Lost in the long shadow of 10-31-94 is a fabulous and unique show. In just about any other position in Phish tour history other than the show before "OMG Phish Does The White Album," this set list would have been an instant contender for best set list of the tour. Most heads know about this show, but if you're just starting to mine the vast treasure trove that is 1994, put this one in your top 10. To my ears, there was a strange feel to this show - maybe the impending Halloween spirits were gathering two days early, or maybe it was just the entire aura of well-controlled craziness that glowed around the entire tour.

Who knows? Whatever the reason, this show deserves classic status. It's got it all - the bust-out factor, the great (if compressed slightly) fall 94 jamming, the creative set list design for both sets, and a killer encore.

Let's dive in.

Set I: Um, hello? A rare and intense My Friend opener; a strangely placed Simple->Runaway Jim combo (and a strange combo for any show); and the pure treat of SOAM->Buffalo Bill->Makisupa->Rift to cap it off makes what would have been an otherwise typical warm-up set for a Fall 94 jamfest in Set II become absolutely mandatory listening for any phan. Forever.

Set II: You mean it gets better?!

DWD->TMWSIY>Avenu>TMWSIY->Sparks>Uncle Pen to kick it off. I don't think I need to really say much more about that string; it's self-explanatory. The DWD is high-energy and rocking; the TMWSIY sandwich is always serene-plus-fun; and just throw in a dash of The Who's Tommy for seasoning. Plus some bluegrass for good measure. w00t!

Caught your breath? Good. Next stop: YEM. A typical strong 94 YEM, and actually a short and sweet version considering the other YEMs of that tour and year. Jazzy-creepy vocal jam.

Good Fishman-tastic fun and banter with Bike is next. Now they'll probably wind it down with something lame like Sample or maybe a nice Horse>Silent, right?

WRONG. How about a smoking Antelope with Sleeping Monkey plunked right in the middle of it? Bam! That. Just. Happened.

Encore? A beautiful, soaring Harry Hood. The perfect way to end any show, and a pitch-perfect way to end this one.

For those who don't know the set list by heart already, this show is a lot of fun to just put on from start to finish and try not to remember or even guess what song comes next.

Because 9 times out of 10 with 10-29-94, what comes next is anyone's guess.

Highly recommended.

Raible,

I think when you saw Aura at this show I know what you mean. This was my first and still probably one of my top 3 Phish shows. Up there with the Bozo Darien Lake 96 and Cypress, IMO!

It was on the campus of Wofford, a small Liberal Arts college of about 3000 kids. Lets just say this was Halloween South, it was the end of the road for fall 94 for alot of southern heads. I lot of my buddies did ATL>Boone>Charlottesville>Charleston>Spartanburg. I had tix to Charleston but couldnt get off work, so Spartanburg was my baptism. People were in costume which to a 19 year old n00b like me at the time was crazy! And lets just say the white fluffy goodness Brain fuel was EVERYWHERE!! think people were just unloading everything before heading home, not sure, but the WHOLE venue of about 2800ish lucky people were dosed to the rafters. Monkeys were loose in the banana factory (Fishman's reference to "Bad Banana" in Bike, LOL I had a buddy who walked in sober and walked out zonked out of his mind and has no idea to this day how it happened (his drink I suppose?) he said he didnt take a thing, even passed on the vials being passed down the aisles! 18 years later this bad boy still rains fresh in my mind.

Gold medal show, I know im a wee bit biased being my first, but it really is up there. There really isnt a weak point in the thing, even the Bluegrass is perfect and fitting. I must say my favorite segment might just be the Sparkle>Simple>Jim. Just psychedelic as all hell and back, awashed in a colored display. Sparkle is white, Simple is blue and Jim was a dark dark green BRAVO!!

I'm confused about the SOAMelt, this says it was unfinished?

The only copy I have is on a From the Archives, and the Melt ends and then Bill starts..but the Bill sounds like it comes out of a jam? Did Shapiro just add the wrong Melt to the mix somehow?

Phenomenal show! Entertaining and unexpected segues abound, and the energy is pure fire.

Two notes:
1. Melt is debatably unfinished. While it never lands on that final note, it gets right up to the edge and sustains for a while. It's similar to a Hood that doesn't have an abrupt "I feel good" conclusion. (i.e. it ends like a 3.0 Hood typically does, and like a Melt typically doesn't)
2. Brutal tease of Have Mercy for the first few seconds of Makisupa. Gordo is clearly locked into the Have Mercy bassline for the first 40+ seconds, before the rest of the band steers from ambiguity into Makisupa and he follows suit. (I like Makisupa okay enough, but Have Mercy *moves* me!)

@nichobert -- I have that FTA recording as well, and it's a completely different SOAMelt than the one from 10/29/94. It's a mislabel... the spreadsheet version of the Melt is definitely unfinished.