this is my all time favorite phish show. the first set is littered with highlights. plus, the second set, on top of numerous other gems, features the BEST JAM PHISH HAS EVER PLAYED!!

my friend my friend really gives this show a nice focused start. it is played well and gets the energy flowing. the poor heart>down with disease pairings is just another great phish juxtaposition. poor heart was sharp, and disease is pretty well played too. for 1995, it is decently explored before wrapping around into a very well-played early taste. nicu cools the crowd down before a very intense and fiery stash. trey really buries this one, and I think, outside of the orlando version from the fall, this may be my favorite stash of 95. there are some real gems floating around out there, but this one is killer. after that massive stash, they drop a very sharp fluff head. this seems to be a very inspired version of this tune. whatever energy that was left over after the killer stash and fluffhead, is released in a smoking hot llama. adeline works well as the closer.

now comes the money set. a nice breezy makisupa>ctb combo opens this one up in loosey goosey fashiong. then it arrives. this is by no means the longest bt gin ever, but it is the best. the whole band is in wonderful, marvelous sync as they drive this band up and up and up. finally they start to hit a familiar groove and fishman really snaps everyone in gear. suddenly treys steps up to the mic and here we are, the real me! the seque into real me is just outlandish. they jam through the back section of the real me before chilling out and dropping back into the gin theme. gin slowly gives way to a very nice version of mcgrupp. page's solo in the middle section is gorgeous. after a quick run through bbfcfm, jim stinette, mike's former bass instructor,comes out for a bass duel. if you're a bass player, this is an interesting section of the show. you don't get enough of mike in the spot light, so it is good to let him and his old amigo share the spot light. this leads into the first la grange in over 2 years. i love this song and phish plays it so well. batr and fire close this show in standard practice, but after all the treats handed down to the hard cores, you gotta drop something for the newbies. ditto for golgi.

the first set and first half of the 2nd set, up through mcgrupp, really carry this show. the gin jam alone....

highlights:

set 1:
poor heart>dwd, stash (must hear), fluff head

set 2:
bt gin>real me>bt gin(you absolutely must hear this!!), mcgrupp, and la grange

The 'Gin' -> 'Real Me' is one of the better examples of the concept of "hose", which I take to mean a heightened flow of musical energy. See the discussion by Charlie Dirksen: "musical Hose".

I also appreciate the 'Jam', which is a rare piece of smooth jazz.

NYE definately has all the qualities of a great Phish show. It has the "pieces" and has the gravitas. But 12-29 built on the pervious years' 12-29 and showcased that 12-29 has a seat at the table.

I was so hot on this show, I had no short on by the end of the show and the group I was with we're doing celebratory hugs by the end: just glad we shared this one together. Looking back, my friend gave us the vibe. It was there. But the Gin is everything we want in a show. It's the moment we crave and go to 10 gigs a year. To see this. And the Lagrange was the treat of treats. For me only surpassed by Walk away on 10-29-1998.

If I had to give a newbie a show, this would be a candidate...

SET 1: My Friend, My Friend > Poor Heart > Down with Disease > Taste That Surrounds > NICU > ---- Killer stuff out of the gate to get everyone moving and grooving!

Stash: Love Trey’s staccato stuff starting in the late 12 minute range. This goes on for quite some time and it is SO COOL how the rest of band adjusts and supports and turns this jam straight on it’s head. Pure 95 Phish right here. Doesn’t get too much better really. Explosive peak at 15:45. The ending is butchered pretty bad. Someone ends it before others were expecting.

Fluffhead: Fishman is a super star throughout

Llama: So FAST!

Sweet Adeline: Standard.

SET 2: Makisupa Policeman > Cars Trucks Buses: Standard.

Bathtub Gin: Solid! Reminds me a good bit of the 12.15 version, until this happened… ->

The Real Me: One of the epic moments in the band’s history, such a cool segue. Like many of you, I have listened to this many times! Love how funky Trey makes the latter half of this one, could easily be right out of Fall 97! ->

Bathtub Gin: The funky breakdown continues and Fishman just kicks so much ass! ->

McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters: Standard. >

Big Black Furry Creature from Mars: I like the little space jam at the end. >

Jam: Mike jamming with his bass instructor, I imagine thish might have been cool in person but on tape, meh. ->

La Grange: Get that blood pumping again!

Bouncing Around the Room, Fire: Standard.

ENCORE: Golgi Apparatus: Standard.

Summary/Replay value: Stash, Fluff, and the legendary Gin. Great night in Worcester! Would rate it as a 4.2 out of 5.

Continuing my review of the 95 NYE run, we reach the second highest rated show... with good reason. This one really is a very good show. I still don't understand why there is so much apathy about this run (excepting 12/31).

Highlights:

Set 1 - My Friend (not usually a fav, but this one is powerful), DwD (teenage rock n roll version), Surrounds (because it's just so wrong), Stash (the hard rock version), Fluffhead (because it's a supersized monster Fluffhead), Llama (the matching teenage rock version)

Set 2 - The Real Gin, Mike's Bass Jam, La Grange (because it's been 216 shows), Fire (the speed king edition)

Also of note is the Makisupa played here. I generally don't like this song, but this one is spacey as fuck and really fun to listen to. Still not a highlight for me, but almost.

So, this show is basically a Phish rips your face off fest! Great stuff for those special times when you feel like seriously rocking the house.

A show with a lot to offer (besides the just the obvious)

My Friend My Friend is played very strong as the opener. DWD is a really well played ripper. Stash is pretty chaotic and destructive and stretched out for a little bit. The always strong and well played Fluffhead after. And an extra strong Llama.

Set 2 has a rare Makisupa opener. Gin kicks off strong and has a nice jam before going into one of the most legendary and well known segues ever into The Real Me. It is one of those lofty bell big triumphant moments in Phishtory. And after Real Me you get a nice little jam. It goes back into Gin flawlessly for it's conclusion. McGrupp is pretty top notch. BBFCFM is very well played and the Bass jam after is very nice. It features a bunch of different movements from Funk, To Classical, to Blues infused. Yet another fantastic segue into La Grange fueled by the Blues Bass section. Bouncing is even notably strong.

Golgi Encore is Golgi Encore.

Overall a fantastic show front to back. There is however something missing to me to make it 5 stars. But it's pretty damn close!!!