My first show. As a freshman at UW-Madison, I saw the ad in the student paper, bought tickets, and was pumped but not entirely sure what to expect. By that point, I had a handful of live Phish cassettes, my favorite being a high-generation copy of 11/4/90.

My friend and I got there early enough to be front row center - close enough for Page to have made a face at me while I was zoning out to one song or another. We exchanged smiles and, looking back, I appreciate having had that personal connection, especially at my first show.

Listening back a couple decades later, it's not a top-tier performance by any stretch and Phish was still on an upward trajectory, but it certainly was a great introduction to them and got me hooked. The Rift songs were interesting to hear for the first time and the highlight was/is certainly the Forbin's narration.

This was the last show at the Barrymore Theatre, seventeenth of fall tour. The recording was average for this time period. It sounded kind of boomy in the low end. A little monitor feedback here and there.

Rift was kind of a rough opener tonight as the sound was getting settled in. The low end seemed to drop out here and there. Wilson also had some troubles, but ended up being quite playful and loose. Llama was ok, not the greatest, with stops at the end. Well I guess you could say we have a Gamehenge type of set going with a Forbin's up next. I love this song, and this one has a great story with it. Really good! Mockingbird wasn't too shabby either. Uncle Pen was finger picking good. Guelah was also pretty good and had a brief cut in the recording right at "the fly". More Gamehenge with a Divided Sky, which had a few rough parts, surprisingly from Fishman. Back to the Rift material with a good solid Mound. This one's really getting tight these days. Adeline was ok. Stash had a few sloppy parts early on from Trey, but had a nice jam to it. Kind of a weird closer for first set.

Good Mike's to start the second set, with a very slow churning groove to it. Hydrogen was its usual mess. They were teasing some song over top of Trey and Page trying to hold it together. Very weird. Weekapaug was a pretty standard rocker and well played. Horse>Silent is also getting tighter like Mound. More Rift material with an ok Ice. This one still needs to be polished up a bit. Back to Gamehenge with a good solid Lizards. No real problems here. Good grief, an Antelope to follow!? Pretty good one tonight, though nothing too special. Cooling down with a nice Lawn Boy, Page is smooth. Sparkle was ok. A little rough at the end, right into a decent Suzy with screaming vocals at the end. HYHU also had some other song being teased over it while Trey got to the drums. Lengthwise had a fun sing-along and conversation with the crowd about Fish getting paid and his eyeball dress. No HYHU outro? A loose My Sweet One gave way to a Big Ball Jam. Then right into a Sleeping Monkey, which I haven't heard in a while. Trey sounded out of tune for the beginning, and it was a little mellow for a closer.

The usual shushing accompanies another Carolina tonight. Fire was pretty good, although a little loose and sloppy.

Not a great show, but you do get a lot of Gamehenge and Rift tonight. That's never really a bad thing is it?