I managed to get up and get out for a 14-mile run on that Sunday morning, outside the concert grounds and through the incredibly hilly surrounding town. It was brutal work, but nothing could shake the great vibe of the weekend.
When I finished, it was another bucket shower and then off to the concert grounds to ride the Ferris wheel, have another cocktail at the M Lounge, enjoy some food, and soak in the atmosphere for one final day.
Phish came out swinging again that night. Although none of the first set performances will make the Phistory books, it was a relentlessly solid and often rocking set that included an incredible "Maze" and the rare "Buffalo Bill".
The second, final set of Magnaball (and my last of the tour), was chock full of big jams ("Down With Disease", "Mike's Song > Fuego > Twist > Weekapaug Groove"), and beauty, too ("What's the Use", "Dirt"). It also had some wild surprises: it was the third "Use" that month, "Scents and Subtle Sounds" was played for only its third time since its previous performance in Watkins Glen in 2011, and "Martian Monster" sandwiched the set, opening and closing to the crowd's delight.
The "You Enjoy Myself" encore should have come as no shock, but there was still a "wow" factor as the band kicked it up and knocked it out of the park as fireworks blasted to close out this truly epic weekend.
In the end, as we drove home the next morning, it was clear to us that we had witnessed - no, EXPERIENCED - a Phish festival that will forever stand with the best of them. We are lucky that we will always have the memory and the mp3 download to get us through the next several months without Phish.
For me, it was eight shows in four states in two weeks. I could not think of a better summer vacation.
Full set list:
Set 1: Punch You In the Eye, Buffalo Bill, A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Limb By Limb, Waiting All Night, Theme From the Bottom, Maze, The Line, Stash, Reba, I Didn't Know, Character Zero
Set 2: Martian Monster Down with Disease, Scents and Subtle Sounds, What's the Use?, Dirt, Mike's Song, Fuego, Twist, Weekapaug Groove, Martian Monster
Encore: You Enjoy Myself
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