Joosh and Jillybean Head west: Get up to get down

The day started off with breakfast at the TNT diner in "downtown" Morrison with Don, Jill, and Ben. The meal was decent, but the news we got was great. Young Ben had made the decision that he wanted to run in for seats that night. This entails getting up to the top of the hill by 3:00 in the afternoon and beginning to wait in line. Not too bad, except for the fact it was ninety degrees, and there is zero shade or cover in line at the top. So Ben, the Most Valuable Player, got dropped off at the top with a tarp and a backpack full of water and snacks; while Jill and I found a shady spot near the creek to take a nap. Three hours later, I was awaken by my phone ringing, our long time friend and travel mate for the last leg of tour Mike Thomas was on his way and almost at the Horton House. He arrived in time for the pile in and the climb.
After the run in, we saw what Ben's ambition had gotten us. The row behind the tapers. That meant incredible sound for us as we were above the sound board. We were even with the light rig, but I was concerned because of the mic stands might block our view. Fortunately the tapers kept them down and were of course quite the whole show so after fighting off some squatters we had the best seats in the house.

The show itself was incredible. The spot alone made for a very unique experience, but the way the boys played was jaw dropping. They made a statement, they played Curtain With which was the last song they had played at Coventry, their "farewell" show. The Coventry version was butchered beyond recognition including a restart of the With portion. This version was nailed from start to finish with tear inducing beauty. A lot of people had knocked version 2.o Phish (12/02-8/04) for not rehearsing and even before then Trey had problems remembering words. This show not only addressed the sloppiness but the forgetfulness. Many versions of Esther had complete verses forgotten and it affected the music as Trey struggled to remember. The Red Rocks version of Esther was perfectly executed. Two of my for sure highlights of the weekend. An epiphany enducing Hood, bittersweet Sleeping Monkey and a rousing First Tube wound up the show as we basked in all of the glory of Phish's sound and fury. Dead center.... amazing.