Later we saw him in a bar and introduced ourselves... he was very nice.  So it got to be funny; it seemed every other night we'd bump into Mike Gordon somewhere.  I guess we were going to the right places in Burlington, all five of them. He was always courteous but very brief; he probably has fans bugging him all the time, and we were careful not to be like that (among the film crew were three other guys who love Phish as much as I do.)

One night we saw Mike, but this night the star Jim Carrey was with us. Now it's Mike's turn to stare. Do we wave politely and turn our backs like he did to us for two weeks? No way, come on over ya' big dickhead! Mike and Jim hit it off and Jim invited Mike to our movie set.  When he came he invited all interested crew members to a party they were having the next night for the Phish workers and friends... at Trey's barn!

Look at the wall in your room right now. That's how close I was to them playing. When we first got there it was a party, everyone from their crew and ours getting to know everyone. I immediately searched for Trey just to see what he looks like in person. Not finding him, I looked for the next best thing; a cold beer. The bar was crowded and as I reached the bartender, Trey appeared and told the bartender he had a call. He then looked at me and asked what I wanted to drink. Trey served me a Sierra!

He started tending bar so I didn't get a chance to introduce myself, but later Jim Carrey stopped me to ask me what I knew about Phish.  I saw Trey ambling up and realized no one had introduced them yet. Jim Carrey, Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio, Jim Carrey! I was in that conversation for about two seconds, and Trey started gushing a little over Jim. The place reeked of chocolate the entire time we were there, and as the sun set, pan after pan of "brownies" appeared.

So many of the 20th Century Fox folks ate some that I am sure had no idea what they were doing. And then the music started. We went front row as soon as we saw them setting up in the front of the barn (I could go on for another page about how cool that place is, it's beautiful.), and I wasn't sure what to expect music-wise, but we got a show.

Set I: Farmhouse, Moma Dance, Hey You, Meatstick, Come Together. Jim got up and sang Hey You with them and then sat down, and they played Meatstick.  Somewhere in the middle of Meatstick they realized they were playing Come Together, and Jim got up and sang that along with some made-up lyrics that were hysterical. Longest Come Together in the history of music, it was jammimg and it was funny and it was Phish magic.

After the first set was over Fishman walked over to his mom Mimi and she picked him up off his feet! (if she was even five foot tall, 100lbs I'd be surprised.) I said "wow!" and she heard me and walked up to me and lifted me up off my feet (I'm 6' 200lbs), and then she picked me up again and twirled me once around and dropped me back on my feet! An amazing looking lady, God bless her memory.

In between sets Trey shot fireworks off in the yard as I tried in vain to get a cell phone signal in those hills so I could call all of my Phish friends, but I guess it was meant to remain an intimate setting.

Set II: Back On The Train, Windora Bug, Dirt, Twist, Bug, I Saw It Again, Rock-A-William. What can I say? At that point it was 1AM and I had to be on set in five hours... most of the crew had already left, but four of us remained and partied for a bit with the boys and they offered us Carte Blanche (tickets, V.I.P. parking, backstage) for any of their shows on the tour.

Because we were working all summer we only were able to catch up with them for three days in Oswego and had a blast, and then even worked our connection for V.I.P. parking in Big Cypress, but no backstage :(   Thanks for everything boys! Good luck on the upcoming tour and make sure to spend some time in Cal. If. Orn. I. A.

Peace,

BTHTBGIN