(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)
It was an unusually sunny summer day on the coast of Maine. My significant other and I spent the afternoon in downtown Old Orchard Beach, eating ice cream and lobster rolls and walking...
It's funny that several others have mentioned the weather, because that's etched in my mind too. This was a beautiful scene all around. The Dead were on the west coast, Phish was still more an insider band, and there were no knuckleheads in sight. No bad drugs. No dope sick runaway kids. No...
Went with tapers, so of course we got there unreasonably early to a nearly empty lot. Killed some time by walking down to Old Orchard Beach and hanging out on the water. Came back to a still-empty lot. Kim's review gets into the details of the day in a most excellent fashion. I too spent the...
Fishman dorks like me might be interested to hear Fish's snare drum at this show, which is wound tighter than I've ever heard. I'm working my way thru 94... curious if subsequent shows have this banjo-tight snare. Doubt it...
The SOAM jam gets pretty out there. "Exploratory" a good word for it...
It was the most empty show I've ever been to (meaning there was hardly anyone there!!) and it was a gorgeous day out! I remember running into the field as My Friend started playing! Honestly it was like seeing Phish in my High School baseball field, but even smaller! The "Old Home Place" was...
1994 was thee year for Reba. This one doesn't even stand out when there's the likes of 5.27, 5.28, 7.6, 10.31, and 11.25 to compare it to; however, it is still really phenomenal. At first I was skeptical that this whole "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" business was going to be one of those jam...
Fishman fans take notice: our Little Drummer Boy comes through clearly (for the most part) on this very good spreadsheet AUD, and his playing stands out even more! There are some miscues here and there from the other three, but Fish is on top of his game all night here, and especially starting...
Exploratory, far-ranging, and gripping version includes Hendrix teases, incredible jamming with cool funky Page on the B-3, rhythmic gyrations, power rocking, dizzying dissonance, and a thrilling, unusual conclusion.
Following the first electric version of "The Old Home Place" (and only the second performance in the band's history), "Reba" isn't in Maine any longer, as the band, driven by extended, airy, and introspective play from Trey, masterfully makes for "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."
A true wizard, Trey works a fanastic -> to bring the band back to "Reba." More fantastic full-band play, driven, in large part, by Mike, brings this notable version to a close.