what a great first show to see Phish. I had moved away from the Philly area and was home visiting my family and my brother suprised me with a ticket to the show.
I had been listening to Phish for about 3 years, but never got to a show before this one.
It was incredable seeing these guys live and still cant get enough of them. Great set list....

My first show. I was 14 years old. I had no idea how important that show would be for me now that I have seen these guys close to 100 times. I told my parents I was staying at my buddy Brad Shafer's house after I played a Junior Varsity Hockey Game. Well instead of going to the game, or Brad's, I went to see Phish. (I was suspended two games, and grounded 2 weeks.) I had a few tapes, and albums, I think Junta, Lawnboy, Rift and Hoist. Seeing this show was unreal. Opened with Mound! Still, to date, my only Mound. I was also graced with an Axilla(Part II)! Now you must realize, I left the show having no idea what I had seen. I was 14! I remember thinking, "I wish they played Fee." well, now I leave shows thinking, "it be cool to hear a "mound" or "Axilla II". I wonder if these songs will ever be played in the same show again. I know Axilla I and II are quite similar, but I can only imagine the feeling I'd have hearing those lyrics. This Venue has shut down since, it was demolished and will soon reopen as the new civic and convention centers. Pretty epic place, The Rolling Stones did a show there and The Grateful Dead had a few run's as well. Cool to be a part of that history. Anyway, I love this site. My buddy recommended it having scanned through my old ticket stubs. If any one has a good recording of this specific show, I'd love to hear it, I had it on tape like 15 years ago.

This Weekapaug features Phish at their improvisational best.

Typical high power Weekapaug jam->Suzy Greenberg-esque style of jam->creepy noodly jam->vocal jamming->machine-gun hose->circusy video-game type jam->monstrous Little Drummer boy jam->return to Weekapaug.

They hit so much in this jam, it's crazy. The only down point is really the weird spacey jam between the vocal jamming and the Litte Drummer Boy jam. Listen to this immediately. Now. What are you waiting for?

Sorry for posting a 2nd review, but I recently listened to this show for the first time since seeing it live 21 years ago and want to edit or refute my initial review. Allow me to "wax nostalgic" and reflect a bit, if you will...
This was a pivotal year for the band, and in particular this was the end of a year that would see them go from being a small theatre band to a mega act - the days of seeing them in small clubs were over, or soon to be over. By this show, $5 covers had become a thing of the past. The band had graduated from 23 East to the Mann, to The Civic Center & Spectrum in just 2 year span. They were getting big, you could feel it in the air and this show has a "big room" sound, kinda "echoey" if you will. But the acoustics are good, listen to Page bounce the keys off those old walls - beautiful. First we get a strong Mound, before Mounds became rare. And it's time time time.
Simple was still a relatively new song back then, and you can tell the band was having tons of fun with it - they jammed it hard, very early in the show. Julius rocked, so hard, w/ a Buried tease as indicated in the notes. Gin was nice, bouncy & got a little trippy, album version Bouncing, Axilla II (hello! what a rarity!) in one of its last appearances to date, Reba version has an extended nice jam with Trey, Fish and Page going at it pretty heavy. DFB was a needed cool down after that hot Reba, and one of my faves, It's Ice, came out hot as usual and has a spooky ending to the jam out w/ a nice page solo at the end, very different than I've ever heard, and while it's not a staying power jam it certainly breaks this song up from it's more traditional versions. Antelope closes it out, a particularly quiet start followed by a particularly strong intro to the "fast" portion of the song (clearly a miss in my initial review). It's a strong Antelope, but most of them are - not the best ever, I don't think, but a very good one. It stops on a dime for Rye Rye Rocco, so perfectly. 4 "new" songs in the 1st set, all '94 debuts and all sounding great.
We open set 2 w/ that little Suzy Greenberg, nothing overly special about this version except the ending is drawn out more so than typical versions. NICU, felt like a new song but had already spent 2 years in rotation by this show - I remember it being a post show highlight, but really it's a pretty standard version. nothing special (other than it being a '94 version, anything from '94 is going to be special on that year alone). Mike's is nice, some nice early interplay from Trey and the jam gets a little dark w/ a cool build up going into Mango. A nice soft version of Mango becomes upbeat and upon completion, a Christmas present wrapped in a Weekapaugh Groove. A nice, long jammed version complete w/ a vocal jam, some clownish spookiness, I fondly and distinctly remember Trey shredding the Little Drummer Boy, it translates onto the recording as well as I remember it being so special - more than a tease, it's a full on 1+ minute shred that actually gets a little evil at a point before jumping back into the Groove. Like many hot shredders, they are followed by a cool down song - enter Contact (yes we will). Back to the shredding, a 2nd set Llama is hot but not anything over the top. Fish hates HYHU, and so do I as I think it broke the momentum of a hot show... maybe they just needed a breather. Apparently I am not the only one, you can hear someone in the crowd say "not Purple Rain, jesus"... haha, many calls for Cracklin' Rosie but Fish delivers Honey Love You well, after a bit of indecision. He also introduces the band, including trey "Dr Seuss" on the drums. Closing it out is Coil, with a long & beautiful Page solo that lasts several minutes. Bold as Love encore was a treat, but not anything overly special about this version.
In all, pretty much anything from the early 90's is going to be special - but pretty much everything this band does is special. I have grown to appreciate them as a mega act, as much I enjoyed them as a smaller venue band. This show, to me, reflects the jumping off point for Phish as a mega act, and having attended was a privilege.

This was my 2nd show, and my group were the first in line at the box office the morning of the ticket sale (got there at like 8pm the night before). We got front row center. This may be my favorite Weekapaug I've ever heard -- demented winter holiday jam. Mike's Song featured Trey running around the stage whipping a megaphone like a windmill while CK5 was going ape on the strobe lights.

I had primarily been going to hardcore shows back then, so I wasn't surprised when someone jumped on stage, ran around and then stage dove -- I learned very quickly that this was not acceptable behavior at a Phish show, as the first three rows around me parted like the red seat and that poor bastard dropped like a stone into the folding chairs. Pretty hilarious.

My friend Kate asked if there was a song I wanted to hear. I really had only heard Hoist at that point and saw some of those songs at the Mann, so I said Axilla Pt. II. She kinda laughed and said "They never play that," in a manner indicating that she wasn't too big on that song.

I've not been anywhere near that close since.

This is a seriously great show. The Reba they play is OFF the HOOK. It rages... just when you think the band is going to hit that final chord to end the tune, they go into 8 more bars of bandwide hose. Amazing.

Great version of It's Ice here too, very tight. Straight into a sexy Antelope. Good closer.

Second set speaks for itself. Mike's > Mango Song > Weekapaug? Yes please. Llama is always fun, and I'm always happy when a Coil closes the set. Bold as Love is pretty epic.

5/5, straight up

My first show.
My younger brother got us the tickets.
It was Christmas break; I was 'home' from UVM for The Holiday.

My first-ever listen was Junta's 'Contact', in the Summer of '89 and I was intrigued to say the least. It was my friend TJ who played it on cassette in his mother's minivan. I distinctly remember this.

I was floored by the energy of the crowd. I had been to a Dozen Dead shows but nothing prepared me for the roof-blowing energy release that occurred time and again on this evening. Peaks. I was agape and so very happy to be a part of it.

I distinctly recall the Weekapaug and the Little Drummer Boy tease, as I was home for Christmas and it was entirely proper. Even though many of the song titles alluded me, the jamming and dancing was intense.

This was a self-sold on arrival and ever since I have coveted this band Phish in a personal and uniquely respectful way.

First posts can be daunting. Glad to be here.

Sixtus

Well, I missed the 20year anniversary of my 1st show last year. I did not have a moment I guess to reflect on it.

I was nearly 18, my sister was a senior at nearby University of Delaware and my cousin a freshmen at Penn. I had been listening to some studio stuff via my cousin but man I was green.

My main memory of the scene was pre-show outside by the fountains or something. A high-school friend of my sisters who had made the full on wook transformation was french-kissing her dog. That left a mark for sure.

As far as the show goes, it's hard to remember what it was like at the time. The only crystallized moment I have, which is so clear to me today, was the Little Drummer Boy jam in Weekapaug. The familiar sound of a Holiday song amidst the insanity of that jam was an anchor for me. I could feel the collective swell of recognition was the whole crowd caught on.

Looking (and listening) back, the Simple in the first set has one of my favorite super short type I jams. And that Mike's Groove! What an introduction to the band.

Home from college, seeing the show with my crew & running into a few old heads from HS (yeah prep) at the Convention Center show. What a gas, I was last at this venue w/ my parents as a young kid for the Bicentenial Celebration - my Dad and I met Jessie Jackson in the men's room, but I heavily digress...
Onto the show... highlights for me included Simple, Gin, Axilla, Ice (always!) and although I LOVE to Run Like an Antelope, I don't recall anything special about it. 2nd setters Mike's was good, yes the Drummer Boy was way cool near Christmas, Contact was neat-O too. I was dead ass sober at this show, for what it's worth, and honestly the show itself really doesn't stick out as being anything special - although I distinvtly remember during the show I had this erie feeling like I wouldn't see Phish again for a very long time... not sure where it came from, the scene or maybe just turbulence in my life at the time, anyway I was right, it was 15 years before I got back on the train. WTF was I thinking?

This is one of my favorite shows and it features one of the best Mike's Grooves you will ever hear. I remember reading in the Pharmer's Almanac about this guy who was some mega tape collector and he listed this show as his all time favorite show along with Mike's Groove being his favorite Phish song.

First set features a decent Reba and a real deal rager of an Antelope. Set II opens with Page really pounding the keys for Suzie. NICU follows and I love listened to my AUD tape for the joyful crowd reaction. The Mike's that follows has a jam that has the feel of organized chaos. The few seconds between the end of Mike's into Mango is one of my favorite transitions the band has played. Page does a good job with Mango. The Weekapaug that follows is my all time favorite 'Paug. This type of improv was the appetizer to next night's Bowie. There are many different entertaining parts to this jam. Reviewing the individual parts of the jam is not necessary. Listen to it and hopefully like what you hear. The Contact/Llama/Coil that follow are just gravy.

I got this show from a guy who claimed to have been there, 20 rows back tripping. Intense show for that.

This Show was kind of Meh then yeah for me. Show would started out with a rare Mound into a below average Simple. Julius was a crowd favorite followed by a boring Bathtub Gin. Bouncing and Axilla standard. The show picked up a bit at Reba. Very Nice play by Trey in this version. Its Ice had a nice space kind of Jam... very nice played. Hard Run Like Antelope to cap of a rusty first set. You can tell with the rare extended 1st set. It was much longer then most shows in 1994. You can tell the band new they were off a bit especially the first songs of the set after a much needed 18 days off after a 121 show tour. Set2 Saved this show a bit with solid Suzy, NICU, Mikes and Mango but the staple of this show was what was to come next...Weekapaug Groove/ALS Tease/Little Drummer Boy! If you haven't heard this version yet I would suggest you download it asap one of the better Weekapaugs of 1994. The show would would finish off nicely with a RIPPING Llama, good Coil and a great caper with Bold as Love. I rate this show a high 3 star (3.8/5.0). Defiantly worth a listen just for the Weekapaug/Little Drummer boy jam.