After a full day in Vienna (Ween), Mike, Sam, and I caught up with Phish in Prague, in the Czech Republic. My parents had taken me to the communist Czechoslovakia in the 1980s, and my limited memories are of a dark, drab, bleak world. 

But in the short five years since Czechoslovakia had separated into two distinct countries, capitalism (fueled by tourism) had revitalized the Czech capital, breathing life into one of the most remarkable cities on the planet. The medieval city still looks like it exists in the 15th century, with extravagant castles and exuberant baroque treasures covering the landscape. 

The former home of Mozart and Kafka looked more like it belonged in a fairy tale than it in heart of Eastern Europe. 

Getting into Prague late at night on the Fourth of July, we checked into the Globus Hotel, a fun choice for our very own Sam Globus, but not convenient at all. So the next morning we headed into the city center for some first-class tourism. And, oh yeah, Phish was playing a club in this fairy tale kingdom. Twice. 

Oh, and as we were preparing to leave the room (#212, like Manhattan) for the show, my buddy Kenny Funk (yes, really) from Fire Island walked out of the room adjacent to our suite. I had seen him in London and Hamburg in 1996, and we were hanging out a few weeks ago in FI. Now we were next to each other, randomly, in the Czech Republic. Only on Phish tour do these things happen. 

The sets were short, and not only was the playing sloppy, but Trey was pumping his fists in drunken excitement the whole night. When the show finally ended with a Funky Bitch encore, Trey was jumping up and down as if he had played the finest concert of his life. I later saw an interview with Trey where he discusses his perspective of the music. He said how he'll think they played the best show ever, then Chris Kuroda will tell him that they sucked. I believe he was referring to this show specifically. 

The second Prague show was much better than the first .Opening with Buried Alive, then AC/DC Bag, I knew it was going to be a good night. Perhaps the band was laying off the heavy drinking (or drugging). In any event, they were on. Ghost morphed into Cities, which made so much sense. With the single exception of the Landover, MD, performance on 12-28-97 (my 50th show), Cities has always been appropriate. Whether it's in the heart of Manhattan, the staged city of the Lemonwheel, or in the magical, mystical land of Prague, find yourself a city to live in! Phish, as always, was helping me do just that. 

Train Song, the tune written for the phans on Europe's train tour in 1996 (like me), was also fitting. I actually miss that song now that it's been semi-retired (played once in 2000). Trey stopped the Set I Maze to thank the crowds for coming out. I wanted to thank Trey for once again giving me the chance to see the world with the world's best music as the soundtrack. Julius has a great, catchy guitar riff, and I always wondered why they didn't reprise it like they do with Tweezer. Well, they did it, starting the second set with Julius> Meat> Julius Jam Reprise. Piper, my new favorite song, jammed into the reggae of Makisupa, which was followed by two classic rock standards: David Bowie and Loving Cup. A Possum closed the perfect evening. 

The neighborhood was also a shrine to the thousands of Jews that lost their life in the Holocaust. I found my last name in the endless list of murdered Jews and said a prayer. 75% of Prague's Jewish population was eliminated only two generations ago. I was reminded to be grateful every day.