OK, so I was there. I was a senior in high school and I won tickets from WRPI without knowing who this band was at all. I was underage, but they let me and my buddy in. I sat at a table right in front of the band drinking Coke. I actually have proof I was there, because I asked for the poster the band put in the window, which I still have to this day. I actually just emailed Kevin Shapiro today with a picture of the poster to see if any other copies exist. There's a date hand drawn on the poster and a Pauly's Hotel logo affixed to it, too.

I had no idea what any of there songs were when I went to the show, but I can tell you one song they played. Trey told this whole long convoluted story about the song Divided Sky before launching into Divided Sky. Someone in the bar was so sick of his long story that they told him to shut the f*ck up. I seriously doubt that anyone knew who the band was at the time, and I am assuming most people were there just to get drunk. Phish had the trampolines and there were these pitchers of beer on the floor in front of them. I remember watching as the pitchers almost toppled over from their bouncing on the trampolines.

Funny story from the show was that I had long hair and played drums with my band; so I exuded the whole 'I'm a musician' vibe, although I was just a coddled white punk on dope from the 'burbs (Guilderland). I was milling around between sets with the band and someone came up to me to ask how long our band had been together; in other words, this person thought I was in Phish. Trey and Fishman looked at me with a little bit of hilarity when I told the person that those guys are in the band, not me.

I was so blown away by the show that I asked the bartender for the poster in the window because I knew they would become big. I thought they would end up at the (then known as) Knick arena in five years. I was wrong, it took them six years. I also distinctly remember that Mike was outside after the show by himself and it was raining. Someone had ripped down one of their other posters and it was outside on the sidewalk getting wet from the rain.

I bought a copy of their Junta cassette that night with the pink Fishman on the cover. I still have that, too.