I stump for this show, and more specifically the Simple, nearly any moment where it's appropriate to do so, because I love this jam so much (and I'm slightly biased, as my avatar suggests). However, it's been a little while since I've heard the show, and since I have a hankering for some mid-90s Phish, I figured I'd revisit it and see if it deserves the status I've bestowed upon both jam and show. 11/94, as you all know, is one of THE runs in Phish's long storied history; think of the insanity of the Bangor and Bozeman Tweezers (along with the just plain fantastic St. Louis version), the Kent State Disease, all the bluegrass, the fantabulous Mizzou show, and the glorious 11/30-12/1 one-two punch (yeah, yeah, 12/1 is cheating, but it hardly matters). So let's see if this show stacks up with the best of the month.

The first set is nondescript until Reba, which has a really delicate breakdown with Page firing off his own "solo" on the ivories early on; Trey's guitar solo, also rather understated, is almost counterpoint to Page's playing. The band then builds to a typical mid-90s Reba peak, the kind where you think they're going to stop and then the jam goes on another measure, Trey's solos knottier and knottier, before Fish rattles the toms and the jam comes to a stop (and yes, they whistle). The Stash is the other first set highlight, as the jam immediately begins spiraling down a rabbit hole while staying within Stash's boundaries (Trey, at one point, solos in a way that suggests hose while the jam remains dark, an odd tonal trick that still works somehow), then gets weird and floopy (a word I made up for this jam; you'll get what I mean), Fish holding down the rhythm while Trey and Mike play notes that seem to bounce off the walls, before the jam grows more melodic and returns to the main theme. I don't love bluegrass, but it's still fun to listen to, and this short bluegrass set is no different (Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is the quicksilver highlight).

You will never go wrong with a set-opening Mike's Song (especially when they extend the opening chords an extra measure just for funsies), and even though this Mike's is bobbled in the regular section, they still get off a nice, if short, Mike's jam. And then comes the main event, the big Simple jam. It comes out of the Mike's breakdown, like it always should, and is played with real vim and vigor in the verses. The jam immediately cools down, focusing on Page, who leads the group into some haunting waters; it's really just Page going to town, Mike adding some color, Fish very sparse drum hits and cymbal shots. Then Mike drops some ugly basslines and a heavy rockout starts up, Trey snapping off fierce machine-gun solos, very much in the deep '94 style. Trey starts climbing the octave ladder and the jam opens up slightly, Mike's bass still grumbling away. We're now about 12 minutes in.

The jam suddenly starts picking up speed @jwelsh8's SOAM Russian section is an apt description), then drops out and gets kind of avant-garde free-jazzish, Page leading the way, Trey putting together some weird noises, before picking up speed again and finding a nice space for Trey to improvise a '94-style groove, less funky but still propulsive, based more on the guitar than the rhythm section (Fish's drumming is busy, not metronomic). The jam drops out again, a wall of fuzz emanating from the speakers, Page and Mike going jazzy behind that fuzz, Trey seemingly looking for every squeal and screech he can pluck from his strings, Fish thumping away to keep something resembling a backbone to the jam.

Trey's guitar then picks up steam and the jam gets menacing and dark, Page's piano notes now sounding 80's horror movie soundtrack-esque, Mike's bass throbbing and flowing in equal measures. Then the jam turns back in on itself, with stabbing guitar chords and rattling cymbals, and a hilarious, loping groove emerges from the muck (seriously, after all the Powerful Rock Stuff, this groove is really legitimately funny), and then almost like a sick joke a really sweet rock jam comes together, sort of like a Tweezer Reprise, but reminiscent of the 12/2/99 YEM jam (!!!). Trey throws in some Hendrix-style licks towards the end, and the jam becomes melodic and sweet before coming to a close. Whew. 34 minutes. What a ride.

Final thoughts on the Simple: Now that I think about it, I may have to back off my "best ever" statements a tad. It's more in line with Phish's '94 throw-shit-at-the-wall experimentation, where they'd bounce from idea to idea, almost from the second the old idea bored them, and you would just follow along and hope they went somewhere interesting. And I hate to say it, but they didn't always go interesting places in the jam (although the ending segment almost makes up for it all by itself). Is it a great Simple? Yes, of course. But I'd probably end up taking the Vegas '96 version over it (mainly because that's more my Phish speed these days). Still, the sheer cojones for Phish to try what they tried in this jam makes it worth listening, and that final jam will absolutely lift your soul.

So then we get some more bluegrass to give everyone a break (not least of all the band themselves), and upon Rev. Mosier & Co's departure the band tears off Chalk Dust (and I do mean tears off; this Chalk Dust is truly ferocious), play Fee (it's Fee), and then transition beautifully into Antelope. And this is your typical mid-90s Antelope, played at 1.21 jigowatts, Page committing assault and battery on his grand piano, everything atonal and even slightly unpleasant (this is why I like late-90s Antelopes more - the rough edges have been sanded clean by Phish's new playing style), the band slowing and speeding up the jam almost at will, and almost as a tribute to how good an improvisational band Phish is, they totally blow the transition into the "set the gearshift" section, then recover and improvise a little reggae section before burning through the closing section with extra elan. Now that's how you close a set! Amazing Grace and Suzy are just icing on the cake.

This is surely one of the contenders for best show of the month; it's almost a prototypical Fall '94 show, with big crazy jams and loads of experimentation and everything played "33 1/3 on 78 rpm" style. If you enjoy mid-90s fire and fury Phish, this is a show for you.

Note 1: the Hill Auditorium is as beautiful as others have written about, both on the outside and on the inside; it's one of those places where you almost feel honored to be watching a show played there. And, IIRC, it's an auditorium with perfect pitch; the guys could've played without microphones if they'd chosen. It's better they DIDN'T, but still.

Note 2: As an aforementioned biased reviewer, I'm very glad this show is better than the MSU show played two days later.