On the Eve of the next Phish tour, we offer up these thoughts by Jim Howard. Please feel free to send your reports and essays our way.

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What makes a great show experience? The music absolutely comes first, of course – but second is the energy of the crowd leading up to and during the show: the spirit of the day, if you would. The people, the location, and the weather all come together to create an experience that is shared by many, but unique to all.

After following Phish around for a week in June, my friends asked me, ‘How were the shows?” While each show had high and low points, the question made me think more about the experience, specifically how the scenes impacted the shows. Here’s my ranking of the scenes at four venues from this summer’s tour.

4. Mansfield, MA (Comcast Center): Great Woods is my home venue and I’ve got to say that the folks in Boston need to relax. We’ve known for years that getting in and getting out of the parking lot is horrific, why does the bulk of the crowd still get so pissed off? What is the point of fighting with the kid parking you? On the other side, would it kill you to let us park with enough space between the cars to actually open the door?

The Tuesday parking lot scene was uptight. Folks on tour didn’t know where to go, and the locals were grumpy. The fun, festive atmosphere just wasn’t percolating. The result: It took a bit for me to warm up to the show.

3. Hartford, CT (Comcast Theater): If you are going to have a venue that holds 30,000, I think you should have parking for everyone. When we finally parked, a guy came by and asked if we could jump-start his car. We did. Sidebar: When you get a jump, leave the car running for a bit to juice up – and back into your spot, just in case you need another jump on the way out.

But I digress. For mid-June it was a beautiful night and folks were ready to have some fun. There was mischief in the air and it felt a little edgy. So, while my pre-show was brief, it was a good tune-up, putting me in the mood for a great time.

2. Camden, NJ (Susquehanna Bank Center): Any trip that includes a car, plane, train, cab, & boat is going to score points with me. Taking the ferry over was a nice ride. I ended up hanging with a friend I barely knew and her crew from Penn State (I met her in February at the Trey show in NYC.) Folks don’t say a lot of nice things about Camden, but I can tell you that it was pretty sweet. Tailgating in Campbell field’s parking lot was a great take – especially since these folks set up in the last row beside a long strip of grass, which was next to the Delaware River.

The two days had very different weather, but both days proved to be very fun. We were close to Shakedown, which is always good for a walk (and on this day a frosty can of Fat Tire smuggled in from the West). The grills were grilling, the music playing, and folks were having fun. Catching Psychadelphia’s set in the lot was a great bonus. A setback was not being able to set up tents for shade, as the police were patrolling by helicopter, but that aside it was fun for all.
One request: please don’t throw bottles at the police cars; it really wasn’t fun when they shut down our tailgate. Please be more considerate to your neighbors.

1. Saratoga Springs, NY (SPAC) These folks know how to get it done. The word was put out that they had no interest in trouble: That said, the scene was mellow and chill. Having a pair of weekend shows helps the mood since no one was rushing out of work to get to the parking lot. The weather was great (no rain like last year) and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Shakedown was fun, and the lot was a nice place to spend the afternoon. Both nights I headed in a little early to avoid the crowds on both bridges. This scene made for the best nights of my tour.

Does the scene make the show? For me it does. A great scene can make for a great show, while a lousy scene can really get in the way. I don’t think any of the venues were lousy and I would go back to all of them. However, the great scenes at Camden & SPAC made for great shows and a great time.