My second show, and I have super fun memories. As reported, this was just a gorgeous place to see a show, surrounded by water on three sides. There was plenty of room. We walked up very close to the stage without any trouble, right as set one started. For the second set, we went further back where there was so much room to dance. This was a short but sweet show with great crowd energy. I remember, during the "run, run, run" part of Antelope, me and my friends running and dodging in between people, because there was so much room.

The shushing, the Rescue Squad, the Jeff… this is one of those shows that makes you remember what this particular music is all about. Trey wasn’t just playing his acoustic, he was playing the crowd and all of our emotional heartstrings like the master he is. As far as the compositions go, everyone was spot on. Water in the Sky set the tone for the beginning of an emotional journey. Drift While Your Sleeping sealed it in. Trey gave us a sonic washing to start CDT to reset the energy after Joy and Farmhouse - it didn’t feel like there was a dry eye in the room (or maybe that was just me). Still reeling from the crowd participation. The shushing during 46 Days became part of the jam - Trey joking it was like a sound Page would play on his synth. This transformed into a Steam where we all were in on the gag in true Phish fashion. I personally helped add some steam from my portable fog machine (aka my bowl). Weed is legal in NY, what a concept! Slave and a YEM to close - no one wanted to leave, especially Trey. Encore showed that. Another emotionally charged Waste, some more fun with the crowd during Gin, Brief Time to seal in what I think we’re all feeling right now. Tweeprise to send us all off with a reflective smile. I feel very lucky to have gotten to see all the shows on this run - and I know we’re all beyond overdue for this collective experience that we all know and love. I’m getting emotional writing this, even. It was great to be back with everyone, to meet new people, to celebrate Tony, and everyone that has come and gone before us. Right now we’re all united with our collective grief, last night reminded me how we’re going to get through it. Love you all! See you out there this summer!

live music is BACK. and it feels so right. was a breeze getting in to the venue. showed our vax cards, scan our tickets, badda bing badda boom. got there at like 7:45 but still managed to scoop up a poster. couple beers and we are off to our seats, balcony, center. by random phishy happenstance, we end up sitting directly in front of two of our friends. high fives and hugs. lights go down, and it was just one long, beautiful, whimsical dream. i cant even really say what were the highlights. it was all perfect. amazing song choices. the magical rescue squad strings, the music box piano, the minimalist moody northern lights backglow, the giant full moon projection during wolfman’s, complete with audience howls. the whats the use was mind blowing. just bliss. the hood was one of the best ive seen. incredible encore. 24 hours later, im still buzzing with joy and gratitude. it just felt so. damn. good. to be back amongst my people. now bring on summer tour.

Imagine standing in the middle of the GA section watching this by yourself and then just walking out quietly. That’s always how I envision myself viewing this jam if I could have viewed it. I’m not sure if this is long enough to meet the minimum requirement so I’ll say one more thing. The legendary stuff at the end of this jam is proof that goodness and beauty can exist in this messed up place called Earth.

I was late to the game. I fully admit that. This was my first Phish show so it's a bit nostalgic for me as I look back on my brief fandom. I started following Phish around 2008 but it took me a few years to get to the show. We were on the left side of the lower 3 sections. I remember the opener being a big deal, a Phish debut! The start felt a bit sluggish until we got to the gem of Set 1, Divided Sky. We also got a second debut with Dr. Gabel that was solid. Neither debut took away from the energy building in the crowd after the boys shook off the dust. I ran into my childhood friend, Dennis, between sets. He had at that point attended well over 100 shows at that point and was not impressed with the set. When you have that kind of history, I guess that judgment is fair. Set 2 rolled around with gems like Weekapaug Groove and Limb By Limb; which were a treat for me. The really shined in highlighting the set along with 46 Days. Closing with First Tube was great for me. It was beautiful. 11 years ago today, I still feel the same way after I just re-listened to the entire show. At the time, Dennis was extremely disappointed with that as a closer. I wonder if he still feels the same way. Overall a good show. Not the best one but still quite enjoyable. Give it a listen on Live Phish.

The Japan tour... chock full of gems but this is undoubtedly the most infamous of the set. This is one of those rare shows where both sets provide the meats, making this a show well-worth listening to in its entirety. The whole show is saturated with laid-back, relaxed vibes and the jams that develop throughout are meditative & exploratory, with lots of funk and even some patent evil phish mixed in. Phenomenal show and should be high on anyone's 'to-do' list when searching through the incredible history of this band. Highlights: 1) [u]Carini, The Curtain> Cities[/u]: Are you F***ING KIDDING ME!!! Carini opener! OMG, yes!!! Nice little jam on the back end of this demon. Wait... Seriously!? The Curtain to follow!?? And a slam stomp transition into Cities?!?? I hope these Japanese fans appreciate this opening segment of stellar tunes played with gusto galore. [b]2) [u]Gumbo[/u]:[/b] Great song selection continues with Gumbo, spacey little outro jam. Nice. Wait... Mike's throbbing is getting faster, while Page is dialing into interstellar synths, and Fishman is circling the room with his propulsion beat. Trey leans and startss riffing hard on this unexpected Gumbo groove until we've lost all sense of where we even started. An incredible must-hear example of full-band improvisation, made even more impressive by the effortless transition into a fiery Llama 3) [u]SOAMelt[/u]: Nothing too crazy, but a patient tension-filled piece of psychedelic where Trey's guitar effects chase you around the room [b]4) [u]Twist[/u]:[/b] From the first meaty chunks of Mike's bass, this version already is dripping with A1 steak sauce (that is to say, the intro of this Twist is just different enough to make it instantly recognizable, leading to an unavoidable Pavlovian response for those who know what is in store). For a while, the jam meanders in a relaxed mode that slowly drifts further and further from the shores of "Twist" to unrecognizable shimmering sunset seas. The patient playing from everyone recalls vibes of "In A Silent Way" by Miles Davis or 90's trance music. What impresses me most throughout this whole "Twist" part of the jam is the way everyone meshes together: Page's timbres, blowing light springtime winds; Mike's transition from chunk bass to murmuring amongst the lite psychedelia; Fishman's ability to remain a vital but not overpowering voice as he colors the end of the jam with perfectly punctuated & quiet dins on the hi-hats; Trey's use of loops while whispering a mess of fairy tale phrases. If this were the end of the jam, it would be noteworthy in its own right. But oh no, this is not the end... Hold on to your butts! The ensuing Fukuoka Jam might as well be called "Pink Floyd nightmare hellscape". Page leans into some creepy synths, Fishman takes off into sly quick pitter patters, while Mike returns to swamp mud thud bass, starting on a riff that is very akin to the "Ghost" bass line. The jam morphs from creeping death vibes, to nasty groove funk, to rambling rock n' roll that, after 16 min. of this glory, transitions unexpectedly and perfectly into... [b]5) [u]Walk Away[/u]: [/b]What a journey! Although a little restrained with the tempo, the real reason you want to listen is because, for whatever reason, the stars have aligned and compelled Phish to continue their path through patient, trance-like jamming. The jam here finds everyone in a low pitter patter rhythm while Trey rings out two-tone whole note chords before melting into the buzzing summer heat, beneath Fishman's distant tom tom thunder and the insect swirl of Trey's delay loops. [b]6) [u]2001[/u]:[/b] So choice. Not only is this a great coda to an amazing second set, but the funk bubbles & builds. Hot, hot heat!

Big fan of this show just prior to the historic Roxy run. The second set is cut short due to technical issues (someone spilled a drink on the soundboard) and there are a few rough spots in the compositions but when they cut loose the play is really ripping. You'll first want to check out the soundcheck for a run-through of Shaggy Dog, Quinn the Eskimo jam, and banter from Trey about wanting to play one more song and then have a fight (pretty sure this is said in jest?). Chalk Dust ably opens the show with the first of several plus versions and is followed by Guelah and a smoking Poor Heart. Yes, a smoking Poor Heart. Trey's solo is just about note perfect. It's not something I've really tracked but I'd put this version up there with any of them. Next up is the only first set Tweezer of 1993. It has a knotty jam that nicely segues into first-set stalwart Foam and then comes Sparkle (check) and Cavern (check). Reba is the best jam of the night. It's a total show-stopper. I have this as a top-five version of 93, the year that Reba entered its mid-90s peak. This one is a hard rocker and really cranks the energy up by the end of the jam. Incredible. A breather with Lawn Boy is warranted after the tremendous Reba and the set rockets to a close with another "extra mustard please" jam in Antelope. Like Reba, 93 is lousy with strong Antelopes and this one sits comfortably in the company of the best outside of August. Rift is the second set opener for its second appearance in a row. The song hasn't been used as an opener in 3.0 but I think it can work there for sure. I also like the early second set placement for Stash that was really only consistently done in Feb. 93. Stash is not as dynamic as it would become later in the year but it's a satisfying "in-your-face" jam nonetheless. Lizards and PYITE take us to Gamehendge and despite some slip-ups in Punch, make for a pleasing pair. Following that is a strong Mike's Groove where all three components are noteworthy. Definite highlight material. Mike's itself is menacing and diabolical but retains its musicality while working in effective teases of "in the Hall of the Mountain King" and "Another One Bites the Dust". Hydrogen is quite extended with some extra feedback swells from Trey before he starts the melody which is super cool. Weekapaug is another blistering rendition packing a lot of heat into a tight jam. Unfortunately this is where the sound issues really become evident and Weekapaug cuts out and the tape picks back up after Mound starts. It would be great to hear the rest of what seemed to be another wild Spring 93 Weekapaug. The material played without microphones is not available. Definite recommend.

My first show ten years ago today ! Thanks for the reminder .net. Can’t believe this night changed my life. Thankful for all the people and memories I have along the way. I haven’t seen an Esther since. I remember 4 guys came on stage took care of business without saying a word and then left. I was hooked. Can’t wait for ten more years

I personally quite enjoyed this show. I had to clean the audio up a little bit with an EQ to hear things correctly, but once this was done the show was a good listen. First YEM got a great crowd reaction once it hit the 'Boy Man' funk part, it felt like everyone knew it was a classic already! Antelope was also a fine version. Other than that the others were fine but nothing special.

Standard fare show: good songs, played reasonably well, with a couple of standout solos and mini-jams. I particularly enjoy the brief Purple Haze tease during Suzy. I am not a fan of the slow-tempo Caravan, however. I'm sure they've played it faster than this? Anyways, highlights: 1) [u]Bathtub Gin[/u]: Trey's solo at the end is sort of slopped around in the best way possible. Dissonant and off-kilter timing. I'll take it! [b]2) [u]Run Like an Antelope[/u]: [/b]Very strong version, the dissonant build with Trey and Page is great and Fishman's drumming is propulsive. [b]3) [u]Reba[/u]:[/b] The jam at the end of this Reba is really thrilling stuff! Trey soars and his tone is gorgeous, Mike's is booming all over the place. My favorite moment of the whole show. 4) [u]Mike's Song[/u]: Trey holds a note for an extended period of time that flirts with the boundary of "this is going on for way too long" and "this is awesome, keep going!". It helps that Page, Mike, and Fish are going nuts during this part of the jam.

Well, this seems to me to be one of the few shows relegated to a lower league after the tour was over. I was there, too, I mean, I enjoyed a good amount of it- but the previous show i saw was their ATL Summer '98 show which was better. And before that was ATL '97. So, that was my knowledge and understanding of what a Phish show is. My first two shows (11/6/96, not a great show except to me and prob some others; then 7/23/97 was my 2nd show. So, i was played some of the greatest real soon, in my own opinion and in the entire phish opinion anus). This show at a cool place I'd never seen a show at, even though I grew up for 30 years in Chattanooga, just 1:45 mins away. The venue was round and felt small once inside, awaiting your legs to actually do some dancin'. I never danced. Unless hammered. I wasn't hammered. I was only on some weed. I went full L ahead at my first show and after constant listening knew i didn't want to see them again on L. I used that drug to go do all sorts of stuff on- a rollerhockey rec league game down south in Chattanooga. HEY WE HAVEN'T HAD A YEAR ROUND ICE RINK SINCE THE MID 70'S! AND THE DAMN CHOO-CHOO TRAIN DOESN'T EVEN TRANSPORT THE PUBLIC ANYMORE! The Chattanooga Choo Choo. Pardon me, y'all. But come down this summer. It's a nice town. This show though, is allright because phish is able to really put in an above average or higher show night after night, so it's like ranking which Trey composition is best. This show was enjoyed by me while I was there more that at any other time. I was happy to see a song from a 1.0 show i attended put on soundboard mixed release- the Mule here. Which is a good one, but the Velvet Sea is just more unique and even the longest one ever. EDIT- Phish released the 7/23/97 show!! I just learned that one. Thank you very much. I work with folks with disabilities and one thing auds don't have is that warm big bass that autistic kids enjoy. Shit, my brother danced when Breath & Burnin rotated on the other day, just cuz it's an album version in this case, but somethin off Live in Amsterdam would do it. After the show the MFMF, Ghost, Driver. Limb By Limb was real cool to hear since it was so new. And the powered up La Grange!! The second set was fun too! Listen to the Velvet Sea! The Stash isn't terrible, and go send Keven a message to please put the Mike's Groove from 11/6/96 on the next Bunny broadcast or official release!! It's amazing music. Again, thank you Phish. And thank you even more phish dot net. See ya on the beach in Jersey ahaahaa!

At the moment this show has a 3.57 rating, which is just wild! This is the coolest Frankie Says that I know of, and the Stash tease in Bowie is delicious. The Gin doesn't reach July '98 levels, but it's plenty good with loads of soaring, whirling shenanigans from Trey... it definitely peaks hard. Runaway Jim, Piper, 2001 second set... really plenty to chew on here. 3.57 ain't make no sense!

Review above mentions: [i]...and two debuts: “Character Zero”, which ended abruptly because "we don't know the end yet" (Trey), and “Waste.”[/i] Minor correction, but it's actually Waste that ends abruptly with Trey saying it doesn't have an ending, not Zero. Only noticed because I'm listening to the show now and wondered if they were debuting those songs. Had to come check the setlist :)

2nd set review -- This was a good show. The transitions with BOTT > NICU > Jibboo > Theme From > Meatstick > Fuego > Wedge > Run Like an Antelope aka Fuegolope allowed for one giant collective dance party! Not MONSTER jams - just a VERY solid show with some really fun playing. No major flubs - Phish at the most relaxed ready to take us on a ride - and that they did. Hitting 8 or 9 shows this Summer 2021 and couldn't be happier! Highlights: Down with Disease, BOTT including the transition into NICU & High energy, phishy, silly and well played "Fuegolope"

[b]This was my very first Phish show![/b] I was in my last semester at SF State and really on the bus w/ the GD, getting ready to see 17 Dead shows that summer. But a pal & I were hearing the buzz about Phish and so we went down to the Warfield on May 27 to try to get tix to see them that night. There were no tix to be had, but someone had a pair for 5/29 in Laguna Seca and we were like, phuck it, why not, Monterey isn't that far... I don't remember much about the earlier bands, except that I was not digging 4 Non Blondes and was glad I didn't join my pal in eating shrooms, haha... I hardly knew any Phish songs at this point, so it was pretty much all new to me and I therefore couldn't appreciate the magnitude of a Divided Sky opener, something I would then chase until Magnaball. I membah thinking David Bowie was a very weird song and that the show felt like it was kind of all over the place. It was the acapella Freebird closer and epic 5 song encore that made the biggest impression on me and I dug the GTBT finale. And so I was left feeling like ok, these guys are kinda weird, but they definitely rock... I only saw one more show in 1994 at Kent State when I was back home in Cleveland in the fall and then I saw a handful of summer 95 shows only because they were convenient to hit in between west coast Dead & east coast Dead. I was not even connecting Phish as the Gen-X heirs to the psychedelic rock counterculture throne, not even after Jerry's untimely departure from the planet and the one fall 95 show I saw in San Diego. I was in a spiritual black hole that fall due to the demise of the GD and I just didn't know what to do... But then a friend in Cleveland invited me to join him for the MSG-Woostah run and I was like, "Phish is playing NYE at MSG?!" That seemed potentially significant since I had seen the GD there in '94 and been blown away by the energy from the NYC crowd. And so it was that I was hooked by the Phish on 12/29/95 during the Real Gin jam & then reeled in for life by the Gamehendge Time Lab show where I grokked that the music gods had provided a next generation to carry the torch. I had visions of Bluto Blutarski in my head that night at MSG saying, "Over?! It's not over, nothing is over until we say it is!" Go Phish!

Well, it's about time I review this show. This was my 60th show, and it was in my transplanted hometown of the SF Bay Area. This show wasn't even 2 months after Jerry Garcia passed away on August 9th, so being at the home base of the Grateful Dead with a ton of Deadheads in attendance, there was many many songs and moments that were either overtly or tongue in cheekly referencing Uncle Jer'. You've likely heard this epic show, and maybe seen snippets of the video on YouTube or even that one glimpse from NYE 2003 when they had the video montage during set break. One important note(to me) They've gotten my name wrong and spelled wrong all these years. Understandably, as it's a strange name. I believe, in fact, like Tigger, I'm the only one. PüTzu is the correct spelling. Pronounced POO-TZOO. That being said, I'm going to start by sharing my unique tale from that day. And maybe add more to the tale over the years. My show started long before anyone else's show that day. I used to sell a lot of glass in the parking lot, however on September 30, at Shoreline, I decided that there were more important things to do. I was showing some pieces to some folks in the lot when my friend Greenpeace Mike came out from his cave in the backstage area and found me working as usual. He asked me if I had wanted to play Page a game of chess. I’d been after Page to play me for a couple of years so, I said, “Yeah!” Mike told me, “Come on.” So, I closed the case of glass, and excused myself and followed Mike to the backstage entrance. When we got there, he told me to meet him back there in 1 hour. So, I went back to the lot and told the clients that were checking out the glass that I was closed, went and put away my glass case, and hurried back to meet up with Greenpeace Mike. When I arrived he led me inside the big wooden doors to the back-stage area of Shoreline. It kinda felt like the big castle doors opening up to let me inside. We bee-lined it to the sort of “hang-out” area for the band-members where John was playing Ms. Pac-man. Mike and Page were sitting on one side of a table with a chess-board on it and Trey was just kinda pacing about. I said hey to everybody, but John’s attention was taken by Ms. Pac-man, then I sat down on the couch across from Page. A lot of folks thought that I made a horrible move. I have played chess for nearly 50 years, and I play chess like I live life, from the hip. I only thought I was playing an innocent game of chess. After the three moves, Trey had been pacing around, watching the game, Trey came over and said, “That’s good.” I said, “Huh?!” Trey said, “Oh, you don’t know what’s going on.” I said, “What?!” Trey said, “Oh, You don’t know what’s going on,” and pulled me out of my seat and took me to the front of the stage and showed me a giant velcro chess board. He proceeded to tell me that they were starting this chess game against the audience, where the band would make a move at the beginning of the show and a different member of the audience would make the move for the audience each night after set break. I was like, “Wow, cool.” So, Brad showed me around and told me how things would go, and how I wasn’t supposed to cross certain lines and where to stand. Then I was dismissed, and told to meet Brad at the beginning of the show. I ran outside and told everybody I knew not to be late for the show. I didn’t tell a soul why. I wanted it to be a surprise. And a surprise it was. I found out later that many of my friends were seeing their first Phish show, and then I went and got up on stage. This was the first time, but wasn’t to be the last time I would get onstage with the band. So then the moment came, and the show began. Phish opened the show with the always eerie, My Friend followed by an instrumental version of Jefferson Airplane’s quintessential psychedelic tune, White Rabbit. During the My Friend and the start of the White Rabbit Jam, I was on the risers stage left. (Jerry’s side) The jam kinda thinned out and Trey began to explain what was going on to the audience. Phish are all big fans of chess, and spend a lot of time on the road doing battle at the chessboard. They would be challenging the audience to a game of chess on this national tour, with one move played at each concert. I was invited onto the stage during the White Rabbit Jam. Having moved from the side of the stage to the front row, all I had to do was climb onto the stage. And there I was, a little nervous to say the least. Trey called me out to the front of the stage to meet the audience. With 20-something thousand in attendance, a large percentage good friends of mine, there I stood on the front edge of the stage at Shoreline, home of the Grateful Dead, in my Jerry Garcia postage stamp shirt, hands folded in front of me like a little kid. But on with the game… The game began with keyboardist and vocalist Page McConnell making a very normal move 1.e4 (1.P-K4) and then I responded, some have said, “sensibly, with 1…e5 (1…P-K4). Then Page played one of his favorite opening moves, 2.Bb5!? (2.B-N5) which is the unorthodox opening known in some circles as the Portuguese Opening. I responded with another reserved move, 2…Nc6 (2…N-QB3), and Page’s next move was, 3.Nf3 (3.N-KB3). The music continued with Reba, Uncle Penn a touch of Antelope, and then an acoustic rendition of Blue and Lonesome dedicated to Jerry Garcia, with Sample in a Jar closing out the set. But for me, the night was to become a strange psychedelic journey into the draw-bridge that was coming down between The Grateful Dead and Phish. I was wandering around backstage for a little while when I saw this woman playing basketball with a young boy, perhaps her child. Not really knowing what I wanted to do next, I sure didn’t want to leave the inner sanctum of Shoreline’s backstage area with Grateful Dead emblems and iconography everywhere, I watched them play horse for a minute and then asked them if they were with Phish. “Nope, Grateful Dead,” she replied. And that was all I needed to make my night complete.

Cool Jim to start the show. Awesome 1st set. Highlights are Foam, My Friend, Coil, and Antelope. 2nd set was also good, but not as good as the 1st. Stash had a nice, dark jam. Highlights of the 2nd set are Stash, Bathtub, YEM, TMWSIY, and the extra long Lenghtwise. The encore was special. Super creative doing Possum into The Vibration of Life(which itself is a fun listen), back into an energetic Possum to end the show. Overall, pretty great show. Possum!

A good show overall. Highlights of the first set are Melt, Suzy, Divided Sky, AC/DC Bag, and La Grange. La Grange was full of energy and an amazing closer for the first set Highlights of the second set are Harry, Bathtub Gin, The Lizards, and Possum. The best of the encores is Antelope, which made for a nice closer for the show. Overall, a pretty good show with some great standout tracks.

I LOVE 98 shows, especially this stretch of 98. That said, this show kinda can't get out of its own way. Moma Dance has 2 very messy moments. Axilla is noticeably choppy too. (And I don't mean like "Oh Trey hit the wrong note," I mean they aren't together.) Gumbo is great, as mentioned elsewhere, LxL is good, it seems like we're on our way... but no. Hold Your Head Up > Bike > HYHU... just really bogs things down.

Reba is a beast to behold. It isn't just the fact that Trey brings everything down to a whisper and then back up to a wailing away blast off. It's that Mike's bass line underneath is a slippery funk with phased timing weirdness that holds everything together in some groovy psychedelic funk lounge manner. Wow. It was good to be young, even though we couldn't live.

What a phenomenal way to open the second set! A hulking, multi-headed beast of a Mr. Completely, that, by the end, will have you believing you're listening to James Brown. Everyone gets a chance to shine here. There's really something for everyone. Add to that a hell of an interesting segue into the TAB debut of a wonderful horn-filled Stash that has the feel of the late '70s Doc Severinsen-led Tonight Show band ("...and heeeeeeeeere's [i]Johnny[/i]!"). This show is an absolutely spectacular treat.

Call me a plebeian if you must, but I was turned onto this show - as I'm sure many of us were - by the DAAM broadcast during the thick of the first COVID lockdown. Like most phans, I love '95 but this show flew way under my radar for standout shows from that year, but was super into it on first listen. Now that it's on LP+ I've since listened again detached from the filmic accompaniment - and yea, it really stands up. Theme, Bag, Reba, Simple, Bowie, YEM and Possum are the standouts. Flubs in Rift and RLAA as others have noted. Nothing so bad that it throws the show off. I'll leave it at that I think, but I'll urge anyone reading this review to check out Trey's lick from 6:59 - 7:02 (per the LP+ timing) of this Theme. Very tasteful stuff. I guess I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could but I'm going 5/5, flubs and all.

I really, really love this show. I wasn't sure if I would even listen to it at all due to the low rating and how uneventful people said it was but I decided to listen straight through Early Summer 2009 and I'm so glad I did. People complain about it but Set I is just a great summer set, IMO. Great flow and mix of songs. Faulty Plan is a great opener and I love Nothing both as a song and in the 2-spot. Great BOTT and this Taste is up to 1.0 standards. Everything is there to put a smile on your face and that's how I feel with this whole show. Beautiful -7, Fluffhead, and Heavy Things. Then the Hood>Possum, Bug closer is just tremendous. Not everything has to be about Type II insanity. Sometimes its nice to just sit back and go with a bunch of well-played songs that feel like a breezy summer evening. Overall, the whole show just has a great, laid-back vibe that I just love. So, if you're willing to set aside the rating bias and just sit back to a fun summer show, give this one a try. Worth it.

30 years ago today...hard to believe. One of my first tapes, I think I literally wore it out. So much to say, but I want to focus on this Reba. As a previous reviewer said this is an extremely under-rated version. Trey is soaring with a tone that is beautiful and "weep-inducing", and he just keeps pushing this forward to new heights. Mike is playing all over the place in a fantastic melodic way and nicely high in the mix so you're able to key in on him. Everyone is absolutely tight and SO in the pocket - intently and psychically linked to each other but doing their own thing. One of those versions you need to relisten a few times and focus on each individual member just to hear their contribution. There is a moment at 8:37 that literally gives me chills each time I listen. This is Phish at their finest.

Obviously this show is getting bumped hard due to being featured on DaaM as well as archival release. Listened to the whole thing yesterday. The whole thing is pretty darn awesome, but I'd like to make special note of the Reba here. First, the first six minutes are played basically perfectly. Like, seriously I don't think they missed a note. The jam starts out innocuously enough, fairly patented Reba fare. Then, around 7:30, Mike and Page hit a weird jumble of notes. Trey immediately notices and follows them down into a very swift minor key transition. From there, Mike takes up a nifty bass line, which Trey and Page echo. This blossoms into a neat little bop rock aside, which lasts for about two minutes, before sliding back into the Reba jam proper. This moment is everything that is right with Phish in 1995. Also, it is Trey who messes up the landing at the end of Antelope, not Fishman.

I prefer the show before this one (10/15/1986), but this first Halloween show is not too shabby. First known version of Bowie, first recorded version of Melt The Guns. There are definitely moments that make the listening worthwhile. Here are my highlights: 1) [u]Slave[/u]: Short & sweet, but Trey's glittering '86 tone really makes the ending of this Slave shine. [b]2) [u]Melt The Guns[/u]:[/b] Love the original, and this cover tune seems perfect for Phish's vibe. Unfortunately it didn't stay in the repetoire. However, it does fluidly 'melt' into one of Phish's most beloved cover tunes… [b]3) [u]Sneakin' Sally[/u]:[/b] When has this song not been a smoke show? It seems like all these early versions rock. Trey's lead is confident, and the whole band is a little groove maker [b]4) [u]Jam > AC/DC Bag[/u]:[/b] The jam the precedes the bag is kind of simple. Trey noodling over Fishman. However, the build-up immediately preceding the transition to Bag is pretty hot and the ensuing Bag is also very hot. I think the jam was the engine revving up to unleash. [b] 5) [u]Bowie[/u]:[/b] First known Bowie, the arrangement is pretty much the same we've come to know over the years, although there is one notable difference with a tempo shift and slightly different melody. Kinda neat. As far as the jam goes, freaking smokes! Honestly, it makes me happy that from day 1, Bowie has been a juggernaut. 6) [u]Alumni Blues[/u]: Another early Phish tune where the band has the raging blues down pat. Some heroic rock band energy here. Both Trey and Page scorch.

This was my first actual PHiSH tape to receive in a trade back on spring Grateful Dead tour 1992, and is still a favorite. I had heard them on the lot in Cal Expo summer 1991, and then in some random encounters across fall tour, but this was my actual first PHiSH tape. Several things about the show stand out to me: my favorite song is on there (Foam), the great acid-grass of Sparkle, great pairing of Tube>YEM, and barbershop quartet of Sweet Adeline, which was my first hearing of that stuff. The second set is for sure a great set as well top to bottom, and there was some secret language in Possum. Well played, this young band impressed me and I gave that tape many listens over the years. Great way to get to acclimated and not overwhelmed with this new band (to me) at that time. My first show didn’t come until 2/18/1993, but I jumped in full steam in summer

This YEM has a really strong Reba 7/6/94 vibe... that soaring, climactic sense that is as much emotion as it is music. The sort of feeling that comes not from an overwhelming number of notes getting churned out by a hyperactive Trey solo (not that there's anything wrong with hyperactive Trey solos), but instead a harmony across the four of them. They all seem to step back and, as a result, everything paradoxically gets elevated. It's great.

Love for Stash -> Free >Jam -> Piper Rocking Stash through 13:00 - reminds us it doesn’t take them long to go deep in a set. Anchors the Q3 through Manteca teases around 8:00, with consistently strong syncopation & collaboration, ultimately rock star domination. Sharp smooth, buttery tone shift by Trey at 13:00, passes the mic to Mike, Fish keeping it afloat into sublime bliss at 20:00, inevitably and unavoidably into the only Free for Fall 97. They don’t wast time getting back into the groovy (moo-vy) funk that we heard in set 1 Funky Bitch & pre-darkout Wolfman’s. Strong finish to Free - showing us their ability to just kill even a rare song that tour -> lush coda giving us breath & pause after that workout. Delicate into Trey & Page on point opening up a lovely Piper. Perfect ending, another lush coda. What a fun romp all around.

Standard, well-executed set up thru Mike’s Groove. I’ve only heard Fast Sanity a few times and those seemed sloppy - but this one is tight & funky. Nancy singing Halley’s with them makes a silly song sillier and still they rock it. Interesting to hear this ending to Sloth - before the counting up to “onze!” And can we keep talking about this YEM? Great buildup to BOY, straight out of Washa Uffizi Page lays a quiet jam and you can just feel Trey itching to take over. Page has no problem with that. Trey’s off the hook, all the way through. I’m telling you - Trey went back & listened to this jam when writing My Soul & Guyute. So good. Talking all about their new songs, playing with the audience, the bet you didn’t notice our new gear rant before Lazy Lester - messing around and having fun. This is the banter you love. They’ve always loved communicating with the audience. Not a shabby Lazy Lester taboot! Early intro for Mango that they eventually scrapped for Trey’s melodic intro - good choice. Similar to the Sloth outro in set 1. On Relisten Mango fades out, then back in on the steam dream part of SOAM. The first Gin ever (“you heard it here first!”) - has a kind of From the Bottom from the top / limb by limb by limb vocal outro. Cool to hear their excitement about this new batch of songs - they never really stopped writing after releasing Junta More great banter from Trey tying Antelope to playing hockey - being a musician and pro hockey player sometimes not being very different. And teasing the audience before Golgi (“We won’t play it if you stay, but we will if you go”) - lots of playing around with timing of the Golgi melody too - all over this show are traces of Trey’s ability to take the songs to the next level. Set 3: Slave has a powerful minimalism that builds the tension in the first half - maybe from a slight misstep, then Trey jumps in with a weird fuzzy filter that sounds out of place, which Mike’s co-opts around 4:30-5:00. And then the song ends with heavy & deep organ & bass, lifted by Trey’s fire jamming - on par with this show’s theme. Nice spots for Mike & Page in FB & Cutis - Mike sticks with the fuzz & Page sounds like he’s had a fifth of wine singing lead. Cute riffs from Trey. Trey wants Molly’s hat for Possum. They’re all pretty loose at this point. Trey gives Possum the Johnny B Goode treatment. Mike gives the vocals the ....loose treatment. The only logical encore is Practical Song - prescient, singing about goods shortages years in advance of COVID