I did my best to rid my head of expectations for this 2013 PHiSH Gorge stand as I have with all of them since 1997, but I could not shake one: After Toronto's setlist was complete, I was sure a massive and serious C&P would open a 2nd set this year. Never before had the song done so at the Gorge. On the way into the venue Friday evening, I was given a sweet and tart little candy that was the most powerful and magical candy I have had in decades. Perfect timing.

Set 1 began funky and deep with a Bag and right into Timber, with the tangy sensation washing over me in a clean and awesome wave of transformation. Wolfman's, Funky Bitch and Tube supported the idea that PHiSH was drilling for the water that runs deeeep below the Eastern Washington high desert surface. The Ballad of Curtis Lowe was a soulful reminder that PHiSH understands the music that lives inside of us older fans (2 or 3 years older than the guys in the band). By set end I had Split Open, and Melting was underway.

Setbreak was either extremely long or extremely short... I couldn't tell which. It ended with the slam bang opening of the C&P I knew was due. What also ended was any resemblance to a typical day of existence from where I stood. From C&P until the end, I dreamed the music along with this band, with each transition, lyric, note and chord making perfect sense in a focused flow. This is the reason I go to a PHiSH concert - especially at this venue. I have been attending concerts there since the 1988 / 1989 Champs de Brionne Summer Concert Series began when it was owned by a winery of that name. It was much less developed, in fact crude and hazardous. But roughness didn't detract from the power of the place. Spiritually motivated artists like Carlos Santana tapped into it as as I witnessed there in 1989, breaking from his setlist to address the moving backdrop which he turned to face for much of that afternoon through dusk. PHiSH read my memory banks and felt Carlos' reverberations as the Santana vibe crystallized from the Twist that went into deep dark places in the cosmos. Following that, the peak came upon us as Steam / Waves / 20 Years Later became a 3 or 4-dimensional ember of musical magic as real as the rocks, sky and stars that all watched and listened intently. Howl at the Moon and never miss a show there...