I was introduced to the band by some older counslers at an overnight summer camp. I had been listening to Phish for about 3 years before this. Mostly studio stuff execpt for Slip, Stitch, and Pass and NYE 95. At the time I new nothing about trading tapes and such. So when this tour was announced and i saw the boys were coming so close to home for me I hounded my dad to get tickets for me and my friend Ray. I was 17 at the time and had no debit or credit cards and plus i was in school when tickets went on sale. This was my senior year in high school. My dad was puzzled at the time why he had to be at the computer right when tickets went on sale. He was able to get tickets for me and then checked like 30 minutes later and they were sold out! Told ya Dad!

It seemed like forever until March 1st would get here. Finally show day rolled around so Ray and I made the thirty minute drive to Greensboro. It was cold and rainy that day. When we got on lot we were nervous n00bs about taking our weed in so we baked out the car and headed to the gate. This was a GA show so we wanted to get in as soon as we could. While waiting in line we kept hearing people talk about this nasty Tweezer from the last show and some song called Destiny Unbound that had not been played since god knows when. At the time i didnt have a clue what they were talking about but sure do now. The show before this was of course the now famous 2.28.03! So really for my first show I missed the whole lot scene and Shakedown, but would get my introduction later that summer.

So finally the doors opened and we made a mad dash for the floor! I couldnt believe it, my first show and I was three rows behind the rail! When Phish took the stage and laid into the first notes of CTD I knew this was exactly where I wanted to be at that moment in my life. The coliseum holds like 23k people and I turned around to survey my surroundings and i swear there was 20k lighters going off and they show was on!! All of a sudden Ray and I were offered all kinds of joints and bowls from our neighbors. It was like heaven on earth us two high school kids. For such a n00b I was I actually knew every song they played that night exept for maybe Foam and Mountains in the Mist. They highlights for me that night was the epic glow stick war during Divided Sky and strangely enough Boogie On, an a capella Carolina, and of course the YEM encore followed by Proud Mary.

When the show ended that night I knew this was the band for me. From that point on I was completly obsessed the Phish, I couldn't get enough. I was lucky enough to catch two more shows that summer. Looking back now i'm glad I have a little 2.0 under my belt. It would be seven looong years until I was able to make to another show. I'm so thankful to be a fan of Phish and part of this community. Their music has given me so much joy in my life and I've made alot of friends at shows and from here at Phish.net.

So there ya have it, my story about my first encounter with the Phish from Vermont.

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

This was the first show I ever saw. I had waited pretty much half of my life to see Phish. (I bought Rift for myself in the 6th grade). My friend Blake and I left our hometown, and we arrived at the Coliseum at around 2:00 p.m., and were the first ones in line. Doors didn't even open until 6:00 p.m., with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. I failed to check the weather that day, and just my luck- it rained thick, thick drops for a couple of hours, and I was clad in a severely cotton polar fleece. We searched for whatever we could to stay dry...trash bags, cardboard around the Coliseum, whatever. We finally shared a trash bag canopy with three girls from Atlanta. We talked for a couple of hours about school, life, songs we wanted to hear, our summer plans, etc. Minutes before we were allowed entry, it stopped raining, and the line (which had become extremely long by this time) erupting in shouts of appeasement because the rain was done and excitement because we were all about to see Phish!
When the doors opened, we ran for our lives...sprinting
to find ourselves right in front of the stage, thanks to general admission. The cops tried to slow us down ("ensuring out safety"- yeah right), but we just kept running. I couldn't be happier to be an arms length away from Trey, Page, Fishman, and Mike as they played my favorite Round Room track, "Waves." The glowstick war was unreal during "Divided Sky", but I have to admit I got unnerved from all the fans trying to throw glowsticks at the band. After the first set, I decided to sit higher up so I could see and hear the band better since I was standing in front of Trey's amp first set.
I'm pretty glad I did, because when the boys sang "Carolina" second set, it was like a vacuum from the stage sucked the people on the floor. Everyone was pushing towards the front of the stage, and thankfully, I was above all the claustrophobia. All in all, the show was a dream...ending with a glorious “YEM” >vocal jam > “Proud Mary”. As I left the show, I was speechless...dumbfounded by the intimate spectacle I had just seen. Veggie burritos were for sale after the show...the worst thing I had ever tasted, but the greatest post-show feeling!

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

I was happy to hear that the band decided to get back together for New Year's 2002, but I did not even try to get tickets. However, when Spring Tour rolled around, I decided I was ready to see a show. My wife and I picked up tickets for the Greensboro show, at a venue only forty minutes away from our house. Our good friends Carol and Zep came down from Philly for the weekend, and we had a great time reconnecting.
On the way to the Coliseum I realized I had not heard any Phish for over a month, and I had no expectations whatsoever. The atmosphere inside was relaxed and energized, if that is not too contradictory. We grabbed some seats behind the band but with great views of Page. The crowd was a lot younger and a little more wild than I remembered, but when the lights went down, the old magic was still there. It was cool to see everyone march onstage, we could actually see the stagehands lighting the steps up to the stage.
From our vantage point, you could see how much fun the band was having, and the energy was palpable. Page came from behind his keyboards with a big grin, belting out a nice "Lawnboy". "Character Zero" whipped the crowd into frenzy, and the "Divided Sky" was breath taking. The pause in the middle was great. Someone in the top tier threw about fifty orange glowsticks down to the floor, and a giant glowstick war erupted. The war and the pause continued a for a few minutes until Trey caught two or three glowsticks in a row, and then Fishman hit then symbol that continues the song. "Divided Sky" kept building and building, and the transition into "Mountains in the Mist" was a welcome breather.
With the advent of CDRs, the continuity of sets is slowing becoming a lost thing, but my disc 2 of this show might be my favorite disc of Phish music. It is certainly up there in the top ten. An incredible "Waves" ( I did not know from the Round Room version deep this song could get) led into a rocking "Sample".
Yes, it had almost been three years since my last show, but this show has slipped into my top five. Everything from the setlist, the seats, the energy, the lack of expectations, led to one of the greatest shows I have heard. Do yourself a favor, and get a copy of this show. It was well worth the wait.

A well-liked second set and encore, for obvious reasons, but the 2/26 and 2/28 shows are far stronger - and to be honest, the second set is cooler on paper than on tape. Trey's chording in Piper recalls the awesome 2/16 version, but Page and Mike lend the proceedings a bit of a hoedown feel. Trey's just along for the ride, honestly; the jam never quite takes off. Maybe it's not supposed to. Low-key 2001 to follow. Wolfman's gets right down and stays there, neither catching fire nor failing to entertain, and Mike's segue into Boogie On is welcome. But let's be honest: the song (in this incarnation and most recent versions) is just a goofy bass solo. Mike rocks it, but it's a dance-party song and nought else. Trey's fully present for Antelope. Skip the Carolina. First Tube is its usual self, but the crowd's roar of appreciation at the opening notes of YEM is something to hear.

The YEM is a party version - hell, it's a party set - but the YEM isn't interesting in itself, except for the a capella take on Proud Mary, down in the basement of the boys' vocal range and a bit of a weird way to kick off a four-month touring break.

This was probably the concert experience of a lifetime for many of the fans, but at seven years' remove you can exercise some discretion and guiltlessly pass on this show in favour of the previous week's.

First show for me going on ten years now.... piper i remember stands out obv the proud mary vocal jam coming out of YEM... not the greatest weather that day in the lots, but still a pretty sweet first show.