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

The first set from this show is one of my favorite first sets out there. It's one of those that looks decent on paper, but can't possibly be appreciated without being heard. I chose to grab some seats this night and ended up next to a bunch of folks who had brought tons of the those really big rubbery balloons. I think it was someone's birthday. At any rate, a whole bunch of us spent the pre-show blowing them up and writing songs names on them, the usual. But the CCCC is so intimate, and the energy was so high after the previous night's show, that when the band came on, and we launched the balloons, there was almost an New Year's Eve effect. Tons of them went flying towards the stage and you could feel that the band was touched and the energy was soaring.
"Limb by Limb" opened things up beautifully and was followed nicely by the first somewhat extended "Back on the Train" -  an incredibly danceable, funky, early version. And if there any of you who tire of the predictable "Disease"s that are straight-ahead Trey wailers, you'll want to hear this one to keep your faith. There's an absolutely beautiful ambient-like jam in here, with a theme that the band who pick up again in the Big Cypress version. A first set treat to be sure. It segues into one of the best "Fast Enough"s I think the band has ever played, and is then followed by a fifteen minute "Ya Mar" with techno-like jamming. You like your "Antelope" to rage? Find me a meaner one.
Oh yeah, and the second set was pretty damn good, too.