Going back to this show after the triumphant but comparatively muted (though far more deeply expressive and emotional) 2009 comeback, it's bracing to hear a version of Phish with a hundred times as much pep vim and vigor. A version of Antelope like this one comes along once in a long while - yet this 19-minute shred-a-thon is just the Set Two opener! The boys slide right into an interplanetary Harpua > 2001 > Harpua (weird to be reminded that for all their talents, Phish couldn't really play funk back in 1994). The crispness and tossed-off virtuosity are unbelievable; even Trey's utterly disastrous klezmer accelerandoooooh-no in Scent is a showoff routine. Listen for the brief Divided Sky tease during the climax of Hood - that kind of allusive detail is characteristic of the band at this key moment in their history, before 11/94 and summer '95 dramatically raised the stakes.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

It was a marvelous sunny day in North Fayston, VT, with green mountains all around us. There was not a better day to see Phish, and as we would find out later, the band felt the same way. The venue was one of the most beautiful at which to see Phish, or any concert for that matter. It was on the side of Sugarbush Mountain in the middle of the Green Mountains. Unfortunately, there was a bus system (similar to Waterloo Village) where we had to line up so busloads of Phish fans could be taken to the actual concert site. But it was such a beautiful day that not one person in the ten thousand-plus crowd could care less what they had to do to see their beloved quartet.
They opened up the show with an unusual treat to make us feel like we were with them in their most beloved environment. They came out and harmonized a few lines from "Back in My Hometown"�. Five seconds later, "Golgi Apparatus"� was permeating the crowd, and it had people going absolutely bananas. A selection from their latest release, Hoist, was next, "Down with Disease"�. It was a very simple, babyish version that featured Trey soloing throughout. Several minutes later, they slowed it down, along with the crowd. Weird noises appeared. Trey grabbed his megaphone off of his amp and started waving his arm in huge circles, passing the megaphone by his microphone. Mike grabbed a drill and held it in front of his mic. All this was giving up the sounds of a very rare "N2O"�, a song played only that summer a few times - � until 7/13/99. The effect they created was that we were sitting in a dentist's chair. How a band can make you feel like you are in a dentist's chair is beyond me but they did a great job of it. Mike played the part of the dentist, saying lines like, "You are getting sleepy,"� and "Don't worry, it won't hurt."� Out of nowhere the band went right into Stash. The only way to describe it is short, brief, and concise, yet still somewhat engaging. Other favorites in the set were "Cavern"�, "Sparkle"�, and an incredible "Maze"�, "Horse > Silent"�, and the set closer, "Sample in a Jar"�. The energy and rare vibe that fans live for were there, but there was not too much to go crazy over except a well-played set.
If only we had known what was ahead. The lights went out, the sun was pretty much down. The remnants of a gorgeous sunset were still upon us, and we heard the opening lick to "Run Like an Antelope"�. Just writing this review is giving me goosebumps. This version of "Antelope"� is by far one of the best versions I have ever seen or heard the band perform. The energy they put toward the crowd was like no other. The main jam of the song started off in orbit. Trey was wandering all around stage in a groove that he had very rarely been in. Out of nowhere, he started screaming into the microphone. Page followed, screaming bloody murder. Trey was screaming "WEEEEEEEEEE"� like he was on some sort of amusement-park ride. They even started laughing obnoxiously. Trey then started running around stage at a track star's pace, taking another guitar and doing windmills with it like Pete Townshend. After that mayhem, they broke into "Catapult"�, where the famous argument between Fish and Trey took place. Fish suggested that Trey didn't really want to get married, Trey got mad, and Fish apologized, all with tongue firmly lodged in cheek. Quickly they went back into "Antelope"�, where more screaming and running occurred. Page stood up and was banging obnoxiously on his piano. At the end of Antelope they did the "D'oh!" from the Simpsons language, and the line "Set the gearshift for the high gear of your soul"� was said with a passion, volume, and energy that no other "Antelope"� has ever had. With some quiet feedback from "Antelope"�, the band burst into "Harpua"�, and what a "Harpua"� it was. It was the most free-spirited and spontaneous narration I've ever heard. Trey first makes a claim that Vermont is the best state in the Union and that anyone who doesn't live there is totally missing out. The basic gist of the story is that Harpua and Poster are roaming around on top of the mountain we are standing on. Harpua is hungry and says, "Hot lunch, I want him."� Just as he is about to attack poor Poster, a wave of energy came from nowhere and "they look up in the sky - � and see a giant comet - � crashing into Jupiter."� Right then and there, a comet was actually crashing into Jupiter. Meanwhile the rest of the band was playing some heavy space, and then Fishman busted right into "2001"�, which I must say was one of the most perfectly placed versions ever. Following "2001"�, they proceeded to finish up "Harpua"� with some altered lyrics ("your cat got hit by a comet!"). The band continued to rock hard by doing some great versions of "AC/DC Bag"�, "Scent of a Mule"�, "Contact"�, and "Harry Hood"�. They closed off the set with a fantastic version of "Chalk Dust"�. The encore was a ripping "Suzie Greenberg"�, and just like that, the tour was done. It was sad to say goodbye once more, but what made the ending worse was that now ten thousand tired kids all wanted to get on those buses to get back to their cars at the very same time.

Set 2 of this show was another one of my first cassette tapes. The playing here is outrageously good, and I listened to this tape quite a lot back in the day. Last week's yemconvo on twitter featured the topic, "What is the best show you think Trey Anastasio has ever played?" I considered this show as an answer, although waxbanks is correct about Trey's struggles during SOAMule. This performance features Trey playing skillfully and manically, though "soulfully" would not apply yet. But if you add the megaphone madness, heavy metal screaming, a timely Harpua narration, Barracuda teases, and a monumental Harry Hood, you might a great Trey show. I can't think of too much more that I could ask from him at one gig.

Noob confession: this was one of the first two or three versions of Run Like An Antelope I heard on tape. The next several versions of Antelope that I heard left me disappointed that they didn't extend the intro or go bonkers in the jam like they did at this show.