Posted by @douvy in the SBIX Essay Contest.

Phish has shown me the essence of what I was searching for in music for a long time, and when you get four guys together that really understand how to respond to one another and work towards the chemistry of exceptional improvisation, the experience related is for everyone all at once, and it fills the air and grasps your attention like something beyond us all; a force to be reckoned with.

This weekend each band member infused selflessness into their playing by listening to everyone and everything but themselves to manifest their creativity. The band was able to focus on what the others were doing, and through this, Phish --and everything a part of it, the instruments, the energy the crowd, everything --were able to let the music transcend beyond them. From the opening note of Possum to the closing explosion of First Tube, a mega-blissful experience occurred where judgment of the music being played seemed to be absent on both sides of the music, from the musicians and the audience. And fittingly so, I find it unnecessary to personally judge any part of the weekend from a musical perspective. As a result of this absence of judgment, everyone’s interpretation of Superball was in its purest and most spontaneous form.

I’d like to compare Superball IX to something like a storm or a volcano or even a comet. Really, what I mean is some refreshing natural experience where things happen that make you pay attention, because you want to take it all in and not miss a single sound or sight that could possibly caress your consciousness with a memory that will be a part of you forever.

And like any natural wonder, if a part of it is missing or flawed, it will fail to function properly. The same applies to this natural phenomenon that was Superball. Phish is a part of something bigger than a band. Because music has the power to make people come together, and a few shining stars lit up a galaxy of others, this whole weekend was cleansed of judgment and simply appreciated. I personally feel that the relationship between Phish, CK5, the staff, and the fans is at harmony, and it feels good.

We were all a piece of something bigger than ourselves at this festival, and Phish is just the rubber seal to this giant Superball that we are all a part of.

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