, attached to 1994-07-08

Review by MrPalmers1000DollarQ

MrPalmers1000DollarQ Easy 5-star show right here, ladies and gents. First set is obviously a standout with the final complete performance of Gamehendge (probably ever, but we can hope!), and one that I've listened to many times. The playing is sharp and precise, with an especially strong Tela and Mockingbird. Like the 6/26/94 GameHoist performance, there's not too much to unpack besides a fantastic delivery of every Phish fan's favorite story. The fiery Divided Sky closer is hits even harder after Trey's final piece of narration:

We're gonna take you back for one last song here, and that's--all the way back before any of this stuff went down; back when it was just a beautiful forest and a beautiful mountain, and everyone lived in peace and tranquility, everybody back in this whole area used to come out once a year to do a little prayer that they would sing to the night sky.

And that's called Divided Sky, and this is it. Thanks.


Chills.

For as many times as I'd heard the first set, I don't think I'd ever dived too deeply into the second set (except for, of course, Stash) until recently. Plenty of awesome jamming in the back half of the show that helps keep momentum going. Reba is absolutely killer (add it to the long list of '94 Rebas that melt your face) with a nice Manteca jam and tight atonal rhythmic section that smoothly gives way to the final, soaring minutes. I love that the jam charts point out Yerushalayim Shel Zahav as an arguable substitute for the whistling; makes for an eerie interpretation of the spirited Reba jam. It's Ice has a nice Page-centric breakdown with some cool funky shtuff, and the Stash is obviously legendary and thunderous. Might not have the same improvisational excellence as some others like 8/15/93 or 8/21/93, but the '94 Stash list really demonstrates the band's ability to push the energy when confined to the tune's regular structure. YEM->Frankenstein->YEM is a beastly follow up; by the time Frankenstein wraps up you've forgotten you're owed a close to YEM, which is met with celebration.


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