Longtime Phish fan Kristen Goess spent her 31st birthday watching her favorite band in action at Portsmouth, VA’s nTelos Pavilion. Please welcome Kristen to tell the story of her truly incredible day…
When Phish announced their summer tour this year, there was no question that I would be seeing them play in Portsmouth, VA. Why Portsmouth? The band’s show at the nTelos Pavilion fell on the date of my 31st birthday.
As a Mother’s Day gift this year, I surprised my mom with tickets to see my favorite band on my birthday. Some may see that as a pretty selfish gift, and maybe in hindsight it was, however when she found out she was more than thrilled. After all, she has seen her daughter travel the country and even out of the country to see this band since 1997. When Phish quit in 2004, I was so bummed that I would never be able to share with my mom what had been such a significant part of my life. When they reunited in 2009, I vowed that as soon as I felt was the perfect opportunity, I would take my mom to a show. A Mother’s Day gift at a Father’s Day show felt quite appropriate in a not-so-appropriate way, if you know what I mean.
Around 6AM on Sunday, June 19, I boarded an airplane out of Denver, CO after not going to bed all night in anticipation for the following day’s events. I had a connecting flight in Washington, D.C. that I had to make otherwise I would never had gotten to experience what ensued later that evening. I jogged through the Dulles Airport with 10 minutes to spare. As I boarded that aircraft, I began to get butterflies. I was almost at my destination.
READ ON for the rest of Kristen’s take on quite the eventful day…
