We're approaching the 30th Anniversary of the beginning of the 2nd leg of the Spring/Summer 1994 tour. This is the band's second of seven total shows played in the state of Utah after debuting there on 8/21/93, and their only show at the Triad Ampitheater. Everything in the first set is played with precision, without any flubs that caught my ear. The It's Ice jam briefly touches on the rave-up riff from "I Can't Turn You Loose", aka The Blues Brothers Theme. As the noise intro to DWD starts, Fishman seems to say "write it down" twice in a somewhat menacing voice, possibly as a jesting command to those keeping track of the setlist on the rail at the show?
One reason I enjoy 1994 shows as much as I do is Trey's guitar tone. In 1994 he was still using the same guitar, amp head, and speaker cabinet he introduced back in 1989, but by this point he had his sound dialed in and then some, both for the stage and the PA. He was also getting a fair amount of use from his wah-wah pedal, and having fun with the pitch-shifter. But all the sound effects can't help you if it ain't in your fingers, and Trey's fingers and hands were always playing the right note at the right time in the Summer of '94. I consider Maze to be a highlight from this show; the whole band plays well, but Trey's Jedi credentials are on full display. Fishman's whoops and screams push Trey toward the raging peak.
And the second set is the same, but slightly less so. The crowd noise on the AUD during the unamplified Ginseng Sullivan is cute, but the recording level is painfully overdriven to catch the music. Mike's Song is great and jam chart-worthy, despite Hydrogen being cut on the SBD. A quick Highway to Hell encore makes this a short, professional rock show by our favorite Vermont quartet.
So with very little to complain about, why would this show's rating be as low as it is? Because this show's highlights are relatively sparse compared to what was to come later in the year (or month). There just aren't enough performances in the "excellent" category to compare to the majority of Phish shows from 1994. I certainly don't mean to say that this show isn't worth your time; but if you are picking a new show from Summer '94 to spin, you'd be forgiven for looking elsewhere.
Not that Phish ever cared about any of that. Like @Life_Boy said above in his show review: "But as Phish was prone to do in the mid-90s, they were just plugging along playing great shows, creating new fans, giving great experiences to those who showed up wherever they played, even a small venue like this".