much of the show. Make no mistake...this guy is a virtuoso. Below my ticket stub is a photo I took at the show.

Trey Anastasio Band/April 15,2017/Port Chester,NY

After 25 years of loving Phish,this was my first Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) show. It was a rough 6 hour drive to Port Chester. I was in rough shape due to a recent alcohol relapse,but I was intent on getting to this show with my pal Adam.
  After arriving at our hotel in Stamford,CT we napped a bit. We were about a 15 minute drive from the Capitol Theater in Port Chester. What a gorgeous theater!! It's likely the prettiest place I've seen a concert.
  Trey played 2 long sets with a top-notch band. Some surprise covers included "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", "MacArthur Park" and "Ooh Child". The acoustics in the Capitol were superb for the multi-layered sound of TAB.
  Trey's gorgeous guitar brought me out of my funk/hangover/shellshocked state of mind during the first song, "Drifting".
  I can highly recommend TAB and the Capitol Theater. Below my ticket stub is one photo I took at the show.

Holly Bowling/March 19,2017/South Burlington,VT

I had been hearing of Holly for almost 2 years,so I was very pleased to finally see her in person. She plays solo piano (no vocals) renditions of Grateful Dead and Phish songs. In the spirit of those bands,she also goes off on gorgeous improvisational tangents within the frameworks of the tunes.

She started this show with one of my favorite Dead songs, "Unbroken Chain". She progressed through 2 beautiful sets of instrumental music,sticking mainly to the Grateful Dead. I'd say 20% of the show was Phish material. Her encore was a gentle version of Phish's "If I Could".

She nicely met with us fans after the show. I highly recommend this virtuoso.

Holly's site:  http://www.hollybowling.com/

Pink Talking Fish/March 4,2017/Burlington,VT

This was the final night of PTF's 3 night run at Nectar's. Each night's show contained a musical concept. On this night the band played Phish's "A Live One" album in its entirety with Pink Floyd and Talking Heads tunes woven into the show. The show was a sell-out,and the band played its brains out.

Joining the fun was longtime Phish collaborator Dave Grippo on saxophone. Other guests included local singer Hayley Jane and Mike Gordon's percussionist Craig Myers. The show had plenty of highlights,but of note was a blazing transition from Phish's "Gumbo" into the Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime".

Once again PTF proved itself to be a powerful musical unit with tons of improvisational ability. I'm already looking forward to the next show. Below my ticket stub are a couple shots I took at the show.

The Machine/February 25,2017/South Burlington,VT

This time around my pal Adam came with me to the show,and it was his 1st time seeing The Machine. He was very impressed. The band started out with "Echoes" and proceeded with a 2 set show which included bits from Pink Floyd's 1960s,1970s and 1980s catalogue. As always,the band played with passion,precision and a fine capacity for improvisation.
  A few nice surprises included "Arnold Layne","Obscured By Clouds" and "A Saucerful of Secrets". The band nicely returned for an encore which included the final 4 songs from "The Wall".
Below my ticket stub are some photos I took at the show.