ARCHIVE: Myles' First Phish Show

NOTE: THIS IS A POST I THOUGHT WAS LOST AFTER I SWITCHED BLOG SERVICES. IT WAS MADE ON AUG. 14, 2004, A DAY AFTER MYLES AND I CAUGHT THE LAST PHISH SHOW. I WANTED TO RE-POST IT AS I JUST FOUND IT IN THE BOWELS OF THE INTERNET AND IT CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE POSTS. ENJOY!

 I look forward to the day in about 15 years when I can really talk to Myles about what he remembers about last night. I really have no idea. I know he had a great time as he smiled, danced and played all night. But how much will he remember?

It’s a night that I will never forget. My last Phish show. Myles’ first Phish show, and concert. The drive up. Watching Myles make friends in the parking lot. Dancing with the little man. And so much more.

Don’t really know where to start, so let’s just take it from the beginning.

Myles woke at around 7 a.m. yesterday. I told him at breakfast that we were going to the show later in the day. Big mistake. All morning – “Philadelpia. Phish Show. See Trey. Philadelpia. Phish Show. See Trey. Philadelpia. Phish Show. See Trey.” I put him down for his nap at around 12:15 p.m. after lunch so that we could hit the road early afternoon.

We pulled out at 2:45 p.m. It took us about 3 hours in the pouring rain to get to the Camden waterfront outside Philly, and another 45 minutes to get to the Tweeter Center parking lot. I knew it was going to be packed. Our fourth for the evening – Renny – got a last minute commercial gig so I sold his ticket on eBay. (The $42 lawn seat went for $215.)

Myles was very pleasant in the car and enjoyed himself. I had rigged a DVD (of the video, not the Derek, variety) onto the back of the front passenger seat headrest. Genius. Myles watched Maisy and Tiny Planets the entire time.

After parking, we set up shop in the lot. I had packed a pretty sweet picnic – turkey sandwich for me and a monumental buffet for Myles (cheese cubes, turkey breast, Pepperidge Farm parmesean-flavored goldfish, red seedless grapes, a Hershey kiss and a popsicle). We enjoyed dinner together in the back of Kass’ car. The popsicle almost made it but one lick and the melted piece of fruit-flavored ice fell to the ground. Oh well.

Meanwhile, a small school of Phisheads (18-25 year olds that follow the band around from one show to another) convened behind our car. Amber, by far the most attractive of the bunch, took an immediate liking to Myles. I pulled out his bubble maker and they blew bubbles for a while. Before long they were in deep conversation. I didn’t hear much of it, but I did hear Myles say, “Listen, if you’re looking for a serious relationship, I’m not your man. But if you want to have a little fun, I’m your guy.”

Not knowing how I was going to explain to Kass that Myles was now engaged to Amber the Phishead and would be married this weekend at Phish’s Coventry festival, I decided it was best to head into the show. It was now 7 p.m. and the show started at 7:30 p.m.

On the way into the venue, we saw several police-mounted horses (or is that horse-mounted police?). Myles loved that. We swam through a sea of people. Thousands and thousands. As far as the eye could see. Myles had definitely never seen anything like it. And by the way he was squeezing my head (he was on my shoulders – i.e. Mike-mounted Myles), I knew he was a little confused and scared yet excited. We’d only been talking about this for about 2 months, so he knew what was going on. I stopped briefly at the porta potty just in case there were long lines inside, at which time Myles commented, “I don’t like this toilet too much.” Classic.

Now before I go any further, let me paint you a mental picture. I’m wearing raggy grey shorts, my blue “Krayons” tee shirt and a Phish visor. Myles is wearing his white and red “Dream Date” t-shirt, grey shorts and his white and light-blue Pumas. I haven’t shaved in a week, at least. Myles has never shaved. I’m wearing a small black Kenneth Cole diaper bag/backpack. I figured this one would be a better selection that the Kate Spade one. Myles is wearing his orange Polo hat. We’re both wearing our “We’re here to have some fun” and “nothing else matters in the world” shit-eating grins. I smiled because I was psyched to be at the show with Myles. He smiled because he was on a sugar high from his recent carb-loading and Hershey kiss shot.

We passed through security without any incident. The 300-pound security dude patted Myles down. (Did the guy think Myles was trying to sneak in a pipe? Was Myles packing heat?) We made our way to the lawn. The Tweeter Center on the Camden Waterfront is the typical summer outdoor pavilion. The first 100 rows or so are indoor pavilion seating. Outside in the back is a sprawling lawn. Myles and I made our way to the front of the lawn so Myles could see the stage.

Myles immediately made new friends. One nice woman played peek-a-boo with Myles and took a picture of us with her cell phone and promised to e-mail it to me. As I was writing this, she sent it! Thanks! I'd argue that this probably would not have happened at many other shows. (My only mistake of the evening was not bringing a camera into the venue. I had one in the car but foroget it. Oh well. Our memories will have to do for now.)

We called our concert-mate, Beckwith (Buck Buck), who came down from wherever Buck Bucks hide to meet us. Myles was now in heaven. He was at a Phish concert, he had just stuffed his face and now one of his favorite people in the world was there – Buck Buck. We hung out for about 30 minutes on the lawn blowing bubbles, the lights went out and the crowd went nuts. Gametime!

Myles jumped onto my shoulders to see the stage. I couldn’t see his face. But Buck said he was mesmerized as Trey, Mike, Paige and Fish made their way to their respective instruments.

The first song was Wilson. Phew. It’s a song that Myles knows and loves. Big win. I knew this show was going to be like bull riding – they key is to get a good start. If you can get a solid grip and stance at the beginning and get through the first few seconds of the ride, then the rest is easy. But if you’re bucked off early or lose the center of gravity, you’re gone.

We got off to a great start and weren’t bucked off. He was into it immediately and rode this bull for much longer than I thought he would. While I was psyched to bring him, I honestly didn’t think he’d make it through the first set, let alone through the intermission and into the second set. He lasted in the venue for more than 3 hours! For the next hour and forty-five minutes after the music started, he listened intently. He danced on my shoulders. He danced with Beckwith. He sat on the ground and ate some snacks and drank his boggle (that’s what he calls his bottle and yes, he had the only sippee cup in the Tweeter Center last night).

As it turns out, the setlist was not ideal for Myles. I liked it, but the band did not play many songs that Myles knew or recognized – Gotta Jibboo, Free, Susie Greenberg, Farmhouse, etc. This didn’t seem to phase Myles. He loved the light show. He really loved the video screen right in front of us. And he felt comfortable with the whole scene, which must have been rather confusing for him.

The rest of the night was a blur of dancing. Here are some of the memories I’ll never forget.

* Myles convincing a woman to give him the glow-in-the-dark nightstick necklace she was wearing.

* Myles then following the lead of others in the crowd and throwing it into the air during the climax of Piper. (Imagine hundreds of light sticks flying through the air at night.)

* Myles dancing with Aunt Buck Buck.

* During the intermission, playing high-fives with several Phish fans and saying “Up high. Down low. Too slow.”

* Feeling Myles play the drums on my noggin to Maze.

* Having a fan coming up to Myles in the bathroom and giving him a necklace with a single green light pendant and calling him a “mini rager.”

* Feeling Myles fall asleep on my shoulders exactly 3 hours and 15 minutes after we got into the show and deciding to leave before it got too late and he crashed and burned. Best decision of the evening as he slept the entire way back.

In the end, the night was not about Phish (I didn’t think they played particularly well). It was not about the music (I didn’t even love the setlist). It was about the small things in life that we all take for granted and we never should – a dad taking his kid to his first concert; a kid experiencing so many acts of kindness from total strangers; and a dad realizing that he is the luckiest man in the world to be able to spend such quality time with one of his sons and having his son enjoy it even more than he did.

We made it back home by 1 a.m. - exhausted, dirty, smelly and content. It was a great evening. Thank you Buck Buck for joining us. Thanks to the cast who made Myles' night – Picture Woman, Mini-Rager Light Man, Necklace Woman, Team Parking Lot and the once and future Mrs. Myles Lazerow – Amber.

Most importantly, thank you Myles. You are now officially the coolest kid on the planet and I am proud to call you my son.