Five years ago on October 27, 2013, Lou Reed died at the age of 71, depriving the world of one of its greatest poets and bonafide Rock and Roll Animals, not to mention a huge inspiration on one Ernest J. Anastasio III. I first learned about this at a burger joint in Wethersfield, CT en route to the Phish show in Hartford that evening, and proceeded to confuse my companions by openly weeping into my iPhone. Phish proceeded to open that Hartford show with an 11 minute version of the Velvet Underground classic “Rock and Roll,” followed by a rare Trey request for a moment of silence for ‘one of the greatest songwriters who ever lived.’ The rest of that concert would live up to Lou’s challenge, as did most of Fall 2013. Now five years removed from that very date, how would Phish respond on a Saturday night in Chicago?

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