https://forum.phish.net/forum/permalink/1377860703

I have never been to the state of Vermont. I'd like to visit there someday, but I only know what I have heard and read about the state. Although Vermont is known for progressive politics and natural beauty, it still seems improbable to me that the four members of Phish met and started playing here. Most American bands that began their career in the early 80s and came to prominence in the 90s were based in New York City or the West Coast/Pacific NW, and there were also thriving music scenes in college towns in the Southeastern and Midwestern U.S., but Vermont may as well have been Canada to most hip young people at that time.

On the other hand, the band has never been shy about claiming Vermont as their home, espousing the virtues of that state at every opportunity. And they have acknowledged how their distance from more densely populated urban areas allowed them to develop creatively and forge their own style. The plethora of universities and college bars in the Northeast also allowed Phish to hone their craft and expand their audience without having to relocate to a nearby metropolis like Boston or New York City. And it certainly didn't hurt to be popular with the local skiers, either, which kept their schedules busy during the winter months.

Several things about this show stand out to me: The early arrangements of new songs The Mango Song, Chalk Dust Torture, and Guelah Papyrus, which would get ironed out over the coming weeks; the Tweezer with the wind-down ending seguing into one of the first versions of Tweezer Reprise (I wonder if they had originally envisioned the Reprise this way?); Let's Go by The Cars ("I love the nightlife, baby") being used to introduce Fishman, who provides some interesting "Zeroman" pontification; and Trey amusingly forgetting the words to The Lizards, prompting the band to honor a request for an impromptu and ripping version of The Sloth.