(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

I wish I had documented my earlier Phish shows in writing, because these shows were primal to me — everything was new, and the shows were spectacular. I will attempt to rekindle the flame that made these shows so amazing to me, in writing. Up till this point I had been seeing Phish for one year (7/23/93 Jones Beach Amphitheater, Wantagh, NY, was my first show). I had the "phire," as some called it back then. I was seeing them any chance I could. I had kicked off the year by seeing wonderful shows in Binghamton and the Beacon Theater run in April, but nothing could prepare me for this wild weekend.
A couple of my friends and I made the trek up to Great Woods from Long Island. I had just recently seen the Mann Music Center show (7/1/94), and had heard about the "GameHoist" show in Charleston, West Virginia (6/26/94 Municipal Auditorium). Needless to say, I was astounded that they did the most complete Gamehendge since '88. I was thoroughly jealous for not attending the "unannounced" show (it was not in the newsletter, and was announced during the tour — a few showed up nonetheless).
So, as we check into our hotel, we begin talking about the night's show and what we might have in store. We make our way to the venue and check out the lot scene. It was getting crowded, not insane like it is nowadays, but it was crazy for its period. There were quite a few ticketless. As we enter the venue, a beautiful girl walks up to my friend Ryan and compliments him for his "beautiful eyes," and hands him a ticket. Ryan already had a ticket, so he hands it to the first girl he sees, who was ticketless, and compliments her on her beautiful eyes. She gives him the most genuine hug I've seen and beams a smile to us, making us all feel very good. Enter venue…My friend Erick and I go to our seats, which are within the first ten rows, center, and settle down for the show to begin. Finally, the lights dim, and out comes Phish, breaking out my first Llama. I'm very happy and express it to Erick. As the song ends, we hear a siren going off, and I'm convinced there's a fire, but nothing happens. Suddenly, I realize that it is Phish making this noise. Confusion settles into some sort of order for me as I realize it’s “N2O”. I had recently picked up the “Down with Disease” cassette single, which has “N2O” on the B-side. I thought it hilarious that they were playing this orthodontically challenged song. Who'd a’ thunk?
Amidst the drilling and the smooth talking of Mike, the dentist, Trey begins speaking about a fifty-two-year-old man sitting in a dentist's chair…And we stepped through the door….Was this Gamehendge? Erick and I exchange confused glances, as the reality of this event sunk in. Only two weeks later and they were doing Gamehendge again. I will not review every bit of this set — you need to hear it yourself — but I will say that this still holds top honors in my opinion, for one of my favorite Phish experiences, and I haven’t even gotten to the tip of the iceberg yet.
The set ends and we begin mingling with the people around us. Everyone seems transcended, which tends to happen right after the lights come on. We talk to one person and express how much we loved that set. He replies, "It was good, but I wish they had played ‘Chalk Dust’." We agreed, of course, (insert laughing here).
The second set is highlighted by a wonderful “YEM>Frankenstein>YEM” sandwich. The show ends, and we leave fulfilled.
Fast-forward to night two. We park in the lot, and who parks next to us but the Dude of Life. We talk with him for a while and proceed into the venue. Show begins with a solid “Runaway Jim” and closes with a smoking “Antelope”. Second set, well, let me just show you: “Also Sprach Zarathustra->Split Open and Melt->Fluffhead->Poor Heart->Tweezer->Lifeboy->Sparkle->Big Ball Jam->Harry Hood”, “Suzie Greenberg”. 'Nuff said.
As the show ends, I'm walking out and bump into the Dude of Life again. We talk for a bit and he asks me if I'd like to meet the band. Of course I say yes, and he gives me an extra pass. As I enter the backstage area, the first person I see is Trey, with his big shit-ass grin. The Dude asks me if I am going to tomorrow night’s show (SPAC), to which I reply that I am, and he says, "good." He wound up playing with them the next night. Trey and the Dude of Life are ushered out by corporate-looking people, and I'm standing there, knowing no one, and being surrounded by the rest of Phish, phamily, and a few other phans.
I drink a few beers and talk to Page for a bit. Just small talk, but he’s very friendly and amazingly humble. Mike, on the other hand, is a bit stranger. I ask him if they had planned out the Gamehendge (for possible CD-ROM release) or just busted it out. His reply: "We busted." Then he says goodbye and walks away. Not unfriendly, just strange.
I talk to a few other people. Happened to see "Big Phil" who I have seen at every show I’ve been to (and the few times I was at the aftershow party). I tell him that I see him at every show, to which he replies, "I am at every show." He laughed and so does Amy Skelton. After a bit I start talking to Fish (you must realize there were not many people at this aftershow, so the people I felt I knew the most were Phish). Fish was extremely friendly, and I literally feel like I’m talking to one of my friends. He enlightens me to the meaning of “Weekapaug Groove”: they were at a party in Weekapaug, RI, and had a great time, and wrote about it. He said the rumors about the band all sleeping with the same girl were bogus…hmmm?
After a while, I knew my friends were probably getting impatient, waiting at my car with no clue where I was, so I decided I had to get going. I had Page, Mike, and Fish sign my ticket from the night before (Gamehendge), and really wanted Trey to sign it too. Enter fanboy phase…I told Fish that this was probably going to sound lame, but does he know if Trey is coming out. Fish sarcastically replied, "Well I usually keep tabs on him, but he got away this time." Of course I felt really stupid, and just said to him, "hey…," his friends commented to him he was being rude, and he apologized to me, said he was just kidding, and said he had no clue where he was. I, feeling stupid, said okay and goodbye. By the way, when I first asked Fish to sign my ticket, his friends said, "wow, you're a rock star now." This hugeness must've still been so new to them. I left the venue totally in shock about what had just transpired. When I got back to my car and told my friends what happened, they were so happy for me. After all, they had driven Page (don't ask) to a show the previous summer (Waterloo, NJ), and I was supposed to go with them. So, they were happy for my experience.
What an amazing run. Remember, we can stage a runaway golf cart marathon!

Jones Beach 93 was my first show and I knew not what to expect. Greatwoods was my second show, and though I thought I was prepared I will admit I was floored. Llama was electric and intense, then the sirens. Its been almost 20 years yet this show still is my most memorable though the funny stamps I licked were fogging my mind the "trip" through Gamehenge was as intense of a journey as I have ever been through. I was convinced Phish was doing more than playing music. It felt like they owned the entire atmosphere, even controlling the traffic through the skies above. As I write this I am listening to the show for the first time in years, and its all so fresh almost frightning. I had no idea what Gamehenge was, I had heard The Lizards and Wilson before from the couple of bootleg tapes I was lucky to get my hands on (being the only person I knew in Oklahoma at the time who even knew who Phish was). The narration and songs truly took me away into the land of Gamehenge. I spent setbreak wandering about the venue completely lost, seperated from my friends who I had drug along to the show. Second set began with my favorite song of those years Rift, and temporarilly was brought back to earth. As the second set progressed Its Ice took me away again as it always has, then YEM totally destroyed me bringing with it a strange fear and anxiety. I began to feel as if the band was sending forth secret messages wrapped and encoded in sounds. The message I recieved was to loose my load. I began to get rid of all possesions, my shoes, my belt, my shirt, my sun glasses (luckily I wasn't carrying my wallet). The intense strobes during Frankenstein pushed me over the edge and I felt I had to leave, but as I neared the exit Julious began with the phrase echoing in my mind "dont take another step". I returned and decided it best I try and find my companions, which turns out they had already found me. I stood almost naked holding the one thing that was left in my pockets, my ticket stub, and again phrases were repeated through my mind as they were busting out Golgi "I saw you with a ticket stub in your hand". At this point I was thourghly convinced that Phish was all powerfull wizards of sight and sound, I sat down around my friends and as I began to find the articles of clothing that I had discarded earlier putting my birks back on my feet yet another phrase came bouncing through my head "whatever you do take care of your shoes". It was a strange and long trip back but I was forever hooked at that moment. No show since has proved to be as powerful or meaningful. I went home to Oklahoma with connections to get regular tape trades in the mail, soon after I discovered the old news group phish.net, until 2010 I never missed seeing Phish at least a few times every year having to drive all over the country to catch shows. Now this summer for the first time ever I only have to travel 85 miles to Oklahoma City to see Phish play in OK for the first time, Im so freaking pumped. Maybe we will get another Gamehenge in the perfect venue for it.

I had heard the "Storytime At Nectar's" and "Trey's Senior Thesis" versions of Gamehendge already before I heard set one of this show, but IMO this set blows all other versions away (including 3/22/93 and GameHoist). Listening to the show, you can tell that the material is rehearsed, and that the band is excited (not to mention the crowd - this is one of the loudest aud tapes I have). The second set could never live up to the first, but it is fine, very well performed, and above average even for 1994 (meaning excellent). Maybe if I was a tourkid, I would want to "be there" for another Gamehendge show, but this show suits me just fine. If you want to hear Gamehendge, hear this show.

(Excerpts From: "Phish Tales, 1994-2000"), by Ethan Pavone

My First Show.....

.....we arrived at Great Woods about 7pm and the concert was scheduled to start at 7:30. It is important to mention that because back then Phish was still small enough, they actually could and did start on time (but the set breaks were always longer then when Trey claimed: ”we’ll be back in 15min.”)

So we parked the car and walked right up to the box office and purchased tickets, minutes before the show began. Again, Phish shows were full, but they never sold out. I believe we paid either $15 or $17 for each lawn seat ticket.

For those of you who don't know Great Woods once had, like some other music venues, a gorgeous lawn behind the pavilion seating.
It was sprawling plush and green. It was the general admission seating area of the show. Sure it was a little bit further back from the stage but it was it’s own experience sitting there on the lawn, for any show. Everyone sprawled out....
....It is also important to mention that lawn seating created it’s own environment. It created a level of intimacy and enjoyment with all the people sitting there, that cannot be found in assigned seating. It didn't feel like the cheap seats, or the back of the area. It felt like we were in the cool hangout area, where you can lay down on blankets, stretch out your legs and run around with plenty of room to dance. Of course at the time I had no idea about how important room for dancing was. I just went and those were where the tickets that were still for sale were.
.....It had only taken 10 minutes to buy tickets at the box office, but then it took us another 20 minutes running around the parking lot, trying to find somebody who was still outside to sell us acid. Finally we found a dude. Rob and I each took two hits of this “Jesus” acid:...
....we could hear the roar of the crowd and we knew the show was about to begin. With acid in our mouth and tickets in our hand we ran to the gate and walked in just as the concert was starting.

I'll never forget what I saw as we stepped onto the lawn. As we crested the top of the grassy lawn of Great Woods the band began to play: ferociously, drumbeat rumbling guitar howling, lyrics thundering: “Sunrise over the turquoise mountains messenger birds in sight they came up from the valley both sides at a time…” (“Llama.”)

The sun was an hour or so from setting but was still hanging tall and bright in the sky. It was very warm. Probably in the mid 90’s....
....the sight was breathtaking...
... It was beautiful and it was crazy....

.....The thick pungent sent of marijuana was everywhere. The crowd began to quiet down as Phish launched into their first song.....

....back then Phish still had these backdrops behind the band; they were painted by Fishman's mom. I remember it was a weird looking underwater paradise. The acid began to kick in, and as I felt the first twinges of the crazy fun rolling over me, I began to tune into the music. I had no idea at the time what I was about to experience.... ...but really nothing, Nothing in the world could prepare me for what was about to happen.
So began Phish’s voyage into Gamehendge. It was my first show: July 8, 1994, Mansfield Massachusetts Great Woods Center for the performing arts.
In retrospect it was a poetic, defining moment for me. This is a new world opening up and the beginning of an experience unlike I ever had, or would have; something that would become my life for the next several years....
.... I know I like to mythologize my first experience because of the Gamehendge, but I will always believe that it was something special for me to experience. And it was a game changer…

As the first song came whipping ferociously to a close, all I could think is: holy shit, this band rocks....
.... It was rock 'n roll in its best rawest most intelligent form. The first song ended the audience cheered and then all of a sudden the sound of drills began. What was going on I thought to myself. Why were their sounds of drills and weird feedback coming from the band? Why was the drummer playing a vacuum cleaner, and why was he wearing a dress!! He looked just like captain caveman with his woolly beard and long hair. Was it just the acid? Did anyone hear the drill noises? Was I at the dentist? What the fuck was going on??! Most of the audience seemed to know what was up, and they were all clearly out of their minds on drugs as well so I began to feel a bit less crazy.

Buzz, whiz, buzz, whiz buzz crack. The sounds of being in the dentist chair were beginning to drive me crazy, they seemed to go on forever, and just when I thought couldn't take it anymore, Trey began to speak:

"There's an old man sitting in the dentist chair……….."

And suddenly I was being dragged into this world… The story began to unfold of an old man sitting in the dentist chair, as the Dr. administered nitrous oxide and began to work on his teeth, Soon the old man began to drift off into a nitrous induced slumber…then he found himself in a corridor speaking to a strange old knight… the music began again: ”Passing through a corridor I came upon an aging Knight you leaned again the wall in aging armor…’”(Lizards)
And on like this it went. Between each song, Trey would expound deeper into the myth, the legend, and the secret stories of Gamehenge. “Tela” a warrior, “Wilson” the evil king of Gamehenge who had stolen the Helping Friendly Book. “ACDC Bag” the mechanical execution device. “Colonel Forbins Accent” the old man from the dentist chair seeking out the God known as Icculus. “The Famous Mocking Bird” a flying beast sent to help the rebellion. “The Sloth” one of Wilson’s evil minions. McGrupp and the watchful Houndmasters “a recapping of the saga of Gamehenge...
... between each song the continuing story became more apparent. The characters and their trials and tribulations began to take shape. This wasn’t a concert. This was an adventure into a phantasy land. The story ended on a sad note. The rebels did not win and battles were still to rage on. But then we went back in time....when all the people of Gamehendge lived peacefully together, and they would gather around to celebrate the Helping Friendly Book....
....Then Phish began to play the song of joy and celebration as the sun was finishing it’s day and night began to set. “Divided Sky”...

....The whole arena was glowing with joy. Up on the lawn everyone was spinning and beaming light. I remember the sun was setting as they began to play “Divided Sky”. I lit a cigarette watching the sun as it was setting and it could not of been a more perfect moment. Like being in the center of a tornado....

...Everyone was smiling and laughing having the time of their life. You could feel the energy from the band to the audience and between each other and back to the band. The song ended, and the audience went crazy. I was out of my head....
... I can say with confidence that I do believe that my first show; that final Gamehenge, was the phinest one they ever performed.

By the end of the first set I had taken off my socks and my shoes and began dancing crazily in the grass. The feel of the summer grass between my toes was wonderful. It brought me back to my childhood running on the lawn jumping through a sprinkler on a hot summer day.
I didn't know what was going on, I didn't know how to process what I just seen...
.... It felt as if the band was sending their “energy” into the audience and the audience was responding and sending it back....I have never seen before or since another band that seemed to be as connected to the feel of the audience. It was as if their mood and vibe was dictating what Phish was playing. And the audience in return was supporting and invigorating the band to reach their maximum potential....
As Divided Sky ended I heard Trey say, “thank you we’ll be back in 15 minutes....”

...You’ll be back. There’s more. That wasn’t the whole show? How the fuck is that possible. How can you go on? How can this be topped?...
... Who the hell takes a set break? What kind of a band wants to play a three-hour show?.....
....
The second set opened with Rift and then immediately jumped into Sample in a Jar....
...At some point in the second set it began to rain, although to be honest I was so messed up that night I cannot tell you exactly when it happened. As the rain dumbed down on us the great lawn got turned into a mud pit and we danced and slid and rolled around in the mud rejoicing..... I always wanted to dance in the mud to great music but I never thought it would happen....

....I do know that at some point Great Woods turned into a UFO and we took off into the cosmos. I remember the purple and green lights flashing out of the bottom of the “spaceship” as we headed towards the stars.....

....they began jamming “You Enjoy Myself” and they got up on trampolines and began to jump around in unison to the music, it was crazy. Suddenly they segued into another tune,... “Frankenstein.”
They ended the show with one of the only other Phish songs I knew at that time, “Golgi Apparatus.” I was singing along with the chorus: “I saw you with a ticket stub in your hand”... I was in total ecstasy.

...And as if it wasn’t enough, they came back to play two encores. ...'Nelly Kane" and “Cavern.” Although I had never heard the song before I clearly remember the last line of the song: “whatever you do take care of your shoes.”

It seemed like such a silly line. But shortly thereafter I learned how important that lesson would be, and it would be something I would carry with me through all my travels.
The show ended with almost manic applause for what seemed to be an endless amount of time. But as the lights came back on a silence flooded the crowd. As if the exhaustion from this musical “decathlon” had begun to take its toll on the audience. People so emotionally, physically and psychologically drained that no one could speak. There was an almost eerie silence for a good 10 minutes as people began to hug each other and wonder out of Great Woods.....
...I could not move. It felt like I had just left some sort of religious experience. I just sat there smoking a cigarette.

...Several minutes later the blood began to return to my body and the shiver left, as the warmth of the beautiful summer night air returned, lightly drying my rain and sweat soaked body. I was covered in mud, but I didn’t care....

Lighting another cigarette I pulled myself up from the lawn. I was one of maybe 50 people still mulling around....

....The show was over. I was still in a complete daze. And then I realized my shoes were gone. Like a laughing omen, I heard the voice of Phish in my head, “whatever you do take care of your shoes.” I wandered out of the venue shoeless, bare feet stepping over trampled grass, broken bottles, extinguished cigarettes. At this point my feet were soft and weak they had not experienced walking on rough terrain without shoes. This would all change in the future but I did not know that at the time.
For about 20 minutes I could not speak...It was the awe of what had just taken place. “Whatever you do take care of your shoes, whatever you do take care of your shoes” continued to roll through my head as a looked down at my bare feet, as I walked along the pebble laden parking lot.

....As I was trying to process what I had just seen I was confronted with a whole new issue. Phish lot. It was like a carnival. Outside people were dancing, playing music,...I wandered around listening to the chatter from all the people in the lot:....
...“Ice-cold beer, get your ice cold beer, one of the phish kids yelled.” I bought two.

....Wandering around sipping the ice-cold beer seemed to refill my body with nourishment and liquids I desperately needed. In the distance I could see fireworks being set off. ” After a couple of hours the police finally made everybody leave the Great Wood’s parking lot. The carnival had ended and everyone begrudgingly got in their vehicles and began to drive off.....

FlatBottom I think you nailed the Phish experience in your review. It's why we all keep coming back...

The talk in the parking lot at this one was all about Gamehoist. I remember my buddy Keegan from cobleskill (anyone know him?) saying how he was bummed he missed that show and how he didn't think he would ever see a Gamehendge... Well he was wrong. Not much to say about the 1st set it was primal and it was as special as you can imagine. Setbreak everyone was buzzing about Gamehendge and wondering if it was going to be in the rotation! Still waiting for that! The 2nd set was great but honestly it was kind of hard to live up to the 1st. I do remember really digging YEM>Frank>YEM however. It's funny about the Stash because I barely remembered it until A LIve One came out...

Great review above, very descriptive! I find it hard to believe there was no mention of that "Stash" though, it being one of the quintessential Phish jams of 1994, if not all time.

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.

Would like to first say: Flatbottom that's awesome

After seeing Phish at Great Woods last summer and having such a blast, the decision was made to do it again this year. Some buds and I headed back out to Boston and took the train to Mannsfield.

The scene was even more abundant than last year. VW Buses everywhere, Tied died tour kids, Rows of Shakedown! The Circus had come to town. The "Dead" scene that provided much of the soil for Phish's growth was exploring, evolving and expanding into new horizons. (Point of view from someone introduced to both at same time)

A large group of friend's from back home in Central,NY had come out for the show. It was nice having familiar faces to lean on. Today was my 18th birthday, and it ended up being a very special one. Had seats right up in front for the Gamehendge saga to unfold.

I've literally only seen a handful of shows but this one was my first, my baptism, into a world that forever changed my life. Adam Schneider describes this show as primal. I can't think of a better word to capture that pure, raw, childlike feeling a person can only get when experiencing something as powerful as your first time. Amazing. Gratitude is the attitude.

First show! Gamehendge...Had been listening to bootlegs for a couple of years so was psyched from the get-go. The live experience just blew me away and continues to. Artistry, energy, variety, good vibes, and continuous joy. Glad to have this show immortalized in the live collections. In one word? Inspired.