My 5th show. Getting into the show was no problem, we got there pretty early and hopped on the shuttle bus. To this day the closest I've ever been to the stage (about 3 people back from the front row). The setting was spectacular - a gently sloping ski run surrounded by green trees with amazing views beyond the stage. No pavilion or anything - the entire crowd was under the open sky. A great place to see a show - the one drawback was the shuttle buses after the show - there were way too few, and my friend Jake got shut out from the bus I and my other friend Doug got on and it took him an hour to finally get back to the car. Had a great time at this show as part of a 2 show mini run, but this review is based on a relisten of the spreadsheet version (which is an amazing sounding AUD).

Set I:
Sample was Sample. Divided has very chill opening, and whenever it hits the near sunset slot slot at an outside show I always find myself looking at the sky, and I remember it being beautiful on this July evening. Gumbo and The Curtain were great, and Julius brought some really high set-closing energy to the middle of the set. Camel Walk starts up somewhat tentatively (not surprising given the long gap) but settles into a groove nicely. I'll admit I had no idea this song existed at the time of the show, and had to ask an older phan nearby. Reba was one of many beautiful 1995 Rebas, but nowhere near the peaks of Lowell. I Didn't Know is always fun, and Rift and WMGGW close out the well-played but uneventful set.

Highlights: Divided (maybe you had to be there), Camel Walk bustout, Trey politely asking people who snuck in to donate money

Set II:
A deceptively great Runaway Jim. I remember actually being kind of bored with Jim set openers (due to many of my tapes at that point being from 94 and the fact that the song had only jammed once ever, and that was two weeks before this show) but the jam in this one is really quite good. Cool work by Trey with kind of a watery tone to his guitar. Goes to a slightly dark place about 9 minutes in with some awesome work by Mike on the bass which then heads into an awesome breakdown section where Page does most of the heavy lifting on piano and clav. Still a driving drumbeat from Fish, so this is still type I, but just barely. Some evil playing by Trey and Mike in here too. Trey very nearly starts playing BBFCFM, almost a tease IMO. Things get really quite then we have a very cool segue into Makisupa. In addition to saying "4:20…dank" Trey also says "apex" a little bit later (not being up on mid-90s drug lingo, I have no idea why). Makisupa is totally spaced out in parts, fun version. Mule is fun, short duel compared to some of the latter day versions. Tweezer jam starts out with a bang, Mike drops some huge bass bombs. This a funky and awesome version, with Trey, Mike and Page all playing around with some fun riffs. Some great effects by both Mike and Trey toward the end of the jam. It is a tribute to how amazing Tweezer was in 95 that this version is relatively obscure, because I would highly recommend it for sure. Fun segue into Ha Ha Ha. Sleeping Monkey and Acoustic Army take the show down several hundred notches - would have loved them to go back into Tweezer after Ha Ha Ha. I'll say it again, stuff like Acoustic Army should be in the first set, not second. Beautiful, patient playing by Mike and Page in the beginning of the Slave jam, with Trey taking a backseat for a bit. Fantastic Slave, but I think most are great. Love the Halley's>Tweeprise encore, even if they were both played straight.

Highlights: Jim>Makisupa, Tweezer>Ha Ha Ha

Sugarbush was a fantastic place to see a show, and the band brought a little extra to these shows in VT. 4 out of 5 stars.

these two shows in vermont are two of my favorite shows from an exceptional summer tour. sample>divided is pretty straight forward. gumbo was still a quasi rare treat at this point. the curtain is well played, and while i'm not a huge julius fan, this one has loads of energy. then they dive into the first camel walk in 6 years, which, obviously, was well received. in a year full of killer rebas, here's another one. the rest of the set is pretty straight forward.

the second set kicks off with a nice rocking run away jim. this one does go out as far as others, but it still has a nice mellow out into a fun makisupa policeman. they don't stay mellow for long. they crank out a nice high octane mule, with a slamming duel in the middle. then, you have to check out this tweezer. gordo and trey play brilliantly on this one. eventually, it finds its way into the new tune hahaha. from there, they mellow out again. sleepy monkey works well. then they dip into acouostic army, their little summer 95 gimmicky thing. after that, they bring out all home with a lovely slave closer. page has some nice playing on this bad boy. the halley's>tweeprise enc really sends everyone home happy. great show, but i like the next night a little better. it is hard to top that timber/bowie mayhem to kick off the 2nd set. either way, get the whole run; both shows are smoking.

This show was one of my favorite shows of all time. The setting was absolutely spectacular, on a ski slope with the chair lifts overhead. The stage was set up near the base of the mountain, and I remember looking up the mountain and seeing people all the way near the peak just hanging out. The stage had a black gauze-like backdrop that you could partially see through, which allowed you to see the Green Mountains as the sun set. And the music absolutely killed it. This was the highlight show for me of an awesome summer run, in which I caught Great Woods, the first Deer Creek show ever, and a few others.

First set is kind of tepid, but Set Deux more than makes up for it. Brilliant segues connect nicely jammed versions of the opening 3 songs. Note that Trey says "4:20...Dank" in Makisupa, and not the "420...Day" that the setlist footnotes allege. Tweezer is straight-ahead and funky, with another deft segue dropping it into Ha Ha Ha. Quality show, even if it isn't the best that this tour had to offer.

PHISH, SUNDAY 07/02/1995
SUMMERSTAGE AT SUGARBUSH NORTH
Fayston, VT

SET 1:

Sample in a Jar: Standard. >

Divided Sky: Trey is impressive throughout, a real barnburner!

Gumbo: Standard.

The Curtain: Standard. >

Julius: Standard.

Camel Walk: Huge bust out!

Reba[1] Very average

I Didn't Know: Standard.

Rift: Standard.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps: Before this Trey chides the freeloaders that snuck in and urged them to donate to the King Street Youth Center.

SET 2:

Runaway Jim: Goes Type II right after the 9 minute mark. Things stay mostly dissonant and rather chaotic for the rest of this jam. It’s not for me unfortunately. But the segue into MP is extremely good. ->

Makisupa Policeman: Trey “Apex” Anyone know what that was all about? Heady jam. The last 45 seconds or so are dissonant chaos. ->

Scent of a Mule: Gut punch going into this.

Tweezer: Hard charging and straight ahead, no real nuance to this one really ->

Ha Ha Ha: Standard. >

Sleeping Monkey: Standard.

Acoustic Army: Standard.

Slave to the Traffic Light: Average at best.

ENCORE:

Halley's Comet: Standard. >

Tweezer Reprise: Standard.

Summary: Not much meat on the bone. I know everyone remembers these shows fondly that attended, but this show falls flat unfortunately. 3/5.

Replay Value: Divided Sky

[1] No whistling.

This was a benefit show for the King Street Youth Center. The band brought back Camel Walk, which hadn’t been played since February 24, 1989 (762 shows). Reba did not have the whistling ending and Trey announced during Makisupa that this was "4:20... Dank."
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Divided Sky, Runaway Jim, Makisupa Policeman, Tweezer