For those who were not there, it is hard to describe the tone of the second night of Vegas from this past year. The whole scene was a little different in that there were not a whole lot of young folks (Vegas is really no fun unless you are 21+). This being the case, the crowd seemed a little older over all and a little more seasoned. 

After the intensity of the first night, the second night had an entirely different tone that was a bit more chilled out. The events of the evening included the "Hiatus Speechm" which was a maudlin moment which followed the singing of Happy Birthday to Trey. In all, it was a very "special" evening. 

The fact that there were primarily older fans in attendance gave the feeling that we were at some sort of convention where Phish's agenda was being announced. The music was amazing too, but that is another story. A big contributing factor to what made this night so cool was the people who sat in front of us. 

There were two couples who were a bit older than us (maybe in their mid 30's or a little older). We were introduced to them primarily due to the fact that they were incredibly wasted on some sort of substance that I still cannot discern. As I sat in my seat, my knee was about level to the neck of the woman sitting in front of me. This was during set break mind you. 

All of a sudden, this woman threw her head back, basically into my lap, and gazed at me with a huge grin. She also took her arm and wrapped it around my waist even though she was sitting in front of me. All she said was a drawn out "Hello." This took me by surprise just a bit. She was older, but quite pretty. I could imagine her dancing and twirling to Jerry's licks about 15 years ago, for she definitely had the "hippie chick" persona and look, just a few years removed. 

It's sort of hard to avoid conversation when a woman is staring at you from your lap, so we got to talking. Her speech was deliberate, yet soft, as well as a bit slow. "Yeah.  Us four [her husband and friends] get together at least once a year to see Phish, and we really party... We didn't bring our kids... They're with the inlaws... So we can just get trashed and see these shows." 

As she spoke, the other woman returned from the concession stand bearing the cocktail straw and napkin holder from the bar. Whatever substance inspired this behavior, it was causing these old folks to show us up as far as acting crazy in celebration. 

The woman continued, "When I first saw the Grateful Dead, it was like... I need to start having children so that I can take them to Grateful Dead concerts... and then Jerry died and it was like, Oh No!!! But my first born was at 10 shows of the Dead, and my second born has been to 20 shows of Phish." I was amazed. I told her I had never seen the Dead and all four of them busted out laughing in disbelief. I did not think that fact was so funny. 

She then said, "It's like, now I have kids and I need to implement them however I can."  This was weird. The layers of the conspiracy started to unfold, and the multi-generational nature of our culture was made apparent. She said how her 6 year old tries to describe Phish shows to the other kids at school. At that moment, it felt like we were all connected in a very familial way and that we were all part of a very unique and important tradition. 

The lights went down and we sang Happy Birthday to Trey. As the first notes of "Timber Ho!" rang out, one of the gentlemen in front of us stood up and raised his arms to the sky. As he did this he shouted in jubilation, "YES, WE Are ALIVE!!!!" It was awesome to see that there are people to whom Phish is not just a childish diversion but rather something much more important. I hope that someday it is me who is one of the old timers and that there will be others to continue our unique cultural tradition when we are gone.

 - Mojo Hamilton