[We would like to thank Jamie Pemantall (@disenlighten) for recapping this adored show from three decades ago. -Ed.]

This month is the 30th anniversary of seeing my first Phish show, and I’m taking this chance to share some great memories from the distant past and thoughts from the present.

I had been a listener of the recorded music of Phish since 1993, when I was introduced to the Rift album by a childhood friend. I recall a feverish amount of excitement from my high school peers who saw 2/4/93 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, two days after the release of Rift. When I told my sister I listened to Phish, she asked, “Aren’t they weird?” Yes. Yes, and that was the appeal for me. I was mostly a metal and punk listener at the time, but I was habitually drawn to the bizarre.

Earlier in 1995, I had run into a high school friend who remarked that the platitude “There’s nothing like a Grateful Dead show” was also true for Phish’s live shows. “There’s nothing like a Phish show.” That statement gained significance when Jerry Garcia died in August 1995. There was already crossover between fans of the Grateful Dead and Phish, but many more fans followed Phish on the Fall ’95 tour.

I began university in Washington, DC, in September 1994 and missed the chance to see Phish at smaller venues, like 10/8/94 at George Mason in Fairfax, VA. At the time, I was focused on seeing punk shows at clubs, and the sort of folks who obsessed about Phish weren’t “my people” on campus. One year later, my musical interests had broadened considerably. I was interested in the relationship between psychedelic electronic music like the Orb and the “space rock” progeny of Pink Floyd.

Some neighbors in my dorm hallway were ‘heads, and when I got a hold of the tapes that fans traded of Phish’s eclectic, sprawling concerts, it was a done deal. Shifts filing away books at the Special Collections Department of Gelman Library became psychic explorations as I immersed myself in the April ’92 soundboards that circulated. When tickets went on sale for the USAir Arena (18,000 seats) show in nearby Landover, MD, it was a must for me.

The show took place the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, so I forewent the trip home. My neighbor was from Maryland, and he invited me and another dorm neighbor to his family’s Italian Thanksgiving, which was exceptionally kind. I rode with him to the show.

I am aware of a stereotype that the music of Phish “isn’t any good if you’re not wasted,” and that everyone at the concert must be high or frying, but these are misconceptions. I was deliberately sober for this show, I was sober for some of the other best shows I ever saw, and have since seen 15 years worth of clean shows. The music itself is everything anyone needs to be taken on the journey.

The “Cars, Trucks, and Buses” opener was perfect. Phish would play the New Orleans Jazz Fest the next Spring, and this tune is a taste of their affinity for New Orleans style funk. I learned later that the band were fans of The Meters.

We had lower bowl seats opposite from the stage, which is still my choice location for watching Chris Kuroda’s one of a kind light show.

A Live One, released that Summer, drew many curious new listeners to the band. “Wilson” opens the second disc of that set, and I remember the crowd being amped for it. Owners of the album and veteran fans alike knew the “Wilson” call and response that starts the song. My friend Jeremy was wearing a homemade “Can you still have phun?” t-shirt for the show. I looked up at the seats behind me and saw a teenage kid playing air guitar.

My dad was a serious bluegrass fan, and I thought it was cool that Phish would shift styles and cover a bluegrass song, and even incorporated it into their own songwriting. “Uncle Pen” was a nice surprise that night. I hadn’t shared any overlap with my father’s musical tastes since he played the Beach Boys for me as a child.

We were treated to a 1995 rendering of “Taste” that subsumed “The Fog that Surrounds.” This was a transitional period for the song, before the future studio version was finalized, where “Fog…” became fully interpolated into the end of “Taste.” I want to claim that hearing it is a memory that stands out for me, but I concede that I may be swayed by three decades of playing the tapes.

I knew about “The Lizards” from friends singing it long before I ever heard Phish play it, so it was special to see the song performed live. The Gamehendge mythos, (“Phish’s rock opera”) was very interesting to me at the time, and it was a joy to experience a piece of it.

The first set ended with “Sweet Adeline,” a cappella. It was a nice touch to see one of the barbershop quartet numbers that Phish sings at the show I attended.

First set, not really jam-heavy, and I should note that this is not considered to be a stand-out show by Phans. But, as an intro to the band’s live show for me, I heard many classic songs, had a great time, and the band was in top Fall ’95 form in this listener’s humble opinion.

Second set is where things really broke through for me. It began with the song “Rift;” at least, part of the first verse of it. According to phish.com:

Rift was quickly aborted after the rhythm fell apart during the first verse. After they stopped mid-song, Trey said, “We’d like to credit that last one to our drummer, Mr. Jon Fishman. Let’s hear it for him.”

It was confusing, but soon forgotten when the band launched into “Free.” This song was instantly memorable for me as a no nonsense rocker. It evolved into a locked in jam with Trey moving to a drum kit, with a strobe light effect from the lighting rig, and then morphed into a dark, spacey jam. These 33 minutes were unlike any live music I’d ever experienced.

I knew “Bouncin’ Around the Room” as the opening track from A Live One and it was comforting to hear something I recognized. I was searching for something deep in that song, but I came to recognize that it’s a simple song, beautiful in its simplicity.

“You Enjoy Myself” is also featured on A Live One but I don’t think I was familiar with it prior to this show. This was a fitting song for a first show, since it showcases much of what makes Phish amazing: tight composed sections, “the note” of overdriven sustained guitar, strange/cryptic/nonsensical “lyrics”, some playful bass/drums improvisation, trampolines (I think), and the vocal jam… peak high weirdness.

I have heard that some fans don’t care for “Strange Design.” To each their own, but it is another song that became instantly memorable for me. I enjoyed the introspective lyrics, beautiful melody, and Page McConnell’s vocals and playing. Lore has it that this song was comforting for fans who were having bad experiences at shows.

The encore began with with what one Usenetter described as the “Taco Bell commercial version” of “Poor Heart.” This was a Fall ’95 thing where the song, played at a fast bluegrass tempo, was slowed down to regular country music speed. This is another song to which I attempted to ascribe deep meaning, where there probably isn’t that much. The “Frankenstein” closer was heavy and maniacal, a wonderful finish to an incredible night of music.

Loving the music of Phish and seeing the band live represents to me a gradual movement away from being a miserable, self-centered person who related primarily to angry music to someone who is able to get outside of one’s head and experience bliss and wonder. It did not happen overnight, and it is still in progress 30 years later. Finding this music led me to seek out the influences of Phish — electric Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Bill Monroe, Del McCoury, Sun Ra, Syd Barrett, Jimi Hendrix — musical treasures through which my soul fleetingly transcends the brutish world of physical reality.

I look back fondly on the anniversary of this show every year, but this year is a special one. When this date arrives, I make a donation to the Mockingbird Foundation, Phish’s nonprofit that benefits kids’ music education. I firmly believe that the gift of music is life transforming, and I am supremely thankful that I have access to it, to bring me stability and happiness.

11/22/1995 phish.net setlist Reddit Post Celebrating 25 Years of My First Phish Show Listen to 11/22/95 at phish.in Flop Sweat essay by Rob Mitchum Donate to the Mockingbird Foundation

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