As waxbanks pointed out in their review, there is a reason this show became LivePhish, Vol. 1. In fact, there are several reasons. The calibers of musicianship, improvisation, exploration, and dynamics demonstrated in this show are absolutely off the charts. The song choice covers the gamut from Gamehendge to bluegrass, jammed out Tweezer to airy and spacious Makisupa, chaotic SOaM to soul-lifting Slave.

Though it's tough to maintain consistent personal preferences with a band whose history is as vast and varied as Phish's, I think this show would take the cake as my favorite if forced to choose. The slight edge it takes over 6/11/94 is rooted in the heavier prevalence of Type II jamming demonstrated in the second set.

Putting aside comparisons, this show is an absolute masterpiece and is as perfectly demonstrable of all that makes up 1.0 Phish as it gets. I'm sure I'll be revisiting this one with regularity for as long as I'm a Phan (you can do the math on how long that'll be).

Setlist Thoughts
- Right off the bat, Suzy Greenberg sets a high bar for the evening. The entire song is hit with a compelling energy that makes it clear the boys are ready to fucking play. Page's piano solos are slippery and gut-busting enough to evoke countless physical reactions, intensified even further by a fantastically controlled crescendo of backing energy from the band. Trey's percussion in the early jam adds a specially danceable element that then disappears to allow for a new injection of gusto from the guitar. Fishman is absolutely wilding out by the end. Simply fantastic Suzy.
- Keeping the torch lit, the band doesn't even take a breath before diving straight into a Llama. Page's fingers are clearly still warm because his intro solo is awesomely erratic. The vocal section here is just ever so slightly subdued, contrasting quite nicely with the frantic drum movement underneath. Page comes back into the spotlight again to deliver yet another fantastic organ solo. Trey and Page take similar approaches to their solos here, alternating between E pentatonic shredding and more dissonant play. All the while, the band's comp is fantastic (give this one a listen and just focus on Fishman, please). Trey builds his solo super well before the final refrains comes back in, somehow ending the song with more energy than it had in the beginning.
- Finally the band takes their foot off the gas for a moment, but only in regard to tempo. Horn is nailed on all accounts: great energy in the vocal section, a beautifully delicate intro to the guitar solo, and a powerful growth of power throughout the remainder. Though it's hard for a live performance of Horn to live up to the power that studio magic affords the version off Rift, this one comes as close as I've ever heard.
- This is the Foam that got every other Foam to finally click for me decently late into my Phandom, as well as the Foam that many still consider the GOAT (though I personally prefer 11/12/94). Reclaiming the center stage, Page lays out one of the most beautifully crafted piano solos I've ever heard, flying through the chromatic changes with deft runs up and down the keyboard that balance dynamics with incredible restraint. As Trey begins to rejoin the comp on his guitar, their solos merge for a brief moment. It becomes clear that it's Trey's time to shine, though, when he rolls off the tone knob and signals to Mike/Fish that it's time to bring it very far down. The backing band fades to near silence as Trey plays his opening solo. Some arpeggiated offbeat accents slowly bring back the volume, and soon Trey is flying around the fretboard once more. The band continues to peak with Page slamming on his keyboards, Fishman half-soloing like he's Keith Moon, Mike holding down the chromatic movements with bouncing slaps, and Trey putting the sustain on that Ross compressor to fucking work. Add to this an excellent performance of the challenging composed bits of the tune (including a pretty perfect outro), and you've got a recipe for Grade A Foam.
- Trey's slow feedback drone acts as a pitch pipe for Mike to bring in Makisupa with a tight little bass flourish. The image of Trey smoking a joint with Gaddafi is heady enough to elicit a grand ol' round of applause and launch a super stony reggae jam, laden with lingering spring reverb effects. The droning guitar in the second half of the song makes for an especially ethereal tone, but the other dudes hold down a tight groove. The final measures leave Trey reggae-strumming away on his own, concluding a very sweet rendition of this slow burning tune.
- Split Open and Melt maintains a primarily Type I course at first, allowing Trey plenty of room to solo in the familiar dissonance and chaos this song usual brings. However, around the 9-minute mark, things begin to evolve into a new sort of crazy. The whole band fades in and out familiar SOaM territory with plenty of oscillation between harmonic spaces on Mike's part and incredible drumming from Fishman. The song slowly falls apart (in the best way) as Trey becomes hooked on a new riff he's invented. Eventually, the whole band begins to partake in a silent jam, only playing audibly on the occasional three-hit emphasis we all know SOaM to include. I'm sure watching this in person would add to the experience, but even just listening, one can greatly appreciate the unique outro here.
- Tela is simply beautiful. Performances like this one make me sad that this tune has become the rarity that it now is. Trey's and Page's solos are serenely delicate and drenched in a natural reverb that further elicits the imagery of the wind from beyond the mountains sung of in the verses. You can feel the triumphant power that's about to come as soon as the 4:13 mark hits. Trey rips this one through the sky.
- This early Taste is interesting to here with the retrospective familiarity we now all yield. Aside from a slight difference in vocal arrangement, the jam section seems to have to mature here. While Fishman, Page, and Mike give the same booming back up performance associated with later renditions, Trey seems to be a bit more reserved, sticking to tried and true licks, maintaining a steady melodic course, and not pushing the shredding too hard. Nevertheless, still a great performance (though I do also miss a Page piano solo here).
- Full steam ahead into a tight, upbeat My Sweet One. The vocals are on point, and Page lives up to the Leo title here. The piano solo is high octane craziness, but maintains precision when it matters.
- Frankenstein closes an absolutely killer Set 1. Trey has a little bit of trouble in the "horn section," but all is forgiven in the grand scheme of this tune. Page's synthwork, Fishman's drum solos, Trey's crazy ascension and tremolo tension, and Mike's grooving comprise a beastly cover of one of my all-time favorite songs.
- After a quick Audience Chess Move, The Curtain rings in a second set for the history books. The Curtain itself is played with ferocious skill and vigor, and though it does not include the With, it serves as the opening to something greater. The final ascending chords lead seamlessly into the opening to Tweezer...
- ...which takes off immediately with a somewhat up-tempo swagger. Mike tosses in plenty of special funky bass sauce in the verses, and the first break sees Page tweaking on the electric keys. The jam here is something special, beginning with a Tweezer riff / crash call-and-response between Trey and Fishman. A more traditional Tweezer solo takes form, and soon develops into a riff-heavy groove that allows Page to freak out on the piano for a moment. Fishman adds plenty of drum flashes in here and the energy continues to build as Trey's solo evolves....
- This transition is god damn fantastic. Though Mike and Page quickly shift keys to meet Trey on Timber, Fishman holds steady on straight-beat Tweezer beat with vitality for a few measures, launching this tune with a unique feel. Timber jam starts out low and ominous, Fishman's toms beating like the heavy footsteps of something approaching. Suddenly, Mike establishes a minor VI-VII-i cadence, launching this jam into a tense, aeolian territory and evoking a darker than usual solo out of Trey. There's some awesome peaking in this solo as Trey shifts on the Leslie speakers and hits the upper register. Then, the shift back to the key of A...
- Tweezer comes back in without missing a beat. Trey establishes a great groove pattern that lets the rest of the band chime in with some nice fills and solos (Page on the synth!). The drums come to the hi hat and calm down a little bit as Page solos, but then Trey starts ripping on a repeating, fast-paced riff. On a fucking DIME, Fishman hits double time and kicks this jam into hyperdrive (first time I heard this, I remember audibly saying "holy shit" to myself). The band goes wild for a few minutes on the new groove before deteriorating into an alternating seesaw of bass, keys, and dissonant guitar swells. Fishman hits the HYHU drum beat as the others play around for a bit, and then things die down. The jam fizzles to a subdued and slowing descending riff that disappears into nothing as Page lays down a new piano riff...
- ...and we end up in Keyboard Army. A very beautiful and inspiring pattern forms as the members of the band all find their part in the tune. A calming, serene, and fun finish to an absolutely wild jam.
- Halley's Comet is spectacular. The groovy outro jam sees Trey shredding face and then joining Mike to establish a new harmonic movement. Soon, the band all begins to pick up tempo together before reaching yet another blazing fast jam (returning to Mike's chord change, too). As Trey starts droning out the effects, the rest of the band brings the energy down to allow for a stadium-worthy moment of tension (Fishman puts in some nice work on the hi hats here). The final section of this jam alternates between crazy rock and roll riffs established by Trey and beautifully crafted piano solos from Page. The low, fast tension section soon bleeds into NICU.
- After NICU becomes recognizable, Trey works in a couple more iterations of the same riff he's been riding through the end of Halley's Comet. This returns yet again as NICU takes form of another epic aeolian jam that harkens back to Timber's earlier form, but with greater momentum. Page plinks out some beautiful piano riffs that seem to explore space while Trey, Mike, and Fishman sync up on some awesome rhythmic variation. Eventually the rest of the band drops, allowing Page to own the stage with a beautiful piano solo. Mike and Trey eventually rejoin to help create a brooding but uplifting drone that becomes Slave.
- Slave to the Traffic Light is just simply fantastic. The early moments continue the spacy, ethereal auras that Makisupa and the end of NICU have already introduced in the show. Trey's swells with the high gain tube screamer act like slow, lapping waves on the beaches of Mike/Page's comping. It soon becomes clear that Trey is ready to take the lead, and the remainder of the jam builds with incredible force to reach an epic and soul-gripping peak. Fishman and Trey are on another level here. Many claim this to be the GOAT Slave to the Traffic Light, and I'm not sure I can disagree. Perhaps it's bumped up because of the context, but I'll allow that. A finish this grand to a show that is so incredibly ridiculous deserves as much.
- What the fuck could you encore this tune with? Only a request. (No, not Brother. Sorry, guy.) Page crushes the vocals on Bold As Love, and Trey delivers a very Jimi solo to close out this awesome tune. Fishman's drumming continues to be crazy good.