Everyone has a 1st show -- and this was mine!!! An epic 13hr+ drive up from Fort Collins, Colorado, where I was a freshman at CSU... Needless to say, but the memory of the night is more nostalgia than actual tangible memory...

I do remember loving the stage entertainment of this band I had only heard on bootlegs up until this point. A full acoustic bluegrass ensemble in the middle of the first set. The chess match between sets. The Fishman Elvis cover... All great introductions to the uniqueness of a band I would come to love over the years to follow. There's nothing like LIVE PHISH!

Musical highlights for my first show ever: Sparkle>Wolfman's, Reba, YEM, Bowie, and the fun-filled encore...

Not a big fan of this show, lots of rough edges. But what saves it from becoming a two star show is a couple great versions of songs.

First set is fairly straight forward the segue into Wolfmans is pretty cool although it's a pretty average version. Reba gets a nice little stretch to it, it doesn't do anything new really but it's still a great standard version from a great year. What really hinders this set is Caspian and Free two brand new songs that are very rough in terms of playing, so they can be a forgiven for that.

Set 2 is a slight improvement. I like the Keyboard Army bookends to the set. Cars Trucks & Buses (another new song) is pretty rough and obviously still in it's infancy. Timber Ho! is also especially rough and not it's finally polished counterpart from a month or so later. YEM is one of the songs that saves this show, it gets stretched out a little and has some great Trey peaks in it. Bowie is one of the other songs that saves the set, it's nothing spectacular but at this point they could play a good version in their sleep and this is proof.

Very standard encore from this era.

This show is close to being a "not-so-good-show" but it is saved by the likes of Reba, YEM, & Bowie.

I didn't get to tour fall of 1995 due to a late season mountain bike wreck but got to this one and to Halloween. Missoula was a solid but short show. Loved this show because the songs chosen were well played, the Keyboard Army set sandwich was cool, and the newer songs mixed in with the older songs made for a good variety in the setlist. The show was also cool because it was held in a smaller gym/arena and I ran into a couple of guys I knew from college in Knoxville during setbreak. We all hung out together for the second set and when PHiSH busted into Rocky Top, we went completely crazy, knowing it was not just a coincidence we ran into each other. Gotta love it when that kinda thing happens.

Phish concluded their 4-show Northwest run at the Adams Fieldhouse on the University of Montana Missoula campus. The show was the 10th of 54 that started in CA for four nights, stopped in Seattle for a couple of nights, then traversed the Northwest from Oregon, to British Columbia, to eastern Washington and into Montana. We covered a lot of scenic ground over the past couple of weeks and now we were in Big Sky Country on Phish tour!

AC/DC Bag rightfully opened the first set after a 7 show gap. The band played with confidence and this version benefits from being longer than usual. Just your better than average non-stop high-octane booty-shaking Phish Just when you think it’s going to end they take it around a couple more times.

Demand appears after a 97 show gap; last played at the GameHoist show. Sparkle follows the quirky bust out and gets the crowd riled up. Wolfman’s Brother starts strongly after a double ending. Great song but the band still doesn’t know where to take this jam and they end up vamping for just about a minute.

Reba starts to a warm reception. They move effortlessly through the composed section and drop into a nice little groove. Trey is very active while the rest of the band patiently plays along. This version is not rushed at all. The intensity builds ever so slowly toward a shredding climax and eventual ending. A mighty fine version with no whistling!

I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome lightens the mood and puts a smile on everyone’s face. “That's Moses Brown on the mandolin,” says Trey. Prince Caspian, still new to the repertoire, is played for the 1st time this tour and 6th time overall. It’s still short with no jam. Uncle Pen picks the energy back up and shows off the band’s dexterity.

Free kicks in and again Trey jumps on his percussion rack after setting up his effects. Page is front and center as the band builds a wall of sound before quieting things down for the final chorus. Trey quickly says “Thanks, will be back in about 15 minutes.” For a set that started out fairly strong it ended with a whimper and was less than an hour.

After the audience chess move Page starts Keyboard Army and the rest of the guys migrate to the keyboards to play their parts. Right after the first pause Page starts Cars Truck Buses and the guys move back to their instruments. This is the 8th version in 10 shows and it sticks to the script.

Timber (Jerry) immediately starts; appearing again after only a 4 show gap. This song is becoming part of the regular rotation to my delight. Full band assault! Watch Out!! Ya Mar contrasts Timber’s darker mood with a joyful one. Trey extends his solo longer than usual. Sample In A Jar delivers the crowd pleasing rock ‘n roll vibe. It’s hidden far away...

You Enjoy Myself centers the second set. The bliss section is very nice, as is the build. Post tramps Trey plays his percussion rack for a little bit. He then moves back to guitar and it starts to get a little funky. Next thing you know Trey is scatting over the rocking groove that goes the extra distance; this YEM has officially taken off! Fishman is en fuego. Trey gets back on his drum kit for the bass and drums section. Gordo lays it down big time! The vocal jam does what it has to do

Suspicious Minds is one of my favorite Fishman covers. It just delivers on all levels, and without the vacuum. HYHU ends the fun, Trey gets back from the drums and starts to sing Dog Faced Boy, the 1st of tour (16 show gap). The band provides backup vocals on this version.

Fishman’s hi-hat signals it’s time to end the set and the 4 night Northwest run on a bang, not a whimper with David Bowie. The Bowie intro is extended nicely and the band cruises through the composed section. The jam begins with some delicate jamming but gets serious soon thereafter. Everyone is participating in this face paced version which gets pretty out there. Oh yeah! The ending segment doesn’t get too crazy. Page immediately starts back into Keyboard Army to finish the song that started the set. Smooth move!

The Encore started with Bouncing Around The Room, the 1st of tour (12 show gap). It was like seeing an old friend for the first time in awhile. Rocky Top starts up and ends the show on a high note! What a fun Northwest run!

The next show of Fall tour is just outside of Phoenix. Fortunately we have two days off to cover the 1,200+ miles of driving. After the show we head south from Missoula to find a campground to sleep in for the night.

Worthy of a listen: Reba, Timber (Jerry), You Enjoy Myself, David Bowie

#20yearslater

This was the 3rd of 7 shows I saw this fall leading up to Halloween and imo was the weakest of the lot. The crowd definately seemed more local than the other shows I saw that tour. I was born in MT and have a lot of family there. I was coming from the ripping show the night before in Spokane and arrived in missoula early early on the morning of the show. I had some childhood friend's going to college in Missoula so we stayed at their house. We got into Missoula, stopped at a gas station and called them to come and guide us back to their house.

I imagine we slept a little bit before we hit the lot. I know we ate at a Perkins or something like that before the show. There were tons of mushrooms on the lot and I also remember a heavy looming sheriff presence. The kind of sheriffs in the brown outfits and big ole hats. "Good Ole Boys."

I was particularly excited to see Phish here because the Grateful Dead had played this venue on 5/14/74 with The Wall of Sound and played a stellar Weather Report Suite, Dark Star->China Doll. Brilliant!!
The Phish show was not so stellar and to this day remains one of my more forgettable shows. Although two things to note here. It was my only Demand that I imagine I'll get to see, as well as the only Keyboard Kavalry Reprise.

After this show we drove back down to the University of Wyoming and went to school for 2 more weeks until we took off for another 3 night run starting in KC.

Peace All

SET 1: AC/DC Bag: Hot start, nicely done and jammed on a bit.

Demand: Bustout, 97 show gap, last played at the Gamehoist show 6.26.94.

Sparkle > Wolfman's Brother. Definitely a cool transition into Wolfman’s.

Reba: Solid version, I enjoyed it a good bit.

I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome, Prince Caspian: First time played this tour.

Uncle Pen, Free: Standard Town USA.

First set summary: I am a fan of the flow and the composition of the set. Great, hot start with that Bag, Demand bustout, and from there plenty of energy and a little breather in the middle with the acoustic IBIL. Good set to get the kids warmed up. Reba has replay value for sure.

SET 2: Keyboard Army: That one way of starting a set I guess.

Cars Trucks Buses: In the two hole of the second set? Okay… Plus, the intro is completely flubbed as Fish and Mike are nowhere to be found it’s just Page and Trey, lol!!! Played at every show on tour so far except two.

Timber (Jerry the Mule) They shred the hell out of this one, it’s great. >

Ya Mar, Sample in a Jar: Standard. Certainly not second set material.

You Enjoy Myself: Trey rips this to shreds.

Suspicious Minds > Hold Your Head Up: Fishman goes crazy in this SM, funny stuff.

Dog Faced Boy: Standard.

David Bowie: Kind of a disappointing version as the set closer, more, or less.

Keyboard Army: Cute gimmick – set opener and closer.

ENCORE: Bouncing Around the Room, Rocky Top: Woof!

Second set summary: Timber and YEM both rip hard, plenty of replay value there if you are looking for some shreddy jams. This set has some questionable song selections that would be better suited for the first set, but whatever. Set is all downhill after the YEM unfortunately. Not much in this show to revisit outside of the Reba, Timber, and YEM. I would rate this one a 3.3 out of 5.