Of all the meaningful holidays from childhood to adulthood,
none means more to me than Halloween. From trying to score the most
candy and having the best Yoda impression, to the teenage years where
shenanigans on Mischief Night take center stage, none of it compares
to adulthood when your favorite band does something special on All
Hallow's Eve. I'm very blessed to be in a select group of people who
have seen the first Halloween costume in 1994, the first selfie
Halloween Costume in 2013, and whatever the boys have up their sleeve
for this Halloween.
Back in 1994, I had seen two shows so I was still somewhat of
a noob. I had a few tapes but luckily my friend Bill had a lot more
and was fully versed on the whole Gamehendge/Harpua saga. After
raging the mini Lot scene, I took a treat and headed into the show.
Some guy was strutting around the floor in a beautifully
carved mask and loud pants. When the show started we realized that
guy was Trey checking out the crowd. As the show progressed and they
began the second set, a whole other universe opened up. I knew the
White Album front to back as I had done a report on it in high
school. My brain exploded as I witnessed the Beatles performing. Not
John, George, Ringo, and Paul rather the possibility they represented
had funneled through to the four lads from Vermont.
It was so good that when I got back to reality, the Grateful
Dead didn't do it for me anymore. ( I had 17 Dead shows under my belt
by then.) That feeling only lasted 2 weeks, but Phish was now my
priority.
Flash forward to 2013. I hadn't been to a Halloween since,
but I got lucky with mail order and was ready for a triumphant
return. I was approaching my 100th show and thought the
boys were playing better than ever (yes, even better than Fall of
1997). If you listen to the second set of Reading 10/29, you can
definitely hear jams that are reminiscent of the Dead and the Allman
Brothers. So naturally, I thought we were gonna get one of the
heavyweights.
So imagine my surprise when they announced they were covering
their unrecorded album. I listened with an open mind, but halfway
through I had convinced myself they were pulling a prank on us,
parodying themselves ala Spinal Tap, or the last episode of Seinfeld
as directed by Larry David. The energy of the place dropped through
the floor. People were just not interested in new songs. Of course,
now I love these songs after hearing them all summer. But at the
time, I was somewhat disappointed.
And now here we are in 2014. I've been seeing Phish for so
long things have come full circle. I had Halloween '98 tickets in
hand but got arrested going up to Lemonwheel so all my cash went to
legal fees. I'm hoping the boys do a artist's “greatest hits”,
and hopefully not a classic rock cover. But whatever they do, it will
be unlike anything any other band does that night.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
http://kempepedia.blogspot.com/
