My 5th show. Getting into the show was no problem, we got there pretty early and hopped on the shuttle bus. To this day the closest I've ever been to the stage (about 3 people back from the front row). The setting was spectacular - a gently sloping ski run surrounded by green trees with amazing views beyond the stage. No pavilion or anything - the entire crowd was under the open sky. A great place to see a show - the one drawback was the shuttle buses after the show - there were way too few, and my friend Jake got shut out from the bus I and my other friend Doug got on and it took him an hour to finally get back to the car. Had a great time at this show as part of a 2 show mini run, but this review is based on a relisten of the spreadsheet version (which is an amazing sounding AUD).

Set I:
Sample was Sample. Divided has very chill opening, and whenever it hits the near sunset slot slot at an outside show I always find myself looking at the sky, and I remember it being beautiful on this July evening. Gumbo and The Curtain were great, and Julius brought some really high set-closing energy to the middle of the set. Camel Walk starts up somewhat tentatively (not surprising given the long gap) but settles into a groove nicely. I'll admit I had no idea this song existed at the time of the show, and had to ask an older phan nearby. Reba was one of many beautiful 1995 Rebas, but nowhere near the peaks of Lowell. I Didn't Know is always fun, and Rift and WMGGW close out the well-played but uneventful set.

Highlights: Divided (maybe you had to be there), Camel Walk bustout, Trey politely asking people who snuck in to donate money

Set II:
A deceptively great Runaway Jim. I remember actually being kind of bored with Jim set openers (due to many of my tapes at that point being from 94 and the fact that the song had only jammed once ever, and that was two weeks before this show) but the jam in this one is really quite good. Cool work by Trey with kind of a watery tone to his guitar. Goes to a slightly dark place about 9 minutes in with some awesome work by Mike on the bass which then heads into an awesome breakdown section where Page does most of the heavy lifting on piano and clav. Still a driving drumbeat from Fish, so this is still type I, but just barely. Some evil playing by Trey and Mike in here too. Trey very nearly starts playing BBFCFM, almost a tease IMO. Things get really quite then we have a very cool segue into Makisupa. In addition to saying "4:20…dank" Trey also says "apex" a little bit later (not being up on mid-90s drug lingo, I have no idea why). Makisupa is totally spaced out in parts, fun version. Mule is fun, short duel compared to some of the latter day versions. Tweezer jam starts out with a bang, Mike drops some huge bass bombs. This a funky and awesome version, with Trey, Mike and Page all playing around with some fun riffs. Some great effects by both Mike and Trey toward the end of the jam. It is a tribute to how amazing Tweezer was in 95 that this version is relatively obscure, because I would highly recommend it for sure. Fun segue into Ha Ha Ha. Sleeping Monkey and Acoustic Army take the show down several hundred notches - would have loved them to go back into Tweezer after Ha Ha Ha. I'll say it again, stuff like Acoustic Army should be in the first set, not second. Beautiful, patient playing by Mike and Page in the beginning of the Slave jam, with Trey taking a backseat for a bit. Fantastic Slave, but I think most are great. Love the Halley's>Tweeprise encore, even if they were both played straight.

Highlights: Jim>Makisupa, Tweezer>Ha Ha Ha

Sugarbush was a fantastic place to see a show, and the band brought a little extra to these shows in VT. 4 out of 5 stars.