this show deserves its own release, period. i loved it back when i attended it many years back, and it's aged like a fine wine. i couldn't top what some of the other reviewers have said, so i'll share an unusual observation that evening....

my alma mater, the auburn tigers, were playing the tennessee volunteers in their football conference championship game the same evening as this concert. i was staying at a friend's house while in detroit, and she agreed to tape the game on the VCR so i could watch it when i got back from the show. since i was practically another world away from either school, i figured no one was even gonna care about the game, never mind tipping me off about who won. so imagine my shock when phish busted into "rocky top"--the tennessee fight song, BTW--as the encore. was it just a coincidence, or was phish making a musical statement that tennessee had won the game? the conspiracist in me thought the latter! all i know is, on the way out of the venue, i made eye contact with someone who happened to have a tennessee hat on (i was wearing an auburn hat), and he smiled & said "rocky top, baby!"....i wonder if he was thinking what i was thinking? haha....anyway, i soon found out tennessee did indeed win, and to this day i'm convinced phish spoiled the outcome for me....LOL