http://https://forum.phish.net/forum/permalink/1378135115

From The Phish Book, page 21:
Page: “During the Fall 1996 tour, we left the East Coast but continued to play big arenas that were progressively less full as we traveled further outside our usual circuit. In response, we ended up playing with even more conviction, working harder, and taking more chances in order to harness the sort of energy level that comes automatically at a sold-out arena show.”

1996 has undergone a renaissance since the advent of the Phish Downloads Spreadsheet, and is arguably no longer "The Forgotten Year" it once was. At the time, many of the shows played that year paled in comparison to 1995, and the best shows of '96 were soon eclipsed by the pinnacle shows of 1997. At the time of this review, an archival release of 11/30/96 Sacramento has been announced, so there is still enough value and interest in listening to shows from this year. Even so, there are a few well-regarded .netters who may feel that the rest of the year is merely worth skimming, or overlooking altogether. They may be correct; but there are others who can't resist turning over all the stones to inspect what crawls beneath.

This show starts hot right out of the gates. Buried Alive > Poor Heart was a common opening combo in the days when the band was playing clubs with dodgy sound systems and needed to test the onstage sound with an instrumental followed by a song with vocals from all four band members. (It's worth noting that the Palace at Auburn Hills featured a notoriously poor room sound, even for a basketball arena.) Another "early days" combo follows, with a stomping Sloth setting up yet another great Divided Sky. Trey takes over during SOAMelt and Character Zero, and Page takes a rare synth solo during Lizards. YEM still contained enough improv to be a second set centerpiece, with Trey's percussion rack creating space for Page and Mike to step into the spotlight.