This is the kind of show that helped get me into Phish. It's accessible, in that there are no monstrously whacked out '94/'95 Tweezeresque jams. For the most part it's *extremely* tight, and, most of all, it's HOT. Right out of the gate, with Chalkdust, Foam, and Paul & Silas, you can tell they are ON. Melt and Jim are not mind-blowing, but definitely tight and well played. It's Ice is pretty shaky, but being that it was two weeks old at that point, that can be forgiven, and Llama, despite the false starts, has a blazing jam.

Set two starts with the highlight of the show, IMO, a rendition of Brother that blew the windows out in my apartment. What a way to open a set, just SICK. The Reba is a fine version, and while it sticks to the basic formula and moves smoothly to a Classic Reba Wail peak, it's extremely well done (B-/B version IMO). Antelope then comes along and just RAGES THE FUCK OUT OF THE PLACE, even though it eases back instead of releasing into Rye Rye Rocco at the peak. We have yet another nickname for Fishman ("A master of disguise...Butch Cassidy!") and, shocker of all time, Trey forgets the lyrics to Fee. That never happens, right? Anyway, the first set closes with a Mike's Groove, and though I think they had run out of gas a little bit by the time Weekapaug rolls around (I was a touch disappointed, thought the Weekapaug would just blow up), the Mike's Song has an excellent F jam. Cap it all off with a double encore, a nice Coil and, fittingly, a fiery Fire. If I wanted to be picky, I would say that the 2nd set was missing one more jamming tune and had a few too many song songs, if you know what I mean. But I won't say that, even though I just did. A great show, and if you want to introduce someone to classic, tight, flamethrowing Phish, this is a good show to do it with. A solid 4 Stars, with absolutely no bonus for being at the EMU Ballroom.

EMU POWER!!!

This show was played 1 month and 27 days after I was born. Now, 21 years later, I am a student at the University of Oregon and I frequently sit in the very building this show was played, the Erb Memorial Union (EMU), to study. The ballroom has since been remodeled and expanded, but it would still be a very intimate place to see a show. It's surreal knowing that 21 years ago four young fellas, who would go on to create music that would become a very significant part of my life, got on stage at the EMU and proved themselves. I would have loved to have been there. Now, on to the music...

These old '91 setlists are always super fun. Having so many songs from Junta, Lawn Boy, and A Picture Of Nectar all in one show always makes for a good time. Plus there are tons of awesome songs like Brother, Suzy, and the Mike's Groove medley that never made it to an album. This show contains many solid, straight-forward renditions of these classics. @TheEmu has it, this Brother is relentless. It's the highlight of the show. He's also right about the Reba and Antelope being good.

Overall, this is a solid Fall '91 show. I feel many early shows are better as a whole than on an individual song basis. At this point in their career Phish was not yet jamming in a way that warrants multiple listens. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of solid jams from '91 and before, just none unique enough to hear again. This show is an exception on that front because of the Brother, which I will definitely be listening to in the future. That shit is straight fire.

4 stars.

Pretty good SBD source although the pitch is a hair sharp for set 1. There is some cassette hiss present. I’d guess this is one or two generations from the master.

The band seems pumped up for their first fall show on the west coast. A fiery Chalk Dust gets the party started. It may be the sharp pitch of the recording, but Trey in particular sounds really good for this first set. Foam and Jim sound fantastic! Jim’s intro is extended. It’s Ice and Eliza make a great pair. Not sure what happened at the start of Llama but they pull it together for a scorching version. Memories is barely audible. Standard Golgi to close.

Set 2 starts off with Trey saying “hey Fish let’s rock out!” lol Smokin’ Brother opener!!! They follow this up with an enjoyable Reba. Solid mid-set Antelope to get the juices flowing. Cool little tease of Take Me Out to the Ball Game at the start of the jam and Destiny Unbound during the Marco section. I Didn’t Know features the master of disguises, Butch Cassidy on vac. Trey points out that Suzy Greenberg is sitting in the front row. lol Trey drops the ball big time in Fee but they recover without aborting. Blistering Groove to round out the second half. The Fire to close out the night slays!