Phantastically Phish A Night with Phish @ Verizon Wireless

by Lindsay and Nick Eichelman

Lindsay and her brother
Nick @ a show

For the Phish faithful, Friday, June 19 was a much anticipated night in Indianapolis. Temperatures topping out near 90 degrees did not deter tailgaters who gathered in the packed parking lots at Verizon Wireless Music Center prior to the venue gates opening. Many fans we visited with traveled from Illinois and Wisconsin to enjoy the show in Indianapolis, and many had plans venture to the two day stint at Alpine Valley Music Center in East Troy, Wisc., that wrapped up Phish’s 2009 Summer Tour. Vendors lined the sidewalk leading into the main gate and sold everything from the ever-favorite $1 grilled cheese to tie-dyed attire. The pre-concert festivities were a fun highlight for fans.

Once inside, the sold out crowd energized and prepared to jam as the sun started to set and ominous clouds gathered in the west. The band made their way onstage a little after 8 p.m. and began their first set with a somewhat mellow “Backwards Down the Number Line.” The crowd quickly erupted when the band broke into the first few chords of the second song “AC/DC Bag” and didn’t stop dancing until the first set ended with a rousing rendition of “Fluff Head,” complete with a sky full of flying glow sticks timed perfectly to the chorus of the song. The band filled the intense first set with many crowd favorites, including “Split Open and Melt” and “Lawnboy.” Fans were treated to a first-time performance of “The Connection,” a new song presumably included on the upcoming studio album. The band had a palpable joy for blasting out their music as the first set ended around 10 p.m.

Shortly after the first set ended, looming clouds let forth nasty lightning and wind. Page McConnell, Phish’s keyboardist, quickly came on stage and announced the postponement of the concert and advised lawn dwellers to move to their cars, promising to start the second set around 11 p.m.

True to his promise, the band returned to the stage as the storm passed and began an amazing eight song second set. Elated fans began to dry out and ditch their rain gear after the long walk to and from their vehicles. The glow sticks returned, and the reenergized crowd packed the lawn, dancing joyously in the aisles during the 35 minute jam including “Tweezer,” “2001,” a rare “Suzy Greenberg” and “Possum” which rounded out the second set. The encore began with a humorous and light “Sleeping Monkey,” followed immediately by the “Tweezer Reprise”. As the band fell into the reprise, they seemed truly in tune with the music as the sky once again opened up and the lightening flashed in conjunction with the beat of the song. While fans left the venue soaking wet departing later than anticipated, no one complained. The faithful Phishheads were simply glad the band was back on tour and happy to have witnessed such an amazing show. And for this brother-sister duo, our first official Phish show was even more amazing than either of us anticipated!