[vp719]

Great thread. My highlight: Blossom 2008. Long story that is going to sound made up, but I swear every word is true.

Summer after freshman year of college. Finally convinced one of my buddies to tag along to a show. He was/is a huge Phish fan, and we spent our summers going to as many different shows as we could, but he was never into DMB. Somewhere along the line though he heard a live version of Seek Up and decided he'd come to a show in hopes of seeing it. We pack up the truck and drive out to Cuyahoga Falls. Instead of getting a hotel, and in hopes of saving a few bucks, we decide to just find a spot in the park to throw up a tent and camp. Looking at a map of the park we find an area that seems "campable" and is only ~1 mile through the woods from the amphitheater. We think "pitch a tent, have a few beers, nice little brisk hike to the show, no problem." What could go wrong?

First part of the plan goes smooth, camp set up, beers drank, ready to go. Keep in mind this is 2008 - no GPS, smart phones, etc. We just took a look at the printed out map, figured "alright, one mile southwest, middle of Ohio, shouldn't take us more than a half hour" and we set off into the woods. What ensued then was quite possibly the hardest hike of my entire life. Since then I've hiked mountains, canyons, you name it...nothing compares to what we found in Cuyahoga Valley National Park that day. First sign of trouble happened maybe 15 minutes in. Come to find out, the park had experienced several days of rain prior to our arrival, so everything was wet and muddy. On the way down a hill my buddy hit a mud patch, slips, sends his last beer sailing into the air, and rolls what had to be 50 yards down the hill. Think Chris Farley in Black Sheep. Just mangled. When I get down to him, he's shaken up but laughs it off. Covered in mud, he decides to take his shirt off and put it in his back pocket as we push forward. Few minutes later, we reach a stream. Second sign of trouble, as neither of us noted any streams or rivers on the map. "Oh well, no turning back now," as we walk into the water. We make it across, but we're soaked up to our thighs. We continue on, only to find what could only be described as a cliff. Maybe 20 feet high, again "no turning back now" so we start climbing. Midway up, I lose my footing and slip down, reaching for something to catch myself I grab a bush (Chris Farley Part 2). Only issue - its thorns.

We make it up the to the top, sit down to take a breather, and realize a few things: First, my friends shirt is gone - likely swept away in the stream. Second, the tickets that were in my pocket are absolutely soaked from said stream. No way they'll get us into the show. Third, when we set up camp earlier I had chopped some wood with a hatchet and then slipped it into my belt. It was still in my belt. How the hell am I going to get past security with a damn hatch on my hip? Fourth, from the thorns, my hands are bleeding, and the blood has now made it to both my shirt and pants. Fifth, this leisurely half hour hike is now taking over an hour and a half and the venue is nowhere in sight. We figure, for about the tenth time "Oh well, no turning back now" so we push forward.

The next half hour is another series of peaks and valleys - literally and figuratively - and one more stream, but we eventually crest a hill and hear the faint sound of music in the distance. "We're close!" At this point it's about 10 minutes until showtime, so we hurry forward. Bursting out of the woods after what felt like three days lost in the wilderness, we hit the chain link fence surrounding Blossom. Unfortunately, we're nowhere near the gates. In fact, we have emerged right behind the VIP pavilion - and right in sight of the dozens of people calmly enjoying their pre-show rituals there. You would have thought they saw Bigfoot. Two guys, one shirtless, one covered in blood, both soaking wet and caked in mud...if anyone here happens to have been there that day, I would love to hear your take on that moment. Anyway, to avoid anyone alerting security, we back back into the woods and follow the fence towards the lawn. After just a couple minutes of following the fence we reach what can only be called an act of God. We come upon a gate at the top of the lawn...open and unlocked and with no one in sight. Thundergun style "No hesitation, no surrender!" we push through the gate onto the lawn - hatchet and all. We've officially made it. Now to get to our seats without raising any red flags.

With just minutes until showtime, we go right to the bathrooms. I rinse off the blood, my buddy starts scanning the crowd for his best chance at bumming a shirt - finds a guy with a button up and a white T underneath. Like an absolute psycho, he waits until the guy finishes his business and cuts him off on his way to the sink - "$5 for your undershirt, right now, please." Stunned, either by the look of my friend or the boldness of the ask, the guy agrees. Boom, now we're both "clean" and clothed. Time to get to the seats.

We grab a couple drinks and make it to our seats just as the lights go down. Opening song at that show? Seek Up. Could not have scripted it better. Ended up being an absolute great show and since then we have probably seen another 5 or 6 DMB shows together.

After the show we walked the roads back to our spot. Took a few hours, but we made it back in one piece. I'll never understand where that type of terrain came from, what took so long, and how we misread the map so bad, but I don't think we could have botched it any more outside of just never even finding the venue. Just a ridiculous pre-show debacle that I'll never forget.