There are a handful of us who remember when Phish first trod mountain soil in 1988. They were a young, up-and-coming band out of Vermont, venturing West for the very first time, bringing their endearingly skewed musical brain food to Telluride and Aspen. A couple guys in the band stopped by a kegger up on Aspen Street, where some fellow Vermonters living in Telluride were renting one of the last of the ski bum houses.(Damn if I remember who came up. Pretty sure Jon was there ... it was a long time ago. Touring musicians are adept at finding the party.) They were easy-going, unassuming fellows and pretty blown away by the natural beauty that towered over us all.

I guess they fondly remember those fine days, too. There is, of course, a recorded memento of that now-legendary visit. The triple-disc live CD, Colorado '88, features Trey and Page hauling a keyboard across Colorado Avenue. The mountains bear silent witness. Page's head is turned away from the camera, his gaze seemingly lost in the peaks. The Mason's Hall graces the back cover.

The band's days of playing Telluride's tiny venues (Fly Me To the Moon and the very much-missed Roma) are behind them, but Telluride will once again play host`to the lads this summer, when Phish returns on August 9 and 10, this time on the big stage in Telluride Town Park.

Phish world is abuzz, as are the denizens of Telluride who, depending on who you talk to, wax ecstatic or eye the return warily. Unfounded fears of an invasion of ticketless, lost souls aside, most folks heartily embrace the band's unexpected notion to return to the scene of their salad days. The recession's deep impacts have not left Telluride unscathed and the business and lodging entities are grateful for this extra surge of economic activity. Local music fans are applauding the presence of one of the nation's top-draw bands. The clamor for tickets is already at a fever pitch. 

Like the Grateful Dead before them (Bill Graham brought them in 1987) Phish's 2010 stop in Telluride will resonate for years. It's just more musical cachet for a town already well-known for attracting a wide range of musicians and bands of every genre whose inspired performances leave audiences awed.

This is gonna be big, folks. I couldn't be happier about this turn of events. We're good hosts, and have learned a thing or two about throwing big concerts since that first wobbly-legged excursion that was the Dead's arrival in the valley. 

Welcome back, Page, Trey, Mike and Jon. Very much looking forward to the reunion.