After living in the past and feeling like my dad at Woodstock the night before, I got to Hartford in time to ask the traffic cop if there was any free parking left and he said, "what do you think? there's 40k people here!" I thought to myself wow that's a big venue and wondered if I looked like I hadn't been to a concert before. He quickly told me some team wasn't in town so there should be parking in that lot, and he pointed up a hill. I'd never been to Hartford before so I felt lost, but when i got to the top of the hill i saw the lot- about 13 cars parked in an area ripe for what looked like easy stealin's. But I went ahead and left my car I'd driven up from Chattanooga with all my stuff cuz the show was starting very soon. I'm often late. Born 3 weeks late. Not my fault.
As I walked from my car I crossed the street, saw a cop at the red light, then a brazen calvary of 4 wheelers ran the red light, turning left towards me and whipping by my sight in a slaloming formation! I was worried. But nothin' happened, and the cop didn't give a shit.
Making the long walk in I talked to a fan going to her first show, which is usually a wonderful conversation. And this one was no different. Then Santa Claus's slightly younger brother bonged along towards us and with pure eyes asked spritely if we needed any molly or doses. We said no thanks, but i bet that guy had some good stuff. I laughed heartily as the newcomer was entering culture shock. She cracked a smile too.
Anyway, I got a lawn ticket at the box office for $50 and went on in.
The heat seemed to inspire Breathe & Burning, a song i loathed for a year or so, before my profoundly autistic brother heard it come on my shuffle (even if i don't like some songs i have'em in my phone cuz phish music helps me breath) and he began to smile, shuffle, and sway to the breezy tune with the Dylan Thomas reference, which in turn made me smile with an older brothers love for his younger brother and now i will forever have a spot in my heart for the song.
The jam in Sigma was an oasis of a ton of new phishness. Great stuff. I love how they're jamming. I always have. It's like Trey said in that snippet of the Rockpalast show back in '97, "well, Phish is about change and process. and what i mean by that is that once we figure out how to play a certain way, we realize that's a bad thing and it's time to change."
That was somewhat paraphrased as I haven't seen the interviews since I lost the VHS back in like 2005.

So, since I'm no musician, but i do know how to improvise regarding storytelling, white lying to cops, and, yes, actual improv shows like the Second City Chicago folks who tried pulling off that Harpua, I'm forever hungry for newness in a world of repeats.
Sometimes I wanna move to Wakaliwood to audition for their wicked funny action movies, or some rural European town and take the train to soccer games, or the patagonia of Argentina to kick it with llamas and hike breathtaking mountains- BUT PHISH DOESN'T PLAY IN ANY OF THOSE PLACES. So, I'm stayin in the States until Phish stops or time ends.
I like being anywhere inside a phish show, and here i was in the back of the lawn since i was late and i also wanted the feeling of looking around a city and its citizens grooving to new grooves. This was a very interesting show!

But no peace for Jezmund tonight
I plug the distress TUBE>FIRST TUBE up tight!

As I walked with some fairly mild temped fatties, I found a tree and sat and enjoyed the rush.
"Ya gotta sit down so you don't fall down!" I offered to walking huffers.
"He's read the book!" said a funny fan to me from her car. I guess that would be in the book...
whawhawhawhaaaaaa the line to get up to the road back was a 40k person pileup, so i waited, And all i could do was laugh and holler, "THE LINES, RUSTY, THE LINES!"