Or will it? What the boys do is up to them. I find it hard to believe that they will come back with anything less than their best, why bother? Therefore, the proverbial ball is in our court. Whether or not the scene evolves will be determined by individual phans and the collective efforts of our phamily. Well then, what is this scene that we hope will progress?

At its worst, it is a bunch of spoiled, rich kids spending their parents' money, consuming resources at an alarming rate while driving around the country in a drug induced stupor. It is not an escape from, but rather a reflection of many of the ills of modern American consumer society. “I’ve been to more shows than you!” “yeah, well I have headier nugs than you” “go to hell bro, I have the sickest rocks on lot.” Etc etc. This kind of consumer driven competitive crap is the same whether you’re collecting shows, cars, bobbleheads or crystals. This is bad enough, the rip offs, ODs and fights over drug turf are so disgusting that they aren’t worth discussing.

Do I really think that this is a good description of the scene? No. If I did, I wouldn’t bother writing about it, much less planning whole chunks of my life around it. But all of that garbage, and more, did exist, to varying degrees. The key word there is DID. Just as the band needed a break, and a clean start, so did we – and now we have both.

So, what was the scene at its best? What was it that made you feel like something was missing from your life these past 2 years? Ultimately, and in its simplest form, it is a community. Well what the hell does that mean? In this case it means a lot. One of the biggest reasons for this is that our community is a voluntary one. Unlike your hometown, or high school, or even your biological family, you DECIDED to become a member of this phamily.

Generally speaking, unless you are a trusty, or were born to Dead Heads (or both, though it’s not likely), chances are you had to put some effort into including yourself in the community. It wasn’t always with big smiles and pats on the back that our parents, teachers, lovers, bosses and children said; “sure, take a few weeks off, drive around the country partying and listening to music.” Then there is my favorite, “you’ve already seen them so many times, aren’t you bored”? Hey, if I have to explain it, you wouldn’t understand. The point? The point is that certainly in theory, and hopefully in practice, every one of us is here because we want to be, because we love to be, because se need to be. So let’s act like it.

12 months ago, what would you have done to hear a live Bouncin’, Golgi, Sample, Sparkle, Heavy Things. Nothing else, just the tunes you bitched about for years. If you think that you wouldn’t have cared, don’t even think about using a NYE ticket. If, like the rest of us, you would have dropped everything just for the chance, and the vibe, remember that feeling. Remember not having any shows to look forward to, much less go to. Remember that no matter how big the scene gets, only a tiny fraction of the population will ever get to go (this is true in America, if you think about it globally its even more stunning).

Remember that something like 2 BILLION people live on less than a dollar a day (something to consider when buying your next grilled cheese). Remember that despite all her enormous ills, America is still the greatest country ever conceived (it's not an accident that this thing we call Phish happens here) – and that you didn’t do a damn thing to deserve your birth here, in fact, you won the fucking lottery. On top of all that, remember that you do not deserve to get in, you aren’t entitled to anything of the sort. So if you’re lucky enough to see a show, or 20, or 200, get on your knees and say thank you. If you get shut out night after night, get on your knees and say thank you for the fact that you have enough to eat and a place to sleep.

After all that, if you decide, like most of us have, that you want to be part of this community, recognize how lucky you are to have that choice, and then go fucking HUGH. Carry an “I am happy sign.” Bath yourself in glitter, every night. Give out candy. Give away hugs, and kisses. Make food for hungry people. Help people on bad trips. Feed rolls to strangers. Start the wave. Lead your section in signing “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Drop miracles. Say hi to Dirty Bill. Pick up hitch hikers. Listen to the music, scream when it’s over. Pull your lats dancing. Write long essays about how much you love the whole thing. Buy your friends plane tickets to the next show. Say hi to Lawnboy. Offer to B+P shows for random people. Skip through the halls. Get naked. Call your parents and remind them of how much you love them. Bring your parents to a show. Wear your disco clothes. Dance. Dance like no one is watching. Dance like the entire planet is watching and its up to us to show them how its done.

This is what makes the community what it is - a big group of freaks coming together to throw the best damn party the planet has ever seen. This is what being part of the phamily is all about. It’s about being with tens of thousands of people, many of them strangers, some of them brothers, all of them brought together in the current expression of one of the oldest and most universal human experiences. Music and dance have united people for as long as we have existed. We now have a truly amazing opportunity to combine the ancient ritual that is at the heart of a show with the technology of the 21st century. Not only is this incredibly beautiful, it is imperative. Technology continues to advance at warp speed all around us. Much of it is directed towards negative ends: better missiles, bigger bombs. We get to put it to positive uses; be sound, bigger lights. Appreciate this, revel in electricity at its finest, build more web sites, burn CDs for strangers. The advance of technology can’t be stopped, but some of it can be channeled to good ends.

All of that aside, remember what it is about being neck deep in a sea of frenzied freaks that grabs you by the guts and scares you shitless with joy. It’s about being part of something bigger than yourself. Something whose total far surpasses the sum of its parts. Offstage, the boys are just weirdo humans like the rest of us. Mike is a shy wacko, Trey is an ego head, Page is tall nerd, John is a short nerd, likewise, we are just a bunch of regular folks, some fat, some skinny, some smart some dumb. But together we can tap into something much bigger and deeper than anything we could achieve alone.

And the more we cooperate, the more we come together as a community, put aside our differences and focus on our goal – the creation of an honest, tolerant, inclusive, positive scene, via a big dance party – the farther we can take this idea. So where does this leave us? Trying to act casual as we count down the seconds until the lights go off at the garden? Yes. Trying to think of ways to give something back to the scene? Hopefully. Remember secret santas? If everyone does something small, or huge, to make the scene brighter, cleaner, happier, freakier, there is no telling what the possibilities are.

If not for MSG, then for Hampton, if not Hampton, then phebruary. Sadly not everyone can get in to NYE, we have to make this work, and we can. There is no reason every show can’t have the same vibe. We know what to do, and we know what going without feels like. So treat every show like it’s your last, or your first. Taking nothing for granted, be grateful for ever note you hear, and everything else in your life. Much love and get ready - The Boys are back in Town.

- Benjamin Moore