My crew was really itching for a show having last seen Phish on Halloween the previous year. I believe US summer tour dates were known at this time and we simply couldn't wait until 8/2 to see Them again. So 2 car loads from the University of Wyoming took the 24 hour trek down to Jazzfest 96. Wow! Was it worth it. On the way there we went down to Denver, over to St. Louis on the 70, and down to Baton Rouge on the 55(I believe).

I remember driving south through Mississippi was my turn to sleep so I didn't realize how warm it was getting outside. Well we stopped at a gas station I woke up and got out of the car. Woah! I had never experienced humidity like that in my 20 years of life. My Gawd, how do you do it? Whis Wyoming boy was not used to this at all. It was still cold up in the Wyoming mountains and this was a welcome suprise for the time being.

One of our friends was flying into NO and we had to pick him up at the airport. Picking Pete up was cutting it close to get to the Fest on time but we had to do it. We picked him up and headed to the racetrack where Jazzfest was being held.

I remember parking by a beautiful park close to the venue where there were lots of beautiful weeping Cypress trees. And walking to the venue we passed a film crew that, as it turns up, was filming something for a mini series that was coming out. The Big Easy or something like that maybe. Well, it's a cozy neighborhood where the grounds were and when I say cozy I mean compact, dense. Not the best neighborhood. On one of the sidestreets there was a burnt-out car- smoldering!!! Yes, a car that looked like it had been blown up yesterday and was still smoking today. It was surreal.

Well with a little help from the friendly locals we found the entrance to the racetrack/fest grounds. This would be the first of many Phish shows that I taped. Although no taping was allowed, i brought everything but my mic stand to try and sneak in. I remember my girlfriend Amber tied her sweatshirt around her waste and put a mic in each of the arms. I had my DAT in my underwear and Pete wrapped the cables around his waste and then tied his hoody around that. Success, we're in.

But damn!!! Phish is starting right now. We hurry through the crowd and festivities and get about 40 yards back in front of the left stack. I hurry and set up and have to hold the mics in my armpits/on my shoulders/Amber's armpits. It got uncomfortable at times. I tied my henley around my head and tucked the mics in there. That worked Grate once I figured it out. I still have the recordings and they sound pretty darn good considering. It's funny because on the tapes there is a part where Amber asks "how long is Phish playing for?" I can still remember that exact moment in time because I just looked at her and put my fingers to my lips as to be quiet.

Short but sweet show. Everyone knows how awesome the YEM->Wolfman's is and the CTB with Micheal Ray. I wish that would have been a little longer but still sahweet. The Funky Meters were after and that was awesome. ABB played twice at Jazzfest that year. Once at the fest, and once the next night at the UNO Keifer. Trying to get to the Keifer I thought I had got our caravan lost as we were driving through all these REALLY nice houses and then we crested this hill and Booo Yaaahh. Volkswagon minivans, drum circles, Grateful Dead flags! It was another surreal moment.

So immediately after the show we hit tge road back to Wyoming. The night before after Phish, we had slept in a gas station parking lot in Slidell, right a cross lake Ponchartrain(sp?) because i never called in ti confirm our hotel reservations and they cancelled. Needless to say leaving the ABB show that night on the 27th we were all exhausted. There was no way anyone was going to be able to pull the first shift behind the wheel. Well, i was young and dumb. I decided to eat two hits of L and start movin.

We chose to take a different way home thinking it might be shorter. We went up to Shreveport, over to Dallas and up and over to southern Colorado through Oklahoma City and Amarillo, TX. FYI, the other way is better. Eating the L ended up working out perfect as I drove all to Oklahoma in 12 hours and let the rest of my riders get some quality sleep. We traded off and I slept the rest of the way home.

While they were sleeping I stopped in Alexandria, LA to get gas and I think this place was also a brothel. Yes, I know I wa tripping but I noticed there were all these running semitrucks parked outside but I didn't see any people. When I went inside to pay for my gas I asked the lady how much a room was an she said "there's no motel here, honey!" I had brought my water bottle in to fill up in the bathroom and when I was coming out of the bathroom fromfilling it, I noticed this attractive lady coming out of this room that had a deep red light coming out of it. I dropped my bottle and when I went to pick it up she smacked me on my ass!! . I got back in the car and off we went.

A Grate time and a successful trip. For all you kids out there: driving on hallucinogens is not a wise idea!! Just sayin

Peace All