Back in 99' and 00' I was just starting to get into the band and with every passing day I grew in anticipation for that day when I would finally have "the experience" of seeing them perform live. Everyday I thought of how sick it would finally be to see them hoping that next time they came around I would be able to score a ticket. However, before I got to have the chance to truly live the band announced their hiatus and I was at a loss. Their breaking up left me confused as to what I would do, upset as to I never got to see them and most of all scared that I would never get to see them play, ever.

August 14th had changed all of that and I knew that there was no way I was going to miss my phirst Phish show. Ticketmaster, as I thought proved to be useless in getting tickets so my only hope was the mail order. The Phish gods had smiled on me, allowing me to score two tickets to all of the Hampton shows. Excited as I was about going to these shows I still wanted to be there when they had finally come back.

My friends and I arrived in NY the day before the show, that night I set up camp outside of MSG with my friend Pat. From 8pm the night before until 11 am when they announced no tickets would be sold at the door we waited outside. As the hours passed more and more phans showed up and anticipation grew for all of us. No one even knew if they were releasing tickets the next day, for all I knew it was just some rumor I had heard which was more than enough to get me to camp out on the cold streets of NY. During the night I had made many phriends making me feel like I finally had a place to belong...yet I was still not part of this phamily because I hadn't even seen them live. Still I waited through the cold and rain as well as putting up with the asshole, disgruntled one old man security of MSG who kept trying to kick everyone out. I waited the whole night well into the morning until they had driven the final stake through my hopes of seeing the boys that night when they announced no tickets would be sold.

Tired and hungry, I went back into the Pennsylvania Hotel to rest up so I could at least do some partying at night for New Years.

Now what does my story have to do with anything? Well, being outside with all these people that loved something as much as I loved it made me realize just how important Phish is to me. I hadn't even seen this band, yet I was camping out overnight w/o question just to see them a day earlier. It also made me realize that all the people that had told me I wasn't a phish head just based on the fact I hadn't seen them...were in my opinion, wrong. My love for their music be it live or on cd is what makes me a phish head. After seeing them live at Hampton my feelings were only intensified 100 fold and left me with the feeling of this is it. This is what I've been waiting so long for, and I can't get enough of it. Thanks to the band and everyone that waited outside of MSG for helping me realize just how special I really am to have experience what I have experienced.

- Johnny C.