[We would like to thank Landon Schoenefeld (@nomidwestlove) aka Instagram @_colonel_mustard for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Hello fellow nerds! And thanks for joining me as I attempt to recap BGCA N2 in beautiful San Francisco. I moved to the city in the fall of 2018, mere months after their last stop at the famous Civic Center venue. For the year that my domicile was just three blocks from the Bill Graham, I prayed to the Phish gods for them to make a stop, so I could both walk to the show and sleep in my own bed afterwards, but alas it was not to be. However, I did sleep in my own bed last night (a relative rarity for me) after enduring about an hour-long drive back up to wine country post show.
There’s a lot of history contained within those walls. The building itself built in 1915. In 1992, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to rename the auditorium after the rock concert impresario, who had died the previous year in a helicopter crash. Until the first night, I hadn’t set foot inside that building since 2002, on my first ever trip to San Francisco.
And what is it about slightly worn-down and grimy old venues that seem to bring the best out of our favorite band from Vermont? I find BGCA to be a cousin of UIC Pavillion in Chicago. Both have similar set-ups and have placed a generous number of bangers underneath their belts throughout the years. The staff was chill and didn’t really see anyone being hassled about anything.