i had heard about them through jill for a couple years, but had never really gone out of my way to see or d/l them. then on our first date, we went to see them. 12/31/03. my first song was mayfly. how could i not be hooked for life when that\'s my initial introduction???
we\'d known each other since meeting at hampton \'99 and doing big cypress together as a result. we kept in touch by running into each other at shows, then on phishhook (apparently i told a cypress story and she recognized herself as one of the people in the story). she came out to a few ancient harmony shows based on my (and some other folks\') recommendations and we were really looking forward to a nov/dec 2002 show where ancient harmony was opening for pbreakfast, but ah broke up just then and her dream of seeing our two favorite bands at once was shattered. i still didn\'t know what i was missing.
well, the next fall i was single and she was single and we really started courtin\'. initially our plans had been to go to miami for phish, but jill just ain\'t a flying gal, so at the last minute, we scrapped them. she promised that seeing pb would make up for it, and i warily believed her. so up to ct i drove for an extended stay. lots of nervous jitters quickly melted into complete comfort and familiarity and in the midst of that, she played a rufus for me. i liked it, but that\'s not where my focus was. so anyway, we\'d gone out for a nice and fancy dinner for our first real date, then drove up to toad\'s for the show, which was a continuation of our date. as far asi was concerned, the band could\'ve sucked balls, because i was having such a great time with her. but. like i said, they opened with mayfly. by the end of that opening set, i was blown away. jill kept telling me that i hadn\'t seen anything yet, but i was sure that if the rest of the show was anywhere near as good as that first set was, i\'d explode. as y\'all know, that first set ain\'t nothin\' compared to the non-stop insanity that followed!
now, here\'s the thing that will be indelibly etched into my mind\'s eye forever.
it had been a bad year for me and not a great one for her. finding each other again and really hitting it off as we had was an absolute elixir for our aching souls. especially for mine. so, he band is playing and the dick clark countdown was on the tv screens. as we got to midnight, and the band broke into auld lang syne, we had our new years eve kiss. let me just tell y\'all about this kiss. i still remember *everything* about it. i remember what dick clark looked like, i remember what timmy was saying, i remember the feel of her lips, the smell of her hair, the softnessl of her skin.... but then it all washed away and i was in the midst of the most cleansing, elating, joyous, magnificent moment in my life. that was the moment i fell in love with her. everything bad from the year had utterly disappeared and there i was higher than the moon on love. it was phenomenal. then, slowly, the sound of the room and the band came back and i stood staring at her, with timmy in the background. they then whipped my meager face into an utter frenzy!
so, to me, the breakfast is inexorably intertwined with our relationship. i know it sounds goofy and corny as hell, but i fell in love with jill and the band on the same night. in one fell swoop i found the band that mixed all my favorite aspects of other bands into a blitzkrieg of energy and the girl i\'d been looking for all my life, right under my nose. and if i\'d\'ve listened to the girl earlier, i would have known about the band sooner. so, extra cool points to her for that. minus three to me for not paying attention.
