Marathon XIV

It is set.  

The flight and hotel are booked, and the race registration has been completed.  

My 14th marathon - and my first since November 2014 - will be...

The Myrtle Beach Marathon on March 5!

Blizzard running in New Jersey

Yes, we had a huge snowstorm on Saturday.

Yes, we accumulated around two feet of snow in my neck of the woods in New Jersey.

Yes, there were wind gusts upwards of 20 miles per hour.

And yes, indeed, I ran 13 miles.

I had no choice but to take it slowly (8:47 pace) on the sometimes slippery, sometimes mushy footing - pushing up big hills that were actually more frightening on the way down.

I have always said you have to train in everything, so you can race in anything.  And you know what?  It was actually kind of fun.

For what am I training, you ask?

Next post...

Phish at Madison Square Garden, New York, Jan. 2, 2016

At an arena show, where one sits has a lot to do with how good of a time one has. It was as much of a negative on Jan. 1 as it was a positive on the two prior days. But Jan. 2 was different altogether and, for my buddy Marshall, a total game changer.

Marshall managed to snag tickets in section 308 of Madison Square Garden - a "lounge" section. The lounges are semi-closed-off areas with about 30 seats, a little nook on which to keep ones drinks (with accompanying bar stools) additional comfortable chairs, a table, a coat rack...and lots and lots of dancing room.

Too good to be true, right?

Wrong. It was awesome. Not only was it comfortable, but the sound was fantastic.  Marshall said he would never sit anywhere else at MSG.

The only problem was that it was almost too comfortable. It was so convenient to pop over to the very nearby concession stand for drinks or hit the clean, uncrowded bathroom, or simply socialize with the other folks in our little area, that it was all too easy to neglect my 120th Phish show.

That's not to say I did, at least not the whole time, because when "Your Pet Cat" opens the show (only the fourth time played since its debut on Halloween 2014) it is probably going to be a special night. Even though "AC/DC Bag", "It's Ice", and "Horn" were mostly standard, it was a treat to hear "NICU" and "Train Song", and executed nicely for that matter.  Long pause aside, "Divided Sky" was a pleasurable experience and "Axilla > Maze" and "Julius" were fist-pumping rockers.

Set II began with the "Tweezer" for which we had all been hoping since the four-day run began.  The excellent jam led into the funky favorite "Sand", during which I was reminded of how my friend John, just the night before, told me how much he loved the funk.  I have no doubt that John was happy with this one, though I am sure he felt (as I did) that it could have gone on a bit longer instead of segueing into "Limb by Limb".  This was weird placement and, admittedly, I found myself more interested in chatting with a pretty young lady named Chantal and her friends.  But "Suzy Greenberg" put my focus back on the show and I took great delight in pointing out the last line of the first verse to a gentleman in our section (for whom it was his first show) that just happened to be a neurologist.

In addition to the "Tweezer", the general consensus was that we needed a "Harry Hood" and "You Enjoy Myself", both of which climaxed gloriously after some solid jamming.

I was calling a "Mexican Cousin" encore, as a nod to the forthcoming shows in Mexico, and I would bet that everyone else had their own ideas of what Phish would play, but I would also bet that no one called "The Lizards" which has been played as an encore only 10 times out of its 306 performances (thanks, phish.net for those stats!).  I can not say I like it in that slot or that I did not return to my conversations with Chantal and crew, but hey, a Phish show is a lot of things and a social engagement is definitely one of them.

Of course, the "Tweezer Reprise" had me jumping in my usual pogo fashion one last time for the huge, rocking ending.  After four nights at Madison Square Garden, it is best to go out on a high note, and it does not get higher than that.

The next day, two people asked me, "Are you all Phished out now?"

My reply - "Are you kidding?  I can't wait until summer."


Full set list:
Set I: Your Pet Cat, AC/DC Bag > NICU, It's Ice > Horn > Divided Sky, Axilla I > Maze, Train Song > Julius
Set II: Tweezer > Sand > Limb by Limb > Suzy Greenberg > Harry Hood > You Enjoy Myself
Encore: The Lizards, Tweezer Reprise

Phish at Madison Square Garden, New York, Jan. 1, 2016

When the first show of the year is on the first day of the year, I consider myself a lucky guy, and when it turns out to be a quality show instead of a comedown from New Year's Eve, everybody wins.

Unfortunately, my seats way up in section 418 were pretty terrible.  On the plus side, we had a good view from behind the stage, plenty of room to boogie, and some easy breathing space.  On the minus side, the sound was absolutely awful. If someone tries to sell you that bullshit line about how every seat at MSG has good sound, tell him to sit in 418.

Nonetheless, the "Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan" opener got this New Year's Day show off to a raging start, and although I heard some groans about "Heavy Things" following, it was a great tune with good placement.  The set was stylistically herky-jerky, but Phish excels at that, making the most out of the huge climaxes of "Stash", the Pink Floyd-esque "Wingsuit" (though I have heard much better versions), and a soaring "Run Like an Antelope" set closer, while also chilling things out with "Ocelot" and "Lawn Boy".  The funky groove of "Undermind" gets me all charged up every time (it took me six years to finally hear it live, so it is still a novelty for me) and "Rift" is still "Rift" (that is a good thing). As Mike Gordon songs go, I am all for the new "How Many People Are You", and I hope it eclipses "Yarmouth Road" as a go-to Gordo tune (though the return of "Sugar Shack" would be even more welcome, provided Trey Anastasio can actually play the lick). The already playful set was made that much more-so with teases of "Stash", "Stealing Time" and "How Many People" in both "Undermind" and "Antelope".

A "Down With Disease" set opener is always a wonderful thing, especially on a New Year's run and clocking in at more than 15 minutes. Jams were definitely in order for the second set and the delivery kept coming with a big "Fuego", a bigger set-closing "Slave to the Traffic Light" and an huge "Light" (17 minutes), the latter being the standout of the night. The middle of the set dialed it down, but not too much - "Dirt" is still lovely balladry and the mid-tempo "Halfway to the Moon" had some fine lead vocals by Page McConnell and solid backing vocals by Trey and Mike. I am a little burned out on "Theme From the Bottom", thanks to listening to the entire Fall 1995 tour, but it was solid.

So what was up with the "Farmhouse" encore?  If I had to venture a guess, I would say the band saw that it was 11:25 and they needed to be done by 11:30.  It was a strong enough performance, but a disappointing end to a show that deserved a better finale.


Setlist:
Set I: Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, Heavy Things, How Many People Are You, Stash, Undermind > Rift, Wingsuit, Ocelot, Lawn Boy, Run Like an Antelope
Set II: Down With Disease -> Dirt, Halfway to the Moon > Theme From the Bottom, Light -> Fuego > Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: Farmhouse

Phish at Madison Square Garden, New York, Dec 31, 2015

There is nothing in this world like a Phish show on New Year's Eve. And I can think of no better way to spend the last night of the year.

In the past, I had seen Jon Fishman become Baby New Year; I viewed a strange animation depicting an odd evolution of creatures; I watched an air boat bust open to reveal the band on their famous hot dog cruising to the stage to feed meat sticks to Father Time; and I saw the band play on top of a truck in the middle of the arena floor.

And lots and lots of balloons. What more might I witness?

The first set already showed a fiery Phish cranking it up early. "Moma Dance" got right down to funky business. The set also contained a fully danceable "Birds of a Feather", a nicely placed "Possum" for a change (second!), the kick-ass crunch of "Martian Monster", and the crowd singing the final refrain of "I Didn't Know" after Fish did some vacuum cleaner sucking (we also sang "Happy Birthday" to Fish's daughter). The precision in the middle section of "Reba" is still amazingly impressive when they nail it (and they did), but the jam's peaks were nothing compared to the huge climaxes in "Wolfman's Brother" and the set closing "Walls of the Cave", though the latter's composed section was not as well executed.

Opening a second set with "The Wedge" may seem weird, but it worked well and sure got me dancing. I've grown to thoroughly enjoy "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing", but I'm still not on board with "Yarmouth Road". It has a weak hook and a mediocre melody.  "Wilson" and "Twist" always sound great in an arena with their audience participation bits, and the jam in the latter soared to crazy heights. But that was already after the ridiculously huge jams in "Piper" and a standout "Kill Devil Falls". If this was a standard two-set show, it would have been completely satisfying.

But this was New Year's Eve and things were about to get nuts. During setbreak, we were looking at all the balloons tied up to the ceiling and also noticed a spot in the back of the floor section with what seemed like a small stage up underneath an giant upside down cone-shaped structure hanging from the ceiling.

Sure enough, Phish appeared there and charged headlong into the funktastic new tune "No Men in No Man's Land". The jam ebbed and flowed and became something else altogether as a scrim lowered from the cone to make it an hourglass as smoke swirled inside the enclosure onto which psychedelic images and colors were being projected. At some point, the band disappeared even though the jam was still going. A few minutes later, the band re-emerged on the main stage, picked up playing from the pre-recorded sounds, and led the audience in the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight.

The multitude of balloons and confetti were still falling when the band launched into the most exploratory version of "Blaze On" to date, and even "Carini" (so-so song that usually leads to an incredible jam) was no match for the monstrous "David Bowie" that followed.

The third set wound down with the usual NYE rendition of "The Horse" and "Silent in the Morning" as well as a lyrically poignant "Backwards Down the Number Line".

A righteously funky "Tube" encore led into the big rocking closer of "Cavern". It was 1 a.m. and the crowd at Madison Square Garden would have easily stayed for more.

No one does New Year's Eve like Phish, and for the eighth time they brought the party to Madison Square Garden for yet another night to remember.

Set list:

Set I: The Moma Dance > Possum, Wolfman's Brother, Birds of a Feather, I Didn't Know, Happy Birthday to You, Martian Monster, Reba, Walls of the Cave

Set II: The Wedge, Wilson > A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Yarmouth Road, Kill Devil Falls > Piper > Twist

Set III: No Men in No Man's Land > Auld Lang Syne > Blaze On > Carini > David Bowie, The Horse > Silent in the Morning > Backwards Down the Number Line

Encore: Tube > Cavern

Phish at Madison Square Garden, Dec. 30, 2015

Phish is back at MSG for a New Year's run and guess who's going to all four shows!

Dec. 30 is the anniversary of the band's first ever MSG show in 1994. I was there, and still vividly remember being on the floor for that excellent show. I was also at 12/30/98, 12/30/2010, 12/30/2011, 12/30/2012 and 12/30/2013 at the famed venue, not to mention 12/30/99 at Big Cypress.

Needless to say, Dec. 30 is a special date for me when it comes to Phish and tonight's show was up there with the best.

On paper, the first set seems pretty standard, but the opening combo of "Sample in a Jar" and "Free" reminded me of the fall 1995 shows to which I've been listening, though with a tighter, more punchy version of the latter than any of those old shows. "Simple" rocked, "Back on the Train" chugged along with considerable verve, "Waiting All Night" and "Roggae" chilled nicely in their mellow grooves, and "555" brought some funk. The set-closing one-two wallop of "The Dogs" and "46 Days" destroyed any notion that this was some kind of standard first set.

That only set the stage for set two, though. The flub in the opener "Chalk Dust Torture" (Fish stopped the jam but Trey kept going) led to a totally different jam in a new key and with a dark tone out of which sprang "Ghost", which abruptly segued (crashed) into a brand new upbeat number called "Can't Always Listen", which crashed right back into "Ghost" (reminiscent of some of the summer's song sandwiches). The non-stop set continued with a fantastic "Waves" and an even more fantastic "Bathtub Gin", accompanied by some beautiful lighting.

"Mike's Song" was a treat with a good jam that kept the dancing pants on, but the move into "Bouncing Around the Room" caught almost everyone off guard. "Bouncing"? In set two? In place of "I Am Hydrogen"?

Let the haters hate. I still like "Bouncing", and though the end part was a little rough, the transition into "Weekapaug Groove" was excellent. 

The surprises didn't end there. Somehow, Phish pulled off a startling but dead-on segue into what might have been the most majestic "What's the Use" ever, only to create another sandwich by bringing back "Weekapaug", complete with an "Auld Lang Syne" tease to remind us that this is, indeed, the New Year's Run and it is on. This sentiment was punctuated by a hard rocking, super-climactic "Character Zero" encore.

Friends, this is only night one.

Set list:

Set I: Sample in a Jar, Free, Simple > Back on the Train, Waiting All Night, 555, Roggae, The Dogs > 46 Days

Set II: Chalk Dust Torture -> Ghost -> Can't Always Listen -> Ghost -> Waves > Bathtub Gin, Mike's Song > Bouncing Around the Room > Weekapaug Groove -> What's the Use > Weekapaug Groove

Encore: Character Zero 

Vacation running in Florida

Some people like to take a break from running when on vacation.  Not me.

Sure, no one wants to set an alarm every morning when spending time relaxing and away from work, but I look at vacation running as a golden opportunity to see new sights and spice up what would normally be the same old runs through the same old places.

Two weeks ago, I was on vacation in Cape Coral, Fla. With temperatures in the mid-70s each morning and peaking in the mid-80s, it was warm and wonderful (if a little humid).

On Monday, I did a tough 40-minute tempo run on the bike/pedestrian paths of beautiful Sanibel Island and then cooled off in the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Tuesday was a four-mile easy run through some Cape Coral neighborhoods, using Jaycee Park on Beach Parkway as the turnaround point.

Wednesday's three-miler was supposed to be at marathon pace (7:01, hopefully) but ended up being at half-marathon pace (6:18).  Yikes.  I guess I felt too good and relaxed!

Thursday was rest day, and Friday was supposed to be an easy eight-miler, but again, the totally flat land of Cape Coral, the warm Gulf air, and the generally awesome feeling of not having been at work for a week made it a lot closer to a marathon pace run (7:10).

On your next vacation, I hope you, too, decide not to take a vacation from running!