This was my second show, and I didn't know most of the repertoire. All I knew was that my jaw was on the floor during one song in the first set, which turned out to be Split Open and Melt. Listening to it again, it still stands up as a particularly insane version. The rest of the show is pretty much standard stuff, which is why it's generally ignored. There are no Type II jams here, but it's all really well played, which has not been the case in recent years.

We've gotten used to slower tempos and a more mellow approach, forgetting how exciting even an ordinary show up through about 1996 could be due to Machine Gun Trey. We took his shredding abilities for granted back then. I can hardly stand to listen to SOAMelt from Phish 3.0, because all Trey does is hold mid-range notes with tremolo and bending while letting the others do most of the work (one recent example is 1/3/2015). I keep waiting for the peak that never happens. That's not to say a Phish show these days isn't a fun time, or that they don't do some trippy, heady stuff, or even that Trey never shreds anymore, but it isn't the almost nonstop aural assault that characterized a Phish show when they were reaching their peak in the early to mid 90's. An ordinary show like this one from back then carried far more energy than the best show nowadays.

I'd like to politely request that this version of Coil be added to the jam charts. If anyone can think of a more beautiful outro than Page's version here, I'd love to hear it. I can't tell you how many times I've played this version for non-fans who are blown away by the musicianship displayed here.

Then comes Phish tour. Most of my craziest experiences started hear! At the time, they were playing smaller venues. I actually got into my first show in Pittsburgh, PA. They were playing at recreational center at a local collage. There were two sides to the rec center; an auditorium and a sports center. We walked around the building until we herd the sound of a basketball in the gymnasium. I knocked on the door and to my surprise a girl opened the door. I explained to her that we were trying to get into the Phish show, and asked her to let us in. I was really surprised when she obliged! We eventually found the main entrance to the building. There was a pull down gate, like a fence, that seperated the two parts. After talking some people on the other side into lending me their stubs, I found some security people. I convinced them that we had gotten lost trying to find the restrooms, produced the ticket stubs, and got into the show!

It seems like Runaway Jim and Foam were the quintessential 1-2 set opening tunes for much of the early 90’s. This combo here doesn’t disappoint. The Jim, while not breaking any new ground, is a solid version. The same can be said for Foam. Following the opening numbers is FEFY, a tune that will always be a one of my favorites from when I was began to fall in love with this band. This serves as a nice breather too before The Curtain, which is decent but I still prefer The Curtain With. With Melt and Coil ending the set, it winds up being a pretty nice set list.

The Melt is a typical ‘94 version, which is to say it’s energetic and frenetic. I love the versions from this era. This one is very good, but not extraordinary. The Coil that follows is lovely and clearly the band agreed and it winds up on A Live One.

Opening Set II we get the first Bowie of the tour. This is a decent but nothing special version. However, I like Bowie in the set opening slot. We move through BATR and Scent, onto YEM. I miss the days when YEM could pop up at any show, rather than only once or twice a tour at best. And here we have a solid version. Nothing extraordinary but it’s nice to get. From there, the rest of the show is decent, with the Possum getting a bit of an energetic boost to close the set.

In all, this is a pretty average show for Fall ‘94 without any real highlights except maybe the Melt.