Myself and my crew flew into Atlanta on July 31st. We had a 5 hour drive to Orange Beach and got there a little after the sun had set. Some kids were also unloading and they even broke out a tank right there in the parking lot of the hotel. Geez, are we at the Mann in Philly? We went to stock up and booze and the liquor store had …...Yuengling Lager. What? Way down South they have my favorite beer? One of the many pleasant surprises I had when it came to my preconceived notions about the South.
We ended up going to 2 bars. The town of Orange Beach has a van/shuttle system, 5 bucks per person. It's a really good deal. At the first bar, we ran into friends from Vermont that hit most of the shows. Among their crew were 2 guys, Andy and Louie. I started talking about music the way I do. I don't remember too much about what I said but I must have made an impression because their friend Mark told me they had major man crushes on my and they cheered and applauded me when ever we saw them on the rest of the run. Here is a photo with another fan of mine
Out next stop was a bar called FloBama. It straddles the state line, so my run of not being in Florida (or America's penis, as Stew Beef calls it) has ended.
Capt Flatbrim was in charge and he had to sign about 200 pages of documents. We finally made it out and it was a blast and a half. We beached on a small island and proceeded to get down. Very chill scene. We also cruised around the bay and saw some pretty swanky houses that all had boat docks and cranes that lifted all of the boats out of the water. Seriously, every single boat house had one of these contraptions. High living indeed.
So we got back to the hotel and cleaned up. Unfortunately, we waited too long to reserve a shuttle and would have had to wait until 7 for a ride. So we walked next door, ran into a shuttle waiting for people and invited ourselves on to it. All four of us squeezed into the back row and got to the show in plenty of time. While in the Lot, Team Talbert ran into the DUDE OF LIFE. It was really cool to meet him and I gave him props on his solo album, which came out more than 20 years ago. Evidently, he's hitting a lot more shows, so this was super cool.
And here is a link to his highly rated solo album
I had one more cool person to meet up with, and that would be one Kyle McKershner from a little band called Devolver. It was great to see him again and he was really pumped for his first show since 2000. We ended up getting funneled through the VIP Terence to alleviate the long lines. And then this photo from Phish's Twitter account happened. Mad props to Adrian Assi for spying it.
Set 2: Down with Disease > Theme From the Bottom > Tweezer > Prince Caspian > Waiting All Night > Fuego > Slave to the Traffic Light > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Boogie On Reggae Woman -> Run Like an Antelope
Encore: Bouncing Around the Room > Tweezer Reprise
Teases:
· Boogie On Reggae Woman and Theme from The Munsters teases in Run Like an Antelope
· Tweezer jam in Fuego
· Setting Sail quote in Tweezer Reprise
Notes: Fuego included a brief Tweezer jam. Antelope contained Boogie On and Munsters theme teases. Fishman quoted Setting Sail in Tweezer Reprise.
You can stream it here
We made it back to the hotel and chilled out on the beach with the show playing over Switzer's phone. That time on the beach might have been the most fun I had all weekend.
This whole run was definitely an old school run. 3 shows, 3 days, 3 different cities. It seemed like Phish had realized how convenient 3 day runs in the same city were, but they said nope, we're gonna rage it like its the late 90's. Which was rather nice as my cellphone had a nervous breakdown right before the run started and it was more a pain in the ass than anything.
After another rather long drive, we arrived in Pelham, right outside of Birmingham. Our hotel was right next to the venue, ala Hampton. Our window overlooked one of the Lots. And what a Lot it was. Full blown shakedown, just like it was back in the day. After a rather long walk, we made it in and found our seats in the uncovered pavilion.
You can stream it here
Saturday,
08/02/2014
Oak
Mountain Amphitheatre, Pelham, AL
Soundcheck: Sing Monica, WombatSet 1: AC/DC Bag > Poor Heart, Cities, Kill Devil Falls, Reba > Possum, Sample in a Jar, Funky Bitch > Maze, Ocelot > Sparkle > Cavern, Wingsuit
Set 2: Carini > Ghost > Mike's Song > Simple > Joy > Weekapaug Groove > Julius, Sand > Wading in the Velvet Sea, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Quinn the Eskimo
Teases:
· San-Ho-Zay and Simple teases in Ghost
Notes: Ghost contained San-Ho-Zay and Simple teases.
Trey was very talkative. The Reba was the highlight of the first set for myself. Wingsuit was a weird way to end the first set, but other than that Happy Happy Joy Joy.
Second set was all about the Carini>Ghost. Trey couldn't wait to play Simple. He really teased it right before launching into Mike's Song. The YEM had a really good vocal jam and some cool dancing from Big Red. The encore was another new cover, and even if it was the day after Jerry's birthday, I will still take it.
During set break, I was talking to my neighbor Rex. He proceeded to tell me about his family history. His farm has been in his family since 1812 and he could trace his ancestors back to 1750. It was really cool getting a sense of history. And he was an Auburn fan, so he was still riding high from the Iron Bowl the year before. He asked if I was being bored and I replied, no way, I have an American Studies degree. I was eating it up.
After the show, a bunch of us retired to our room. We had enough people up and in attendance we ordered two pizzas, one regular, one a meatza. They said it would be an hour. As we waited, people passed out and left. So by the time an hour and changed rolled around, it was just myself and Josh. Way too much pizza for two guys. As I answered the door, the delivery guy was there. There also was some wasted guy, trying to give the delivery guy a 20 to come back with another pizza. By now, it was 1:30 2:00 am. I offered the guy a pizza for the 20, he took it and I shut the door. He complained no pepperoni but tough titties. So tip included, we paid 10 bucks for one pizza, with nothing to go to waste. This is why we rule Tour.
Another day, another city. Along the way to Atlanta, which was a much shorter ride than any of the other legs of our journey, I actually saw this sign on the side of the road.
A friend told us about a really sweet hotel, the Highlands Inn. It seemed to be in a hip part of Atlanta. I based this on my observation of a place called the CupCake Factory, a barbershop that specialized in mustaches, and a vegetarian soul food joint right next door. Ran into a friend of Dave Kemp Montana. We had met at Halloween 2013 but he couldn't remember my name. He showed me southern hospitality was for REAL. We rented and Uber cab/SUV for the decent price of 20 per person.
The Lot at this show was raging. It was definitely the best one of the whole run. There are 2 lots in Alpharetta, Lot A and B. A is the one they designate for Shakedown St. People were looking to buy the parking passes for this lot. And we enjoyed the Lot to its fullest.
Sunday,
08/03/2014
Verizon
Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA
Set 1: My Soul
> Bathtub Gin,
555, Pebbles
and Marbles, The Line,
Vultures, Fast
Enough for You, Back
on the Train, Taste,
Gumbo, Halfway
to the Moon, Stealing
Time From the Faulty Plan > Suzy
GreenbergSet 2: Chalk Dust Torture[1] -> Scents and Subtle Sounds > Twist > Fuego, The Wedge, Light > Harry Hood > First Tube
Encore: Fluffhead
[1] Unfinished
Teases:
· Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan quote in Suzy Greenberg
· Call to the Post tease
Notes: This show was webcast for free via LivePhish. Suzy Greenberg contained a quote of Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan by Trey. Trey teased Call to the Post before CDT. Chalk Dust Torture was unfinished. Scents and Subtle Sounds was last played on September 2, 2011 (109 shows). Harry Hood featured a duel section in which Trey traded solos with Mike, Fishman, and Page in turn.
I thought this was solid from start to end. The Gin was a great second song to get us dancing. The Gumbo was stretched out like it was 1997. First time in a long time we got that. The Hood had a crazy dueling segment and then led to its usual peak. And First Tube? WOWOWOWOWOW!
Our ride back was about the same except that Uber bases their rates on supply and demand. And demand was high as we paid double to get back to the hotel. But it was worth it as no one could drive nor did we even have a vehicle there.
So for the last 3 years, I have closed out the Summer Tour. And as with last year, I get off Tour and have holds on my credit cards for Fall Tour tickets. So now the countdown has begun for the SF>Vegas run including yet another Halloween. “He started dancin' to that fine, fine music, You know his life was saved by rock and roll!”
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
