First, a little bit of background. It's Phall tour 1997, and while attending SUNY Plattsburgh in NY, I was on a personal mission to see as many shows as possible. I survived the horrible weather a week prior to see a great show in Cleveland and made the 5 1/2 hour drive to catch the Rochester show earlier that week. The last two shows of the tour were to be at the Knick in Albany, and I had fourth row for both shows!

Now here is the real kicker; I had bought my tickets well in advance and was planning on having a great time before my finals were to commence the phollowing week. The shows were on a Friday and a Saturday night, but to my dismay, I had a final scheduled for SATURDAY MORNING!

I couldn't believe my luck, but I was determined to catch these shows no matter what! So I devised a plan to go down on Friday, drive back that night and leave again for Albany after my final with some other phriends who were only hitting Saturday’s show.

I should have known right off the bat that my plan was not going to come off without a few hitches. An hour before we were planning on leaving, my buddy decided his schoolwork was more important than the concert, and backed out. Lacking a method of transportation to Albany, (Plattsburgh is more than 2 hours away), I scampered through the dorm halls screaming for a ride. Salvation would soon come in the form of a Phriend named Adam, and we soon jumped into his Chevy Blazer and took off for the state's capital.

Arriving in Albany rather early, we decided to stop in and see my friend Beth, who attended a local college not too far from the Knick. We spent an hour or so in her apartment, drink brews and praising Jah, before we decided it was time to hit the lots. Adam and I got halfway to the venue when he asked.

"Where are the tickets?"

Curiously searching through my pockets I exclaimed,

"You mean YOU don't have them"??

Hence began a frantic search through his Blazer for that little ticket master envelope, to no avail. In a spastic rage, I suggested that we go back to Beth's to see if they might have been left with her. Low and behold, as we drove through the rain soaked parking lot to her apartment, I spotted that magical little pouch next to the parking spot where we had parked!

With shit eating' grin's on our faces, we took off for downtown as fast as we could and proceeded to see a great fucking show. We left for Plattsburgh after the lot died down, and I arrived with enough time to get some last minute crashing done before my 9AM final (Which I got a 87 on, thank you very much)

Ahhh.... but here is where the story takes an odd curve. Remember those phriends I told you about? The one's who were only going down for Saturday’s show? Well...they were really Phriends of some phriends, and as we drove south down RT87, I realized that I only knew one girl in the van, and I really didn’t know her all too well. But hey, I'm reroute to the tour finale; nothing could rain on my parade that day!

So once we arrived, we agreed to meet up at the car after the show was finished, being that my seats were in the fourth row and they were in the nose bleed section. I had offered to take one of them down front with me, but they all declined, wishing to have more of a group dynamic between themselves.

With the extra ticket in hand, I met a very nice girl who was selling some very cold Saranac’s out front. She told me that her car was broken into at the Cleveland show and all her tickets for the remainder of the tour were in her stolen backpack. It being the Christmas season and all, I told her to pack her beer and come into the show with me. She mentioned something about Karma and told me she would meet me at the seat. And although I never saw her again, I rejoiced in the fact that I made someone smile that evening

What a show! I mean what a show! It may not have looked like much on paper, but it was an unreal time and on my list of top 10 I have witnessed.

The lot scene was CRAZY after the lights came up. For those of you who have never been to the Knick (Or, as it is now known, the PEPSI Arena), it empties out onto a single street, was so crowded that one could "Mosh" after a show. So it took me a little while to make it to where the car was parked, but no more than 20 minutes or so. What happened next would give me a feeling that I will never forget, no matter how long I live.

The Car was gone!

I had no ride back to Plattsburgh, and it being early on Sunday morning, I had two finals in a little more than 24 hours away.

So I sat down on a curb, and put my head in my hands. I just kept repeating...

"What am I going to do"?

It was at that moment that I saw a late model jeep with a sticker on the back. It read,

University Of Vermont

No fucking way! I quickly approached the driver, as he was getting ready to pull out of the lot.

"Are you two driving to Burlington tonight?" I asked.

"Sure am dude" he responded with a grin.

I explained the situation and begged for them to take me with them, being that Plattsburgh is only a Ferry ride away from the birthplace of the "Boys." His response overwhelmed me,

"Actually, my buddy here lives in Plattsburgh. So I'll do yaw one better and take ya there tonight."

All of the emotion and fear that was inside passed within a matter of seconds. I hopped into the jeep and jammed to a killer SBD of the Clifford Ball show as the smile on my face grew larger.

So if Kyle and his buddy Marcus are out there, just know that after close to four years and thirty shows later, this story is the one I keep telling. And know that I have tried in every way since that moment to put forth the same Karma that they expended with me.

Peace out ya'll.....I'll see you all when tour resumes!

- David Beniamino