Phish Reunites for Hampton Run

Well, it finally happened. If you're like me and the first thing you do in the morning is check your e-mail, you had a nice surprise, thanks to the Phish home office in Burlington, Vermont. (By the way, check out this nice little video splash page they put up. Anyone have an idea where the spacey jam comes from?)

Yes, Jon Fishman, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon and Page McConnell finally put their collective heads together and decided to resurrect what is arguably the greatest rock'n'roll band of all time, Phish.

The boys announced this morning, one day after Trey's 44nd birthday (I wonder if it was decided officially yesterday, giving Trey one of the best birthday presents of all time in the process), that Phish will reuinite March 6, 7 and 8, 2009 at the The Mothership, otherwise known as the Hampton Coliseum, for a run of shows that costs $49.50 per ticket.

I'm a little disappointed ticket prices jumped so much, but not surprised either. And it figures this would happen. In 2000, my ex-wife and I moved from Oregon to Raleigh, North Carolina to be on the East Coast so we could catch more shows. We had just spent five days in the Everglades at Big Cypress and were excited at the prospect of seeing Phish more than three times a year, which was about how often you got to see them if you lived in the Pacific Northwest and had a career to manage.

Ten months later, Phish goes on hiatus. Then, they get back together and all seems well. Huh-uh. About a year-and-a-half later, coming off of a terrible Las Vegas run (listen for yourself), Trey posts "The Letter of Doom." So, they split up "for good," my ex and I get divorced 20 months later, she moves back to Oregon with our then one-and-a-half-year-old son, I follow a year later (couldn't stand being away from my boy), and now we find ourselves living up the street from each other in Bend, Oregon.

We're still great friends. In fact, we just drove to Portland together -- about a six-hour, round-tripper -- to see Mike and his band play on August 23, my 37th birthday. Then, Phish announced they are getting back together and once again I find myself on the wrong coast with gas and airline ticket prices through the roof

Is it karma? Have I really been that bad in my life to deserve this torture? Eyee! Somebody help me!

I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make it to Hampton, even if it means sleeping in the back of some strangers bus, or in the parking lot of the hotels across the street from the coliseum.

Anyone have any ideas how I can pull his off when I am already barely getting by month to month? Please post comments with ideas. Any idea is welcome.