Ah, my first Phish show. The traffic jam was legendary, and as a result, my friends and I missed Amoreena and Poor Heart. We walked up to an empty spot at the back of the lawn just as Stash began, and it was immediately like magic. I didn't realize at the time how special that Stash was, since I had no frame of reference - I just assumed it was always that electrifying.

Since I was a serious newbie (barely 18, heard only official releases prior to this show) there was a lot of music that I didn't recognize at all, but no one could miss the level of musicianship on display all night. I left the concert feeling in love with this band, and it looks like history has really validated that feeling, since everyone seems to agree that this show was a real gem.

I've listened to it several times since then, of course, and I feel that Golgi is really the only low point. I loved that song so much that I thought it was awesome at the time, not caring about Trey missing that last riff. That's the one thing that's changed in hindsight - they just didn't have it together on that song. Hey, it'd be great if Phish could be 100% on all night every night, but they put on hours of music at every show, in constant communication with one another. There's going to be a moment or two, or a song here and there, that doesn't quite work. Listen all the same, appreciate the contrast that those moments give you, and then before you know it you're lost again in the next moment, wondering how they pull it off.