[We would like to thank Brad Strode (@c_wallob) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

My first Phish show was in December 2003. Subsequently, my first Phish festival was Coventry. I have a lot of great memories of Coventry, harrowing though it was. Being 21 at the time, I didn’t mind the long wait in traffic, the 14 mile walk we took to get to the grounds, or even the mud; those were shared experiences with my friends and fellow fans. I remember the kindness of those around us, sharing with our neighbors to pool limited supplies we could carry in, and even that “Melt” jam was pretty fire. Another core memory of that festival was the trek off the concert field after the last song, “The Curtain (With).” I have never seen tens of thousands of people that silent, save maybe a sob from a disheartened fan (truly believing it was over), or maybe the occasional disgruntled shout of, “What the fuck was that?!?!?” Over the past 160+ shows I’ve had the privilege to see, I have frequently thought of the despair that everyone felt leaving that concert field, and I reflect on how fortunate we are to have this band back in our lives.

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