Honeymoon Volume Uno - Phish

When we heard Phish had included two nights in Alpharetta, GA to their summer tour, we rearranged our honeymoon to coincide and prepared to boogie down before heading to Costa Rica. And boogie woogie woogie we did.
Our buddy Craig drove down from Indiana to join in the festivities!
The shows were on a Tuesday and Wednesday night, so traffic was awful and totally cut into our time in the lot.
But we were still able to meet up with some friends prior to the show.
The shows were sold out, but because it was a week day, there were a lot of tickets floating around. FREE tickets. It's so strange to think that at the shows in Red Rocks two years ago, people were willing to trade their cars for tickets, and at this show I got this photo of a free ticket under the wiper of a COP CAR!
We secured a nice area on the lawn and prepared to party.





People watching is awesome on the lawn, we nicknamed all sorts of freaks and weirdos. First there was Face Plant. She literally could not stand or sit for more than ten seconds before face planting into the ground. Her boyfriend swore it was because she didn't have a ponytail holder, but when we gave him one for her, it didn't help matters. There was also a guy running hot laps around the place, a two-year-old toddling around with graham crackers, a real life wizard searching for a unicorn, and this guy. We call him Yogi. He meditated between songs, and then went into some sort of trance dance. Hilarious. At one point, Susan turned to me and said, "Vegas doesn't have this crap!"
Dirk's a documentary film nerd, and he recently watched one called "Blood Into Wine", which is about some guy from the band Tool opening a vineyard in Arizona. He tried to track down some of the vintages in Alabama with no luck, but he tracked a few bottles to an awesome beer and wine store in Atlanta, so we made the trek, and I was more than a happy camper in this place.
The second night of shows started with impending doom. Just look at that sky, folks!
We were, again, stuck in traffic on the way to the venue, but made it in time to secure a spot in the pavilion (covered), and we were happy we weren't on the lawn when thunderstorm after thunderstorm went through.
The boys!
It was a monsoon, literally. They were asking people on the lawn to take shelter in the bathrooms. At one point, I looked down at our feet, and a huge wave of water was rushing down the pavilion floor towards the stage. It was like being on titanic. Except this water was littered with glow sticks.

Then we had a mere four hours of sleep before we hit the road for Costa Rica! Stay tuned for photos and videos of Honeymoon Volume Dos!

WBW - Phish

I've always taken certain photos with song lyrics in mind. Or poems. Or quotes. Lyrical or melodic musings that could make good titles and/or captions. This photo was taken in the fall of 2007, and I will always think back fondly on this trip. It was my first visit to Oklahoma, for one. Two, I met some amazing writers and photographers who I am still in contact with today {shout out to the Robinsons and Elaine!}. And three, I was in the midst of reading John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" and we spent the majority of the trip following Route 66. This was a stop along the way, the Arcadia Round Barn. It was at this site that I discovered that Iowa has many of these round barns. I would one day like to photograph them all.

Anyway, this photo was taken, and every time I look at it, I start singing a song by Phish: "Round Room":"Right angle rooms drive me crazier each day
Put me in a box I know I'm never going to play
Put me in a square room and I won't know what to say
I want a round room at the end of the day.

If I pass out take me to the round church
Where echoes resound
And my spirit is found
And when I float high
Take my arm and I'll fly you by
The outskirts of town, to a garden that's round

I went to the lighthouse and I liked the view
I looked out the window and I could see you
Put me in a square house and I won't have a clue
I want a round room just to be with you."

I decided to post this photo on this week's Way Back Wednesday because Phish announced their Summer 2011 tour yesterday, which includes a two-night run two hours from us. The only thing is, the shows are on week nights and it would be impossible to take time off since we're already planning to take off for our honeymoon in June. So when Dirk suggested that we rearrange our plans to include the shows, I immediately said YES! We fell in love at a Phish show in June in 2004 {I'm sure I haven't mentioned that before, right? HA!} And I am at my best when dancing to those sweet tunes in my Sunday dress.

Way Back Wednesday - Phish Edition

We fell in love six years ago at a Phish show.
Still rocking.

Phishville

So the concert we've been looking forward to for almost six months has come and gone and it was amazing! My body is still recovering from six hours of boogeying in a confined space on a hard concrete floor, and I'm feeling super old, but whatever.
It was Brooke's first Phish show, and since she's been listening to them for years and years, it was super exciting to be there with her and watch her experience it. And yes, at one point during the night she made me laugh so hard I peed my pants a little bit.
Taylor was very excited for us, and very excited for a visit from Pamela, her super sweet babysitter, whom we talked about all day long before she showed up.
Piper has found a new best friend. I took Piper up with me and Dirk and Sips joined us a few days later, so Piper had two days to bond with her cousin. And by bond I mean wrestle and mouth and jump all over each other.
All I wanted was a "Backwards Down the Number Line" and a "Loving Cup" encore, and I got both and it was fabulous.
Can you feel the joy in this photo? Dirk has always been more of a Widespread Panic guy, and I've always been a Phish gal, and I've slowly but surely brought him around. Now he's constantly downloading and listening to shows, keeping up with their set lists, etc., and it's so fun to share this with each other!
The light show was so amazing. The fact that the band had no set list and was just playing whatever they felt like and that the lights could be so 100% spot on with transitions is just amazing to me!

So all in all, it really pumped me up for the next two shows we'll be seeing in Colorado the end of July! Woot woot!