Also, for the record, I would rather you set up interviews with “famous” fans from rec.music.phish than discuss String Cheese Incident during your podcast. If there is nothing shaking on Lot then skip a week. I would much rather have focused discussion related to Phish, over some n00b telling me how great the Disco Biscuits are…of course, that is just my humble opinion.

In any event, this week I heard you ask “Where is the Lot?”

The eternal question that has plagued fans from the very first show. I would argue that the Lot came before the show–it is only natural, before every single show there is the Lot. There must have been a Lot before the first show. Likely it was Trey and Fish in the back of a VW Bus, but it was the Lot and it was, like most lots, all in their heads.

See, I am not sure that the Lot is a physical place at all, but rather the Lot may simply be the mental space that one enters before, and to a lesser extent, after a show.

The Lot is generally seen as the Shakedown, which I think is different. The Lot does not require vending. The lot does not require Kind Veggie Burritos or Indian Fry Bread. In fact, the Lot can be hearing the perfect song at the perfect time coming from someones car as you walk to the venue. The Lot can be hugs from people you have not seen in years. The Lot can be meeting new friends. The Lot can be slapping the bag. The lot can be giving someone a ticket. The Lot can be all of this or none of this. The Lot can be a drugstore or a coffee shop. The Lot can be a loud drum circle or a quiet moment peeing in the bushes.

I guess it comes down to something I learned a long long time ago. A very simple truth.

The Lot is always within all of us and we find it when we look for it.