The scene at MSG was surreal. I have been to many shows (just not phish) and I have never seen so many people looking for tickets, offering everything from their first born child, tons of cash, or even shaving their fro. I was accompanied by my friend Mike who had only seen one show before he was a true fan. He was just as pumped as I was for this opportunity. We knew we were extremely lucky for what we had, and we felt horrible for those people that didn't have tickets. We were among a minority of people who just hung out in the preceding hours before the show. We talked to many people about their ticket woes and tried not to mention our possession of tickets unless asked.

I was tempted at one point however to give up my ticket to one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen at a show. She chilled with us briefly, talked about how she had journeyed from Wisconsin with her brother looking for tickets. She was just the sweetest girl, so nice and mellow, I really felt bad for her and I wanted to hand her a miracle. She parted from us to search for tickets and I never saw her again.

We anxiously waited outside for the doors to open and as 6:30 rolled around, we were the first wave of people to get in. The scene inside was pure hysteria. When you looked at someone else you could see how excited they were to be a part of such a monumental event in Phish history. Many of the attendees of the NYE 2002 show were newbies. To quote one of the pre show songs, "It felt like the very first time."

As we sat in our seats anticipating the boys, I was very reserved and quiet. My friend turned to me, concerned, and asked if I was ok. I said, "yea man, I'm so pumped about th....." the lights went out and the room erupted into the loudest cheering I had ever heard in my life. It was so loud it was quiet. I will never forget the feeling I had when they started playing piper. Everyone in that arena turned to their neighbors and said PIPER!

NYE 02 was a magical night. I doubt anything could ever top it. But I hope i'm wrong about that one. My one wish, however, is that someone could tell cody from Wisconsin that I think she's the most beautiful girl I had ever seen and I wish she would contact me so we could party on tour some day.

Hope to see you all on the road! Merry Phishmas!

- Mike