Hello! Thanks for checking out my first column as the new Jambands.com Road Trip of the Month Editor. I feel like I have some pretty big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of Rob Turner. I got to know Rob a few years ago, and knowing him has been a great experience. In the time I've known Rob, I have begun to see more music than ever, and after asking several times in the past few months, he finally convinced me to take over this column. I hope you enjoy the stories about my road trips, and you should feel free to contact me if you have an idea for a road trip (for me or you to write about).

A Road Trip to Begin the Millennium
by Ira Pasternack

December 1999 - a hectic, tiring, yet fun month, caused by a busy work schedule combined with six Phish shows. Finally, on December 23, I left work for the beginning of a two week vacation. The main purpose of the trip - Phish's Millennium Celebration at the Big Cypress Indian Reservation, in the Everglades in Florida.

I had decided to drive to Florida, where I would then meet up with friends and go to the big event in an RV (I love camping, but when I'm packed in to an area along with 75,000+ people, I'll take the luxury of an RV). I took about 5 days to work my way down the coast from my home in Providence, RI, stopping to visit several friends and relatives along the way. On Monday, I drove the last segment, from Charleston, SC to Southern Florida. I began to notice lots of cars from New England, including the first several who looked to be headed the same place I was.

Most of Tuesday was spent shopping and meeting up with friends. By the end of the day, the core group of people who would be in our RV was together - myself, Merri, Matt, and Angela. After two grocery stores, a party store, a Family Dollar, a Target, and a few other odd stops, the RV was stocked and ready to go.

One purchase I must mention now turned out to be the "star" of the weekend. At the Party store, Matt bought a helium filled Tweety Bird mylar balloon. He also bought some other balloons, which were tied to the roof of the RV to help us find our way back. But when we went into the shows, we took Tweety along with us, and flew him (or is it a her, I still can't figure that one out) above our spot in the field, so members of our group could find the way back.

We stayed that night at my friend Jeremy's, who lives about 70 miles from Big Cypress. By morning, our crew had grown to about 15 people, and our caravan of the RV and 4 cars hit the road at around 9 am. After a minor delay in traffic (an hour or two, not bad at all since people who left a few hours after us had over 12 hours of traffic!). By 2 PM, we had arrived at the venue and had our area set up. Even though we didn't have a choice on where to park, we couldn't have picked a better spot, more or less central to everything, about 5 minutes from the entry to the venue and from the Delta (sort of the "downtown" area of the lot, with official vending and related things).

After setting up camp (pretty easy in the RV, but we helped the others in our caravan) we relaxed for a while and went for a walk to check out the scene. As a veteran of 3 of the previous 4 large-scale Phish phestivals, the size of the event didn't really blow me away - but the beauty of the venue, that was another story. After hanging out on runways at the previous festivals, I loved the fact that this one was all grass (and sand).

After dinner, I stepped outside our RV to check out the evening. Suddenly, I was aware of some fairly loud music. That was no recorded music, it was the soundcheck! I quickly poked my head into the RV to alert the rest of the crew, and they all came out and joined me as we listed to What's the Use. Turned out this was the first song, my timing was great. We were excited that we could clearly hear the music all the way at the RV, but decided to go closer. We could only get as close as the fence that kept us from the actual concert field, but we could see the stage in the distance as we joined the few thousand others who had been called by the music.

And what we got was like a compact set with just the juicy parts. After the ambient opener, we were treated to a Ginseng Sullivan . Then, I was thrilled to hear the opening notes of Curtis Lowe, first time hearing that for me. And if that wasn't enough, they continued with The Mighty Quinn, the second I'd heard and it sounded amazing. Finally, they topped it off with a Timber Ho! with a long jam at the end. After bumping into some friends, chatting a while, meeting some random people, we headed "home" for the evening.

The next day, I woke up and relaxed, and wrote some post cards. Our friend Fondo showed up, he and his girlfriend Sherry had left a few hours after us, and got stuck in 12 hours of traffic. But he was happy, and said no one really even cared about the traffic - proving once again that nothing could ruin the amazingly positive vibe.

Eventually, we took a walk to the post office - a real, temporary, branch of the US post office. I mailed the cards, and tried to buy some of the commemorative post cards they sold there, but they were sold out and we were told to return the next day.

Finally, it was time to go in for the first set. We found a spot about half-way back on Page's side. The first song, Water in the Sky, appropriately mentioned the Everglades, helping to welcome us all to this beautiful spot. A highlight for me in this set were Traffic's "Light up or leave me alone", which we had heard on Phish radio the night before, but hadn't played live since 1988. About half-way through the set, they stopped and Trey welcomed us to Big Cypress, and let us know that for NYE they would play one, long all-night set. Then, Phish was joined by Chief Jim Billie, Chief of the Seminole Tribe, and a few friends. They joined the band in a fun pair of songs, the first a "Native Greeting Song" and the second was something about Alligators (maybe about an alligator rustler?).

Since this was the first of 4 "normal" sets, not to mention the all-nighter planned to ring in the new year, I wasn't expecting a long set. But Phish seemed out to prove that the last thing they would do this weekend was skimp on songs, as they played this 12 song opening set.

After the afternoon set, we returned to our camp site to have dinner. As we walked back to the venue, we heard the opening notes of Wilson. This made for a fun walk, and as the song changed to The Curtain, we found a spot behind the back row of speakers, right in the middle. Further back from where we were in the first set, but we had more room and the sound was better. This would be our general area for the rest of the music we'd see. By staying in this general area, and of course with the stellar help provided by Tweety, our core group and many other friends we met up with throughout the festival had no problems sticking together.

As the band began Tweezer, a few of my friends and I decided to go check out the giant double ferris wheel at the back of the venue, called the SkyWheel. We bought our five dollar tickets, and then discovered the long line. We spent the bulk of this set waiting in line but we could hear great, and basically just hung out and danced as we approached the giant ride. As the band began Harry Hood, were getting close. But as we were almost ready to get on, the song began to come to a close, and we feared that after our long wait we wouldn't get to go on during a song. Fortunately, just as I was sitting down in my seat, we heard the opening notes of Good Times, Bad Times, and we were off! What a ride, what a way to end the set. Well worth the hour-long wait and $5 admission.

The next set was all about the music. While we could hear great and had fun dancing in line for the Skywheel, the separation from the crowd gave the last set a different feel. For the final set of the night, I focused on sharing in the groove. The set started with a lot of energy, right where they left off the last set. The Antelope was a highlight for myself and many of my friends during the first part of the set. I really enjoyed the breather we got with the slower, beautiful version of When the Circus Comes to Town. And then, they topped off the night with a huge Mike's Song -> Simple -> I am Hydrogen -> Weekapaug Groove. With a nice encore of Boogie on Reggae Woman and a Tweezer Reprise, and the show was over.

After returning to our camp site and relaxing for a while, a few of us ventured off to the Delta. We wandered through the a section of woods that had been set up with red lights in the trees, and checked out the drum "circle" that had congregated (there were too many people and trees for a real circle, but the effect was the same).

Just outside the woods, a stage was set up. A band I'd see once before, Cousin Fungus, was playing a set at 2 am. We checked them out, but after 3 sets of Phish I wasn't in the mood to deal with the crowd that was forming around the stage. Luckily, there was a large tent set up for one of the coffee vendors at the event, complete with tables and chairs. We took over a table, chatted, listened to the music, and I watched a guy at the table behind me as he created a lizard sculpture (or at least that is what it seemed to be in the half finished state it was in when I left) out of moldable wire, that started off as one marble with wire wrapped around it. Upon leaving to get some sleep, I complimented his skill and thanked him for the show I'd received as I looked over his shoulder, and he smiled and described the art as sketching in the air.

The next day, after breakfast, we wandered back to the Delta. Angela, Merri and I each wrote a few lines on postcards to a number of our friends who had spent several of the past Phish new years shows with us, but who had been unable to make it to Phlorida. We wandered around, checked out the people, ranging from the random array of phans to the performers (also phans I'm sure), including one guy who climbed up a ladder that stood 20-30 feet up above a frame that was a bit taller, then proceeded to release the ladder and swing around and around the frame. This was just one random fun treat we received, of the many, many more that must have occurred. That is one thing I have come to love about Phish phestivals, the band, as well as random phans, put on semi-organized performances of all sorts of wacky varieties. No one catches everything, but everyone gets some unexpected and fun bonuses.

Eventually, we found the one short line to buy ice, which then required a long walk with a big bag of heavy ice back to camp. It was almost time for the afternoon set, and after a snack I headed off to the venue. I left a bit ahead of my friends, in order to find some other friends. I found them, we chatted for a while, then wandered into the venue. Using Tweety as my guide, I found my group with time to spare before the set.

I wasn't sure what to expect - with an all-night set to come, what would they do for the afternoon set? My answer came soon enough, in the form of a long, solid set. The Runaway Jim opener was reminiscent of some of the first shows I saw back in the early 90s. I was very excited for my first vacuum solo from Fishman that I'd seen in years, in another tune that brought back memories of early shows I'd seen, I Didn't Know. As the set proceeded, I was surrounded by the positive energy coming from the stage and from everyone around me, as we all shared the last sunset of 1999 in the beautiful surroundings. Finally, after a set that just seemed to go on and on (relative to a normal set, but nothing like we'd experience in a few short hours), they set us up for what was to come with a rousing version of After Midnight. The only song played in the entire run that they had not played ever before, it could not have been more appropriate - after midnight, everyone was going to let it ALL hang out!

But first, we had the last few hours of 1999 to enjoy. We returned to our RV, where I took the one shower I was allowed during the three days (one more than just about everyone else at the show, the result of careful water management in the RV). After losing my distinction of having the dirtiest feet of the weekend (you should see the before and after photos ;), we prepared an amazing swordfish dinner (another perk of the RV). A few hours and an early champagne toast later, we headed in for what has become known as "The SET".

The 33 song, 7 hour and fifteen minute set that followed was nothing short of an epic marathon of music. From the time Phish entered on a swamp boat disguised giant hotdog (a prop from a New Year's past), through the entire Meatstick sandwich that followed (they opened and closed with The Meatstick), we were treated to the most impressive single set of music that I have ever witnessed. After the wild entry, the set got off to a bang with a fireworks-enhanced Down With Disease, and with the line "This has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way" we were all on our way.

Things started to get really wacky when Trey instructed us to all chant "cheesecake" at the end of the song they would do for a segment being broadcast on a Peter Jenning's New Year's special. The cheesecake yells, chants, and songs continued throughout the night - and in fact, the word cheesecake has become a regular part of my vocabulary every since!

As I look through the set list from The Set, I have a hard time trying to pick highlights. There was something special about almost every thing they played. The cheesecake vocal jam in YEM, as well as the occasional cheesecake lyrics inserted into other tunes (Axilla, Albuquerque) helped rev up the already high energy running rampant through the thousands of phans. I was especially excited to see Crosseyed and Painless for the first time, having been a Talking Heads fan long before I'd every heard of Phish. And one of the Phish originals I was most excited for was Sand, my favorite of the newer group of tunes. After Sand, came the first of what would be several periods of ambient jamming that helped bridge the gap between many of the tunes.

I took a breather of sorts, and lied back on the queen-size air mattress we'd brought in during My Soul, an experience I highly recommend if you ever have the chance. After the My Soul, somewhere close to 5 in the morning, the band took the longest "break" I noted them taking - all of about 5 minutes. I figured this was their chance to use the PortAPotty, which made the next tune they played - Drowned - oddly amusing. The combo of Piper with a segue into Free was another segment I particularly enjoyed, along with the bubbles that floated over my head during these tunes, thanks to the people blowing them behind us.

It was nice to be welcomed and thanked by Page after a spectacular Lawnboy, and then by the always entertaining Fishman after he sang Love You and then introduced the members of the band as "Phish 2000".

The last hour or so of music contained some of the most beautiful segments of music I've ever heard from Phish. From Roses are Free through the end of The Set, every note served to remind me of all that is good in the world. And as the first sunrise of the new millennium rose slowly behind us, as exhausted as I was, I almost wished they would just keep playing forever.

But as they began a slow and - you guessed it - beautiful version of Wading in a Velvet Sea, slower and more calming than the higher energy version that opened the show the day before, it was apparent the end of The Set was near. Finally, over 7 hours after beginning this marathon of music, they closed with a final version of The Meatstick, closing the sandwich that had begun when they began the set.

As the band left the stage, we wondered what would happen. Do you play an encore after a seven hour set? Soon enough, the question was answered with what now seems like the obvious answer of no, as the Beatles' Here Comes The Sun was played over the P.A.

After the set, we returned to the RV, and sat outside in the morning sun. I had kept a set list all night long, and for the first time I pieced together the several pages I'd used, and read off The Set to my friends. This helped us as we began to let this amazing experience sink in. As the first few from our group made their exit, a few of us ventured off to drop some momentous of the weekend into the Meatstick time capsule, before it was sealed and buried until the year 4020. After making our deposit - the widget from a Guinness can, an alien lighter, a Phish 2000 button, and a noisemaker - we returned for a well deserved sleep.