Phish shows are becoming a rarity for me . . . so many things to do in this life! Each one now is a true Event, and perhaps my last. Bethel, on my birthday, for my wife's first show? Hell yeah, let's do this.

She'd never seen Phish live (watched a few NYE shows with me, including 12/31/23) but she knows how to let music move her body. That was helpful outta the gate when they started with an atypical and oddly low-key First Tube. No Men's also started out a bit tentative but my wife was digging the slightly gentler, happier Phish compared to the bit of prep I'd given her and we were having a blast together, which is what really matters! Trey got his feet under him during that No Men's.

They put the Fun in Funk with Cavern and then MFMF devolved into a fab jam, well worth seeking out. It made for a great introduction to live, longer-form improv for her. Not too far-reaching, mostly in the pocket, and highly danceable. That sentence doesn't do justice to it's awesomeness.

I've always wondered how the band can drop an incredible jam and then immediately launch into something massive like DWD. Hearing Trey say they needed to regroup after that MFMF was reassuring - like, these guys are human after all! It did lead to a jukebox run of tunes, most of which I don't like. And yet, I enjoyed. "He can be Taught!" Connecting with other fans as the Norwegian Wood tease emerged . . . my wife knew Julius and sang-along . . . I don't think there's much to revisit in the rest of the first set (that 2001 had a few hot minutes - quote from her "I didn't know they could be a funk band!"), but I had way more fun during the latter half than I would've expected.

I've long since stopped the practice of wishing for certain songs. I played @ProfJibbo's game for MBird and went 0-for-6 on my $49 picks for my 49th birthday (missed Weigh by 1 day!). During set break my wife asked "If there's one thing you could get for your birthday, what would it be?" The answer, always: Tweezer.

We played Wedge as part of our rehearsal night party playlist, so we were making eyes at each other. And then Phish dropped into Tweezer and she and I boogied together SO HARD. It was these two massively important parts of my life coming together in a way that was pure magic. And it was an "easy" Tweezer for her. Some deep dancey grooves, forays into the unknown, soaring lines from Trey, and then return to the groovy zone. The crowd was united, she got IT . . . perfection.

The Pillow Jets that followed was heavy, chaotic, and dark, morphing into some raging Hendrix licks from Trey. They lost my wife during that jam and I let her go - "I'm on my own journey now". This jam was another birthday treat, the kind of Phish I love most. Complex and intense and heretofore unheard of.

WTF. Tweezer, back?? She looked at me and we smiled and were reunited in joy after the darkness of Pillow Jets. For her, it was familiar ground. For me? A miracle that flowed into Piper, which had more complex interplay but was still danceable and wound it's way back into Tweezer and yeah, it's a Tweezerfest for my birthday!!! That 55 minute chunk of Phish is worth stopping what you're doing and listening to. Now.

Shine a Light was a surprise that worked as a breather (and now she's calling me "honey love"). A scattered and super fun type II Chalkdust to close, my first BBFCM . . . I have long felt spoiled by this band, and 08/09/24 was no exception. There must be something More than this, sure, I get that sentiment and I sang and vibrated and pulsated. But at the same time, this life as it is can be experienced so deeply, with such complexity, that there doesn't NEED to be anything More than this. This Life is everything.