HOLY SHIT!!! I found a video of Fishman covering Neil Diamond’s Cracklin’ Rosie, filmed at my first Phish show ever at Hershey Park in 1996.
video quality: terrible
sound quality: mediocre, at best
nostalgia factor: BEYOND FRICKIN’ PRICELESS!!!!!!
This was the moment I fell in love with their live show. This is it, and I found the video!!
We were sitting on the grass towards the back when Fishman came out from behind the drums and broke out this song. I can’t put into words how obsessed my mom is with Neil Diamond, and how present his music was in my life growing up. So as it is, my very first Phish show, and they’re covering Neil Diamond. Quite special.
THEN, there was this girl. She was so fucking cool looking, and she was standing up by herself a little ways in front of us, surrounded by a sea of all of us sprawled out on the grass (it was so ridiculously hot that they turned on sprinklers in the back on the lawn during Reba earlier). And this girl was genuinely rocking out. Dancing all by herself, so free and just having the best fucking time. Play it now, play it now, play it now, my baby!
I decided then and there that I wanted to be her. And I was. For years and years I followed Phish all over the country, dancing and feeling free.