Report from the Phish concert and other things 4-Jul-2025

July 5, 2025

I went to a Phish concert at Folsom Field at CU Boulder. I’d gotten the tickets originally for Acid John and me, but he was unable to come out for it. I tried to get someone else to take the extra ticket: I wasn’t even trying to sell it, I just wanted someone to come with me. Plans fell through, so I ended up going to the show solo.

I got to the site at about 4:30. Gates open at 6, so I walked around Shakedown Street. I ended up trading the i extra ticket for some treats from some dude named David who was standing with one finger upraised, the signal that he was looking for a ticket. The ticket was in the form of a bar code which I had screenshot, so I texted it to him, he gave me my treats. I hope he got in ok. I should text him.

I had a street dog before I went in figuring I’d need the sustenance for the show. Turned out to be a good idea. I had some of a new batch of tea before I went in.

I was almost at the gate, but there was a lady telling people no vapes, no lighters, etc. so I walked back to the to empty my pockets a bit. I did bring binoculars, which were completely unneeded given where I ended up.

I’m not a Phish fan, but when John took me to my first show last year, I was blown away by their lighting rig and I wanted to watch that in particular. I ended up about 100’ away from the stage in front of stage left.

The effects of the tea were becoming evident, and I realized that I might like a cigarette. I bummed one from a dude named Thomas. This turned out to be the key to the rest of the evening. Why do I smoke cigarettes? What keeps bringing me back is the social aspect. The folks outside smoking represent a slice of a group that might not otherwise get together. In a corporate environment, this might include a VP, the guy from the mail room, a couple of admins and other random people, and the conversation is what I call a “parking lot” conversation, where people talk about things that wouldn’t be appropriate in the cube farm. I’ve often said that if I was dropped into a party where I didn’t know anyone, I’d go find the smokers, bum a smoke and find my first friends. This was shown to be a good strategy.

Before he gave me the smoke, Thomas asked me to tell him a joke. Not gonna share it here, but it was a kind of messed up joke I learned from a friend of a friend. He said that many jokes are racist, or homophobic, but mine was just kind of dark. Turns out Thomas was there with a friend group, and over the course of the evening, I ended up talking and making connections with each of them.

Upon learning my name, Thomas introduced me to his friend, who initially said his name was also Bob. Now I hardly ever meet anyone named Bob younger than about 40, so this was an anomaly, but I found out that he actually goes by Rob, so my theory is still intact. This group was young folks more or less in their 30s. There were a few couples, and a couple of single folks. Rather than recite the evening as a linear narrative, I’ll talk about the folks as I know them now.

Rob was with his girlfriend whose name I have forgotten for the moment. She gave me water and smokes a few times over the course of the evening. She and I shared a wonderful hug at one point. Turns out Rob plays bass in a band, and we had a great conversation about Tony Levin at the end of the evening. Rob is in a band with another guy named Arden. I didn’t meet Arden until the end, and he was interested in my plastic claves. Hopefully we will find a way to meet up because he needs a pair for a musician retreat he’s going to.

Nash was there alone, other than being part of the group. As bottles were emptied, he was collecting bottle caps. As it turns out, I collect bottle caps as well. I collect them as raw materials for my claves. I usually look for the colored ones from soda bottles, but he was collecting the metal lids from the aluminum water bottles that they sell at events like this. We had a number of connections during the show while we were dancing. At the end, I made sure to catch up with him to discuss that. I had a bottle cap in my pocket that I saved for him, and when we spoke afterwards, I gave it to him. It wasn’t anything special, just a white plastic cap. He asked where it came from, I said my pocket and as I gave it to him, he said he would save this one and cherish it, and that he’d possibly put it on a string as a keepsake. Turns out that Nash is also a person who works with software, but he’s more into C++ and Java. We ended up having a long conversation about computer industry history. He was quite interested in hearing my account of how we got to Linux. He said that he doesn’t often get to talk to someone who has lived through all of the developments, how we got to have Linux etc. We exchanged contacts and will probably continue to be in touch.

There was another couple Dylan and Ieva. Dylan asked me if i was an engineer, and after some hemming and hawing, I eventually said yeah, I guess that’s what I am. Sons of engineers are a particular breed. We don’t look at the world quite the same as others do. He told me he was a mechanic. I asked what he works on, he says espresso machines. I said well that’s a niche. He said that what he does isn’t related much to what he studied. I asked what he studied. Turns out he studied political science, but that he’d dropped out before getting a degree. We had a conversation about how things are going now. He’d just gotten back from a trip to Thailand and Hong Kong. He told me about a big difference between the two cultures: In HK, people waiting to cross the street wait for the light to turn. There was a big pile of people standing there, not a car in sight, but everyone obediently waiting for the signal. In Thailand, as a contrast, everyone is everywhere. I asked him how all these folks knew each other, he said we are all friends with Ieva (who first introduced herself as “Eve”). I said so you’re the center of the network, at the center of the web.

At some point Ieva says “what is your name again?” and I said we hadn’t been introduced so I introduced myself. Turns out she is originally from Lithuania, having come here when she was 16. She said that her mom came to the states when she was 8 and never came back. When she was in Lithuania, everyone told her she should come to the states (because of the opportunities, bla bla bla) , but as it all turned out, her folks back ended up being much more successful, and it hasn’t turned out to be quite so lucrative for her here. It was fun watching her and Dylan interacting, they’re a cute couple.

Turns out she has a djembe, and I invited her to an upcoming drumcircle. I told her that she was like the spider, weaving the web. I figure that she noticed that I was a new person in their midst, and figured she should know who I was. I told her that since she was at the center of this web, I wanted to keep in touch with her (as a way to be able to be in touch with the rest).

I danced my ass off, and at one point went off into a trance for a while. When I came back, all of my new friends were gone! I went through a bit of a moment, thinking I’d lost all of my new friends without having made any contacts. I was sad to have lost them, but during the encore, I found Nash again (he was wearing a very distinctive outfit) and it turned out that they’d all gone up to get some water, and I was reunited with them at the end of the show.

Nash and I spent some time afterwards, got another street dog. He’d ridden his bike separately from the others, so I kind of lost them but since I’d gotten some contact information, I’ll continue to be in touch.

While I was tranced out, I made a decision about another upcoming event. Max Young, of Rhythmetrix, is having an “advanced” macro-dose weekend of psychedelic drumming. I was interested, but the cost was a little more than I wanted to pay and I was planning to skip it. I decided to offer him a little less because I was interested because, well macro dose, and he also has these amazing drums that I wanted to have another chance to play. I sent him a text with my counter offer, and as of this morning he has accepted it, so I guess I’ll be drumming in another group in a few weeks.

Speaking of Max, since playing in his original “psychedelic mini retreat”, I have been on the lookout for some whiskey barrels so I could build one of these drums myself. Laura and I have been going to this place in Lousville called Tap and Garden. They have these great wings and many beers to choose from. They have barrels all over the place and I’d spoken to the owner/manager about getting one/some. I’ve been in contact with them by email for a couple months. Laura and I decided to go eat there, and I ran into the manager again. She said they’d been talking about it, and they had some barrels they were ready to let go, and I could take them today if I wanted.

Laura and I are now considered to be regulars as we have had the same waitress almost every time we have been there and I guess we are kind of distinctive - a 30 something woman and an old dude who always seem to order the same thing. One of these days I’m going to try something from the right hand side of the menu (with the sandwiches and such) but for now, we’re happy to get wings, loaded fries and hummus with falafel on the side.

We loaded two of them into Laura’s car and they’re now sitting outside my garage. I’ll be working on breaking them down this weekend and will begin construction of the first one very soon. I’ll still need some hides, and I have a note on the bulletin board over at Murdoch’s asking for cow/bull hides. I expect there will be some available towards the end of the year, and between now and then I’ll be able to put together the rest of the drum. I’ve been thinking about how best to do this, and I have a plan. To complete the project I will end up having to figure out how to make metal rings which will bending and welding, but I have a plan and I know people who can help me with this part of the project. a plan for that.

Completely unrelated, I’ve also gotten back in touch with my friend Bethany from Michigan. Hers was the first drumcircle that I connected with back in 1989. We are making plans for her to come out to visit and meet my community.

All in all, it was a good day. Many connections created and fulfilled

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