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EUROPEAN TOUR JOUNAL- SUMMER 1997
By: Dan Schillace dan@wallstreetsource.com

It was March or April when my friend John called me from Florida to tell me he got his Schvice, "did you hear the news?" he said, "Phish is doing an extensive tour of Europe this summer." It wasn't two seconds later that I was in my car on the way to my friends John and Brad's house to tell them the news. We were already going to Europe and had our trip planned out, now we had a reason to change our original itinerary. We knew then it would be the summer of our lives, but we really had no idea what we were in store for. We were seniors at the University of Delaware, my friends were graduating, I still had a semester left, and we were going to make this one count.

JUNE 20, 1997- Prague, Czech Republic

We arrived in Prague the day of the show. At this point, we had been in Europe for almost three weeks. The entrance to the venue was like a door in a strip mall, & we laughed in excitement. We went to eat and drink, and went back an hour before the show. When we got in, our jaws dropped in amazement, this place was so small. I had to look at the stage setup to believe we were really here to see Phish. We got right up to the front of the stage. There I met Page's wife, who was getting ready to take pictures of the show. I also met Eric, who for the rest of the shows was always right up in the front. And there too was the well-known Antelope boy with his crazy hair, holding his ground in the front. It proved to be an amazing night as the boys left their mark on Prague. It was a solid show with an amazing 2nd set that _owed so smoothly, one of the better sets of the tour. On our way out all I could think about was the next show: how much better could it get?

JULY 4, 1998- Lake Como (Cernobbio), Italy

We arrived in Como on the 4th of July. There were phans everywhere scrambling for a place to stay. The local hostel was booked. We decided to walk up to the venue to scope it out. Piazza Risorgimento was nothing more than a little brick paved plaza beside a lake. The stage was set up in the middle of the plaza; it was almost funny. We saw Trey and Page eating at a caf in the plaza with a bunch of people. At that point we all decided to sleep by the lake behind the stage. There was a covered dock/boat house that we took shelter in. We all hung out that night hacking, drinking wine, and talking with very curious locals. We all joked that the band would come down and play some acoustic music with us, their hotel was right there in the plaza. For some unknown reason, there were ^reworks being set off over the lake. It made us all feel like we were at home, considering it was July 4th and all.

JULY 5th

The day was overcast, but it didn't spoil the mood. Everyone got up and was ready to start the day. They were already setting up the stage when we awoke. We all spent the day playing frisbee, hanging out, and talking to the band. We all got to meet the boys at some point. I got my picture with Page, and some of us puffed with Mike. Some girls I met got to go on a boat ride with Trey around the Lake, it was a day out of a Phish fan's dream. It was like they were hosting a barbecue in their backyard and invited a few loyal followers. Fans arrived slowly all day long. I actually ran into two separate sets of friends from school. The soundcheck kicked off and featured a really long funked out version of Funky Bitch. The actual show, which followed a local opening act, was one long set. It was full of energy and the band was real into it. During Hood, Trey instructed Chris to turn off the lights so we could all see the mountains. If you like the song Twist Around, get this show. The jam during it had a 'Groove is in the Heart Jam', it was amazing. The show ended and we found a place to crash. One kid we met earlier was psyched for his ^rst show. Afterward, I saw him passed out in the middle of the plaza. His friends said he missed the whole thing.

JULY 6th

The next morning was painful; I slept on a hardwood _oor. We found our way to the train station, it was full of heads headed toward Brescia for the next show. It didn't take that long to get there, but we hiked over an hour to ^nd the venue. I ^gured out along the way that Spiaggia meant beach in Italian, so I was psyched.

Spiaggia Rivoltona- Desenzano - Italy

When we all arrived at the beach it was full of locals. Man did they look at us funny. This place was amazing, We were right on a lake with the Alps in the background. The most beautiful day ever. The stage was a two-foot high concrete slab on a basketball court, all we could do is laugh. I walked over to the crew and said "man you guys outdid yourself this time." We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing. The band showed up and they were just as amazed as we were at the scenery. They were swimming as well. A few of us went up to the stage after that to watch the soundcheck. I asked Trey if this place was an inspiration to him, and he looked at me and smiled. He asked us all if we went swimming and we told him how long we hiked for (remember it was July in Italy).

The guys were taking pictures of one another having fun, playing silly songs, and making fun of Fish. It was nothing but a good time. There was a lot of improv jamming and noodling, the band was basically taking requests from the crowd. They did a tease of Hell's Bells after some church bells went off up in the town above. Then Fishman sang 'You Shook Me'. Then someone asked to hear Mmm Bopp. Trey replied that would be going too far. However they did it, and Fishman sang it James Brown style, which such lines as "Too hot for the hot tub" and "I'm a 15 year old sex machine." After that, Trey asked us to sing. My friend Brad was chosen ^rst. Trey asked him to pick some people to have a limbo contest. I was chosen ^rst and a few others followed. Brad was instructed by Trey to sing "Another Bites the Dust" as "Another One Rides the Bus." The whole ordeal lasted for I don't know how long. After Brad, some kid we met got to sing "You Stoned Me" followed by a version of "My Bloody Valentine" sung by a girl. Another girl won the contest, there is actually a picture of this in the new Phish Book. I only lasted a few rounds. Trey commented on how he would love to keep doing this but they had to close the beach before letting people back in for the show. The show started 2 hours after that. I'm not going to even review the show because it doesn't matter. The soundcheck was a page out of Phish history and I was not only there, but a participant. To this day I still can't believe it happened. I recently got my hand on a copy of it on video and relived the whole thing. I don't think I can ever top that experience.

After the show I saw Page standing off to the side by himself. I walked over to him, shook his hand and basically thanked him for all he does. I also expressed to him how much fun the whole limbo thing was. He told me that they had fun too and how they enjoy being able to do things like that still. Page is just as sincere and genuine as I had heard and expected. Never did I feel awkward talking to him.

JULY 9th - Lyon France

Le Transbordeur was the site of the last show of my tour run. This place was cool because it had a bar. It was a well-known fact at this point that Bela Fleck was going to be at this show. Sure enough, the second set was complete with Bela Fleck and all of the Tones. *The shows highlights included the whole Bela/Phish jam and Eric giving me his beer. Oh and thanks to Dan for calling me a cab in French after the show...If I missed that train I would of missed my plane the next day.

AFTERWORD:

When I got back to Delaware a few days later, I told my tale. I don't think anyone really believed all of it until I showed them the pictures. I don't think anyone wanted to believe it. It was the greatest summer of my life, and the best Phish experience I ever imagined possible. If there is anything you should get out of this journal it is to make it a life commitment to go to Europe. If you like Phish, you should have the experience of touring with them by train through Europe, and seeing them in club-sized venues. There is so much more of an adventure doing it that way. And you get to see Europe during it all.