I feel the feeling I forgot -or- Page Against the Machine

Last night. Gramercy Theatre. Page McConnell. 600 Phish kids. 400 friends. 2 hours of solid music. Perfect night.

Started the evening off with Steph, filling up her ipod then taking a $10 cab ride to 30th and 3rd. Now mind you, I work at 29th and 6th. How in the world could that cost $10? I'm not quite sure, but I wasn't a happy camper. Oh well, such is life on a rainy rush hour evening.

We got to Iron Sushi and had trouble identifying the BBQ sauce they used, but nonetheless ate some good sushi. Tasty yellowtail and eel. My phone was ringing the entire time during dinner--it got me all pumped up; that same giddy feeling I used to get before Phish shows...

Walked to the Gramercy and saw a few friends in line. Said hi to everyone, got my wristband and went inside. Every 10 feet I ran into another friend. People I haven't seen in years like Deutsch, Bill and Susan. Barb was tending bar. It felt like a conglomeration of the last 5 years of my concert-going life. And it felt good.

The music was strong. Solid rhythm section. Pretty impressive guitar work. Jared added great touches (and vocals) with keys and guitar. Page's voice was perfect (and he's looking more and more like Sideshow Bob, which makes me chuckle) and he hit his stride early on in the set. He ran through all the material from his new CD--Maid Marion was definitely a highlight.

The jamming was very democratic. No one seemed to drown anyone else but they pushed each other just enough to keep everyone on their toes. Page's layering was such an important part of Phish--and he brought that same element to the show last night. With some gentle guitar solos swirling above, I really did feel the feeling I forgot.

The band left for the encore break and Page emerged for a solo tune. The place erupted with the opening notes of Strange Design. What had never been my favorite Phish song (a great soundtrack to bathroom trip, if you will) really struck a chord. Just relax, Page is doing fine.

We lingered downstairs for an hour after the show--no one really wanted to leave. We all felt the need to hold on to the moment--it's not like we have summer tour coming up... This is all we really have. Page Against the Machine. Page: 1. The Machine: 0. Looks like I'll be checking out the Irving show this summer.

Thanks to the boys at Legacy for taking care of me. Thanks to Page for taking his sweet time to make this happen. Good stuff!

One Set:
Back In the Basement, Runaway Bride, Maid Marion, Heavy Rotation, Complex Wind, Rules I Don't Know, Close to Home, Beauty of a Broken Heart

Encore:
Strange Design (solo), Everyone But Me