I'll be at Nassau Coliseum, if we don't get two feet of snow again, a week from tonight, and I'm really excited over the prospect (Steve, you better scroll on because this post will probably give you douche chills). There are many reasons I'm looking forward to next week, some good, some stupid.

The good reasons are the three people that are going with me to the show, the venue itself which I find to be pretty decent for an arena, and the seats that POT scored for me (first tier, five rows up, directly opposite the stage. Bring on the sound). I'm taking my two son-in-laws, Gary, who was with me at 12/2/97 and 12/29/98 (on the rail at MSG directly in front of Trey, what seats, and a YEM and Divided Sky to beat the band!); and Jaime who was with me at 12/10/99, and 6/28/00 with an If I Could and a happy birthday front row seat for Ellen.

Also along for next week's show is a friend from work, a metal head with an open mind and heart for all types of music, Brian, who was with me at 12/3/97 and 12/10/99, neither a stellar show, but boy, did we have fun playing in downtown Philly before the concerts. (apologies for the run-ons) We're leaving central Jersey about one next Friday (it's all worked out in my head already, right down to the beverage du tour), getting into Uniondale around three to begin many hours of partying. All of these guys are really hardworking people, who love their partners and have their priorities straight for the difficult lives they've chosen. They are just a few of the millions of unsung heroes of the world, and this trip to LI next week is just a small token of my recognition and appreciation of what they do for our family and Our Family.

The stupid reason for being excited about next week's show at Nassau is basically 4/3/98, the second night of the Island Tour, which was also at the Nassau Coliseum. The stupidity stems from the fact that the power of the emotion that I experienced at the '98 show is certainly no guarantee that Phish will be as good as they were for about thirty minutes that night, but that understanding doesn't seem to make any difference to me. 4/3/98 was such a powerful experience, that Phish could probably vamp one note all night long at next week's show, and I'll still think it wonderful. So I would advise against reading anything I might say about next week's music. I couldn't possibly be objective about it.

And 4/3/98 wasn't really a great show overall. But the last thirty minutes of that show was probably among the top five most impressive concert moments I've ever experienced. Something extraordinarily powerful happened in that arena during the second set, that I still spend time attempting to understand today. It was an awakening that happened for fifteen thousand people all at the same time, a strange strong surge of emotional energy than rippled around the arena like some huge creature, benign and playful. And although the band was the conduit for the surge, the crowd was equally as important, as the energy was clearly passed back and forth between performer and audience.

And Steve and I disagree as to the relative worth of the first part of the set, the Roses Are Free->jam->Piper->jam->Loving Cup, he dismissing it as substandard dribble, my contention that the type of play was Phish on the verge of sleep, but not totally asleep. The jams in the first half of the set were very dreamy, aping the drug induced semi-consciousness of half the crowd, I dare say. I found it and still find it remarkable at times that it can almost put me to sleep. As a matter of fact, Marie did fall sound asleep during this part of the show, and didn't stir until the Piper, which was the first stirring of any life from the band all night. I was amazed by this particular placement and version, and re-read the "Pipers at the Gate of Dawn" chapter from the "Wind In The Willows" shortly after this show because of it. The Piper was the first herald of the transition between the "nighttime" half of this set, and the "daytime" half.

After the Piper, the band drifted back into a half awake, half asleep little jam before the Loving Cup began what would prove itself to be the energetic burst of morning in full glory. It was during the last half of the Loving Cup that an ardent fan, affectionately deemed Tigger because he was wearing a Tigger back pack or something similar to that, ran across the stage during the instrumental part of the song, and it jolted the band out of the dreamy stupor that marked their play most of the night. The awakening was unmistakable, the surge of energy which followed, undeniable.

The "Carini's gonna get ya" Antelope, still considered by most fans as one of the top five ever played by the band, raged the second set to its incredible ending, the band as alive and energetically into the music as in no way I've heard Phish before or since. The encore, which followed, continued with the same surreal energy that the Antelope left off with.

The Carini->Halley's Comet->Tweezer Reprise was the best calculated, best executed encore I've ever heard, which also managed to musically and psychologically link the first two shows of the Island Tour with the second two shows. It was brilliant, and there wasn't one person in attendance that night who didn't understand that fact. I can still clearly see Trey dancing around the stage triumphantly building the Tweezer Reprise crescendo to near chaotic force, a broad great smile on his face, visible even from across the arena. What an amazing ending. How could I not want to see Phish at Nassau every time they play it?

4/3/98 was also amazing for the people I met that night. Besides sharing seats with Matt, the son of a college friend of mine with whom I used to see Pink Floyd, the Dead, Santana, the Who and scores of other great bands in the late 60s and early 70s, I also got to meet some incredible folks from the Phish rmp and PB community. I met Kim Hannula that night. Kim was one of the founding sisters of the Phunky Bitches, and a wonderful lady. I met Benji Eisen who edited Benji's Digest, precursor of the Phishnet Digest. But most of all, I met our own Doug Loeb, Lawnboy to most, for the first time. Doug and I had exchanged emails prior to meeting that night, and it was a great pleasure to finally meet him in person. Even before he began wearing his patented astroturf cape, Doug was well armed with candy for the crowd, a kinder person I don't believe I've ever met.

Nassau has a powerful hold on me, and the only thing that I regret about next week's trip to LI is the fact that the LI Brewing Co, just a little north of the venue isn't in business anymore. I was looking forward to bringing my boys to the brewery for some swill and victuals before the show. If any of you can recommend a place to chill before the show and would like to meet up, let me know. Me and da boys are up for anything, and good food, good drink, good people and good music seem to be part of what a Nassau Coliseum show is all about.

Pebbles and marbles like things in my mind?

See you there,

- bill