I got online immediately to check phish.com, and I saw the official announcement. Phish is done. This summer tour was going to be their last. I was so glad that I had purchased my Deer Creek tickets, the day (minute!) they went on sale. I got two nights under the pavilion, which is all good….but only two nights to see the band that I adored. What luck.

I had heard Phish when I was a kid, because my older brother listened to it and went to shows. But it wasn’t until last summer that I realized how good Phish really is. I bought my first live phish album last July. It was a difficult time for me then. I was moving from my hometown of 20 years, out to the country to live with my fiancé who is a band director and got a job out here. It was the most drastic change of my life.

Phish has been my best companion since. The move has required a lot of driving, and I always listen to live Phish. I listened to Reba the first day I moved out here, and it was really touching. The jam was so awesome. I got a feeling that day, that I’ve never had about anything else. I actually cried because it was so beautiful.

It seemed like Phish made me feel so much better about everything. The music made me feel like everything would be ok….and it has been. I’m in college and I attend school in a nearby city. This requires more driving, which means more Phish. My cd collection has grown, and is still expanding. I love that every song is different every time. The improvisational jams are amazing. Trey, Mike, Page, and Fish really have a connection.

Phish easily became my phavorite band of all time. Better than anything else I had ever heard. I couldn’t wait for tickets. Of course, New Years Eve dates were announced, and I was so broke. Unemployed college student with no way of even getting to Miami. It was disappointing, especially when the same thing happened in April on the Vegas tour. But I knew my time was coming, because summer was soon.

I bought Deer Creek tickets the day they went on sale. I’ve been so ecstatic ever since. I wanted Alpine Valley tickets too, but my income tax money still hadn’t arrived. But it finally showed up, right before the announcement. Everyone is going crazy. Tickets are selling like mad. It’s going to be hard to even get Alpine tickets.  To know that this will be the last/only summer I will ever get to see them play live makes me so sad. I’m just glad that I will have the opportunity to experience it. Phish will always be in my heart. No band can ever fill the void.

- Cherish West