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

I was playing a game recently in which this question was asked: "Which year stands out as your favorite and why?". Without hesitation, I said 1995, specifically the week of 10/28 to about 11/4. It was the weekend of my 21st birthday, an amazing road trip, and two great Phish shows. I turned 21 on October 28th, and my good friend Will and I left a great birthday party about 2:00 a.m. to start the drive from Blacksburg Va. to Louisville Ky. We did not make it too far that night, and spent a few hours asleep somewhere in West Virginia. We arrived in Louisville about 4:00 p.m. and spent the afternoon wandering around the parking lots and the city. It was my first time (not my last though) seeing Phish play in a city, and it added a new twist to the lot scene.
Just as on October 29 1994, this Louisville show features a band on the verge of something great. They were tight, focused, and having a lot of fun. I heard a lot of "firsts for me" that night: "Punch", "Cars Trucks Buses", "NICU", "Gumbo", "Makisupa", "The Mango Song", "Kung", and "Shaggy Dog". It was really cool to see and hear songs I had previously only heard on tapes. It was also great to catch a general admission show and to be on the floor but have enough room to dance.
I had been following the chess game online, and I entered my name at the Greenpeace table to make the audience move, but it went to someone else. The "It's Ice" > "Kung" > "It's Ice" combo really stands, out because I had no clue what was going on when Trey and Fish started yelling "Stand Up! Stand Up!". Just another of those cases where the band you love and think you know does something you never even thought about, and leaves you wanting more. We left Louisville after a great "Funky Bitch" and continued the drive north to Chicago.