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Monday, August 8, 2011

Take The Highway To The Great Divide: Gorgeous Review

   OK, so the Gorge is the most ridiculous place on Earth to see a show. Say what you want about Red Rocks, you can't tell me it takes your breath away the way the Gorge does as you walk up over that hill for the first time. And the drive in is almost as sick. Mt. Rainier, which has to be one of the most prominent mountains in the country, seem like it floats above Seattle as you drive away. The Cascades, still covered with snow in the middle of August, are beautiful gray jagged peaks that seem to scrape the sky. Wide rivers flow everywhere. It's like you're in the middle of nowhere 1000s of miles away from civilization, yet you're 30 miles out one of the largest cities on the west coast. Un-fucking-real. Even the bridge to Mercer Island was amazing. So by the time we passed Wild Horse Monument outside of George, WA were couldn't imagine what to expect as far as a venue. It didn't disappoint. We pulled into Wildhorse Camping and met up with our West Coast Crew. After a warm welcome we roamed the grounds and shuttled over to Venue Camping, a festival-like shit show. The rest of our crew, Masshole transplants who obviously got the message before we did - don't worry we're coming soon - were raging already. We ran our errands, prepared for the show, and began looking for tickets. Once everyone but me had their tickets, I went off on my own determined to get a "cheap" ticket for the first time since 1.0. Usually I'm the one blasting these types. The "I've been to tons of shows so I deserve to take advantage of others who ended up with an extra ticket by forcing them to sell it to me for a fraction of the cost" types. I loath these people. Why do some feel they shouldn't have to pay full price for a Phish ticket? Really, I want to know. If you're reading this thinking "I do that", then why? Why should Bobby pay $60 plus another $20-30 because his girl couldn't make it? You guys want to know the kicker? Most of those kids you sell cheap tickets to are also ripping you off on party favors. Don't be fooled, most of those homeless looking kids have more money in their pocket than your parents have in their savings accounts. Consider that the next time you fuck yourself to "help" someone. To all of you taking advantage: Buy your own fucking ticket for $60. Everyone else does. These shows don't sell out. Go to the fucking box office. Oh yeah, back to why I got on this rant. Missing the first three songs of the first night because I was waiting in the worst box office ticket line ever. Thank you, chicks who think they can just go to the first loser in line that will be tricked by their batting eyes and tits. And then these douches fall for it, which makes the rest of us wait three times as long. You guys realize that other ticket is for her boyfriend, who doesn't feel like waiting in line, right? Just making sure. Am I bitter? You better fucking believe it. It's unbelievable how quickly our "community" breaks down when it gets close to show time. So when the wind was strong enough to carry the sound over to the box office, I got to hear snippets of KDF, Wedge (my opener call), and Gin. Thankfully my new buddy from OH and I made it in during the Gin jam...
   And were blown the fuck over by the breath-taking beauty of this place. The Sun was literally setting as we walked in to a sick Gin jam and we just stopped, hugged, sat down - in no rush to find our respective friends - and stared. Unbelievable. Oh yeah, the music...that was nearly as epic.


Friday, 8/5

Set I: KDF (8:04), The Wedge (8:23), Gin (11:43), Nellie Kane (2:48) > My Friend (5:54), Cavern (4:09) > Taste (9:06) > Roggae (11:17) > Walk Away (7:32), Funky Bitch (6:23), Roses Are Free (5:22) > Bowie (11:08)

   As I said, I missed the first three songs, but made it in for the Gin jam. So although I can't say anything about the tunes it had to be sick. KDF rocks, especially as a show opener, and the Wedge was perfectly placed. The Gin jam blasted off. Nellie Kane was perfect and > a great My Friend. A mid-set Cavern rocked the house before they went > into a breath-recapturing Taste and then > the sickest Roggae we've heard in a while > a BOMB Walk Away. Dude, seriously? Funky Bitch got the ladies going before the Phish launched into a Roses so sick I got teared up. Even though it's not Trey's solo, that first solo is just so...you know, right? It's just what it is - metaphysical. Such is Phish. It was that exact moment I finally saw the people I had traveled with and the party was on. Bowie...how would this one turn out? As sick as they come. The Gorge was here and we were about to be taken by aliens.

Set II: BDTNL (6:50) > R&R (19:54) > Meatstick (8:47) > Boogie On (8:42) > Farmhouse (5:32) > Show of Life (5:20) > Julius (8:20) > Character Zero (7:21)

E: Loving Cup (7:15)

   BDTNL opened Set Two, and although short and standard, was awesome. I love this tune. It has a jammy groove and has tons of potential...even though they do play it a lot. The next shit sent people to space. It was unreal. If I wrote set lists it would read as so: R 'n' R > Gorge Jam > Storage Jam > Meatstick What The Fuck* > Meatstick. I'd even go so far to call * Meatstick Reprise, but I don't want to stir the geeks. The music never stopped although the space ship brought us to distant galaxies with Page's theremin and back - and by the time we returned Phish was seguing into Boogie On SEEMLESSLY. I have to say the set did go down hill from our galaxy tour, but it's not as if it sucked. I think most of us were expecting a little more, because the end of Boogie seemed to be bringing us back to space, but Phish decided to back out with Farmhouse. Boogie > Farmhouse > Show Of Life > Julius > Zero rocked just the same. Highlights included my wife and her college friends (now in Portland and Santa Cruz) singing the lyrics to Show of Life in a circle hugging, the first Farmhouse of the summer, and a rocking Julius. I'm tired of Zero although I rock out to it every time they play it. The boys encored with a predictable Loving Cup and my first Gorge show was in the books. And what an epic fucking  chapter. There's a reason why every person I know who has asked if I went to the Gorge immediately says "Dude, that Rock 'n' Roll > Meatstick?" Get familiar.

Saturday, 8/6

   The Wildhorse Campground is one of the coolest places I've ever been to for an off-site camping situation. They had insanely good food; they had a great, fun, fast shuttle service; the staff was cool and left us alone; the showers were great; and they were cheap (same as general camping). It was great. And hot. After a sick breakfast burrito we hit the shade to recover from the night before. Everyone sat around talking about the Rock 'n' Roll > Meatstick. Insanity.What was next? Were they finally going to play YEM? What sick cover were we going to be treated to? What else did this epic place have in store for us? I made sure my ticket was in hand before I even left for general camping...and then saw that the box office had developed a new plan to make sure there was no back up and/or cutting. Fuckers.

Set I: Possum (8:08), Moma Dance (7:57) > Sample (5:10), LxL (7:22), Ocelot (9:27), Poor Heart (3:16), On Your Way Down (7:19), Wolfman's (9:18) > Maze (10:34) > Wilson (4:20) > Fluffhead (15:08)

   Possum opened the set and I had to laugh. An above average Moma Dance followed and > Sample. LxL followed, and then Ocelot. Very standard stuff. Lucky for us it was a back drop to the best venue scene in the country. Layers of weathered volcanic sediment stacked on top of each other representing millions of years, all visible only because they've been cut by the mighty Columbia River since before humans crossed into North America. Orders of magnitude more years. The place is amazing in itself, and the fact that we can see Phish there makes it almost unbelievable. It's a "pinch me" situation. I get it now. Poor Heart stirred the crowd before Phish launched into On Your Way Down, one of the beast versions I've ever heard. Beast was a typo, but I've decided to keep it. An impossibly funky Wolfman's > a long sick Maze > a standard Wilson > a standard Fluffhead. The Sun was setting. The music was about to crank to 11, Spinal Tap style. Text message. Colonel Phortin. It says "get to the pit now or you're a pussy". He was right. Epicness was in the air. We immediately made our way down to the Page-side pit. Good advice. Even better set:

Set II: Chalkdust Torture (7:16) > Tweezer (12:24) > Caspian (5:40) > Sand (12:33) > Tweezer (1:12) > Birds of a Feather (6:58), Waste (5:34) > Golden Age (7:34) > Reba (12:52), Antelope (12:22)

E: Suzy (6:35) > Sanity (5:36) > TweepriZe (3:56)


   Chalkdust opened the set and by the time we settled into our spot, the shit was on. Chalkdust > a deep dark Tweezer > Caspian (Did we need a breather already?) > a SWEATY Sand > Tweezer > an appropriate Birds. Dude, what the fuck??? It was ridiculous. By the time Waste was roaring our wives had found us, and their timing was perfect. Waste was winding down and the jam had been brain-bending. It was slowing down...it was murky...2001 was definitely in the air...but something was different here...what was it...it was fucking Golden Age, blasting into our ears like a distant freight train that had finally pierced our brains as if they were broken down at the George, WA railroad crossing. This fucking song RULES!!! It's the modern launch pad. And it > Reba, a song that never gets old. Ever. A rocking Antelope closed the set. But it wasn't over by a long shot. The encore opened with Suzy, and then the In-Sanity began...literally. The stars did not suck at all that night as Phish blasted off only the sixth Sanity since 1998 before going > TweepriZe. That's the shit Phish dreams are made of and dreams came true on the second and last night of Gorge 2011. My first trip to the place I had yearned to see Phish at for the past 15 years was not a disappointment. It was an enlightenment. Enough said.

- Trigger Treinta Uno

Trigger31.com

Thanks to Phish.net & LivePhish for the set list help, Colonel Phortin for setting up Wildhorse, and Amy & Renee's crew for supplying the goods, all the way from sleeping bags to booze. Your hospitality was appreciated and we miss you guys already.



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