It's almost impossible to believe that it's been 30 years since my first Phish show at The Orpheum in Boston. They say you always remember your first - and I sure do.

I've been privileged to see some 25+ shows over the years in 7 states including some standout performances including:
* NYE 1992 at Matthew's Arena w/Dude of Life
* NYE 1994 with the flying hot dog
* The Real Gin at Worcester
* 3 amazing nights in Hampton in 2013
* Tweezer Fest at MPP 2014

But, I hold a special place in my heart for 5/16/92 -- my first show!
I was introduced to the band while in college at UPenn, when a friend of mine saw them at a tiny Philadelphia venue in February and brought back A Picture of Nectar CD. For the rest of the semester, I must have listened to that outstanding album about 5 dozen times. No music I had ever heard before sounded like this amazing band! My Deadhead roommate painstakingly figured out most of Stash on his guitar. For the next several months, I found rec.music.phish and started trading tapes with kind souls around the country to find as much live Phish as I could. Little did I know what was in store when returning home to Boston for the Summer.
A few days after coming back to my suburban Boston home, I was at a buddy Dave's house and preaching to him the gospel of Phish. Casually, Dave said he was going to see them on Saturday! What?! GTFO! Immediately I ordered two tickets and invited my friend Mike to the show. Saturday night we arrived outside The Orpheum and enjoyed people watching the crowd outside the venue. Someone offered us to trade our decent tickets and a few bucks for tickets in the 3rd row front and center. What a great decision. The Orpheum held less than 3,000 people, yet being up front for my first Phish experience will never be forgotten. The energy in the room was electric and at some points, it felt like the entire balcony was going to fall down on top of everyone with the frenzied dancing and partying.
The music was great and I know that I had a blissful ear to ear smile on my face all night long. Of course, back in 1992, Phish's repertoire wasn't close to the depth and breadth that it is now. However, the playlist reads like absolute classic Phish and many of these songs are still chased by fans to this day. While standard fare today, watching the boys in 1992 smoothly segue from one song to another was a sight to see and a sound to behold. The jokes, teases, trampolines, and a cappella were all new and fresh. I loved this band.
We had a blast at this show and then 3 more in 1992, including at a tiny baseball field called Holman Stadium in Nashua, NH where we enjoyed a set by Phish and an entire show by Santana and some jamming together. Morning after my first show on 5/16/92, my parents asked about the show and the band, and I told them that they were "4 extremely talented musicians who are clearly having a fantastic time on stage making & creating. not just playing, music" Certainly that answer still holds up 30 years later.