I have an odd story about the North Shore. I went to that show with a bunch of friends I'd met through work at a restaraunt around the block from the venue. One of them had given me the first phish boot I ever owned, about a week after the first show at evergreen from my first post. This tape was the first set of 5-15-1988. The first tape. Ah, what a thing.
The dude who gave it to me had some vaguely dismissive things to say about it, and seemed particularly to think that the Bag>Possum transition (check it out!) sounded very China>Rider-ish, and that they were "ripping off" the Dead. I tend to agree, but I liked it. A lot.
He was one of the people who came with my gf and other friends to the North Shore, and if you listen carefully, you can hear him call for Possum in the pause before the blat-boom in Wilson, to the amusement of Trey and everyone in the front of the house. Around 4:30 catches the build up and unfortunate call-out.
After the show, as we were walking out, we overheard some other attendees laughing about my friend, "Like, dude, they played Possum last night!" The wierd combination of disdain, envy and humiliation visible on my buddies face is hard to forget.
That all aside, My girlfriend and I had the privilege to witness this show from about 15' away from the stage, standing on a bench at the side of the venue, so that I could see over the heads of the crowd. A perfect, unobstructed view of the show. The stage was small, and so they had set up in the more standard drums-in-back setup you'd see other bands use. This put Trey in front, flanked by Mike on my side and Page on the other. Trey was throwing off energy like a supernova. I can still remember clearly the looks of amazement on peoples during the jam in Reba, and thinking very distinctly that we were hearing the best band in the world.
The rest of the show, with the off the cuff Gamehenge journy was like they had decided to fill us in on the hints of story we'd gleaned from Lizards and Bag off the Beecher Hill Farm tape. It all was made clear and we laughed and danced and shook our heads at the hugeness of it all.
Not to mention the second set's span from the RAGING Llama, to Fishman's antics and band intros, to the closing fear-inducing Bowie.
It was a peak experience of my life, and while the few shows I saw after this were some fantastic shows, none had the magic of this one.

I've been reading these reviews for years and decided to add my two cents at last . This was the first show I ever heard. My cassette came from my dear friend ES( hey buddy) in Syracuse. I want to say it came from someone who knew the band, although I could be confusing this with another '91 show that I ended up with much later. I was playing all around the south , in clubs that they would play, and would hear people say things about the musicianship and the antics that were going on back then. This very much intrigued me. My " affiliated" friend found me and said " if you want to hear the next Garcia, listen to this. After the first pass, I was gobsmacked . I listened everyday for over a year. And what the guy said about the Reba is true. It's my fave all time with 10/31/94 a close second. I think this Reba is the closest to Trey original vision of this song. The jam is in your face. Fast and soaring.
The rest is great and of course the bonus hear is Gamehenge. For a few years, I thought they did this every night or so. It wasn't til later did find out what a real gem I had all this time.

I would just like to reemphasize the greatness of this Reba for all you phans that are obsessed with reba like me. I have around 30 versions of reba, including 1995-12-31, 1994-10-31, and the epic reba played at Vanderbilt (1994). To be honest this is my all time favorite. It is fresh, fast, and persistent. It may not be as elaborate as versions from later years but it just doesn't matter. Trey is ripping through the solo with so much energy and excitement. Just when you think they are finished they go back at it. This version is everything I want out of a reba and more.

(Published on the legacy Phish.net site many years ago...)

The Surf Club was a very narrow, long building which had the effect of making the crowded floor seem very intimate. The stage was so narrow that Henrietta's drums were set up behind Trey and Mike, rather than to the side as usual. Having played the comparatively cavernous Roseland Theatre the night before, Trey really seemed to be getting off on having everybody right in his lap paying such rapt attention. I think that the intimacy of the room was a large reason he was inspired to go on the Gamehendge rap.

It was excellent to hear all of those Gamehendge songs strung together with narration, like we were all taking a journey together through the music. Just as this crowd seemed more accessable to the band, this was the closest I had seen the band in my handfull of shows, and Trey seemed really psyched. He was having a wonderful time.

In addition to Gamehendge, highlights for me were a smoking Reba, my very first Bathtub Gin (one of my favorite tunes) a surprize Jesus Left Chicago and the barbershop quartet final encore. (At Portland the night before they had opened the show with the quartet, and the asshole crowd talked through the whole thing 8-(. )

My second Phish show (first was a few months earlier in New England). I had just started college in Olympia and knew two other people there who joined me at this show. We had all gone to high school back East and had been listening to the boys for a while. This show was crowded but still felt like a frontier for Phish. It was a tremendous show - almost all of Gamehendge, including some spectacular performances. For a kid who was far from home setting up a new life, it provided real comfort to be there anchored in something familiar.

A crisp-sounding master cassette SBD source captures this show beautifully.

Things get underway with a sharp, energetic Jim. The first Wilson of the tour follows, complete with the callout during the intro. A stunning Reba features some subtle DEG teases from Trey—just enough to raise an eyebrow. Landlady flows seamlessly into Forbin, and whether it was planned or spontaneous, Trey opts to take the small crowd on a trip to Gamehendge—minus Lizards, interestingly enough. There’s a tape flip after Mockingbird, so part of the narration is missing, though it’s unclear how much. Before Tela, an audience member shouts out to Page, asking who he’s singing about. “Sofi Page!” they yell. “Who?” the band replies. A fun moment. Tela is solid, and a strong Bag follows. The first McGrupp of the tour closes out the Gamehendge sequence beautifully. Hydrogen is a little rough around the edges, but Groove more than makes up for it, closing the first set with authority.

Set two kicks off with a well-played Llama—perhaps a nod to the Gamehendge-heavy first set. Jesus Left is played with heart. Fish (aka Hankrietta, “the shortest man in rock and roll”) delivers an inspired vacuum solo during Love You. There’s some amusing banter during the hi-hat hijinks, a fun little detour. The Bowie jam starts with Trey teasing something—hard to place, but intriguing—and then takes off. It’s a scorcher!

Before the encore, Trey thanks the crowd, noting how much the band appreciated the audience’s attentiveness. Even the Spoonman, who opened the show, commented on how attentive the audience was.

A double encore wraps up the night, with the second being a throwback all the way to 1903. The band closes with an a cappella Carolina, performed mic-less to a respectfully hushed room.