It was a semi-stormy Wednesday afternoon in April 1990, and I was walking across campus on my way back from class at the University of Notre Dame. I could hear some grooving sounds coming from what I assumed was a campus band playing on the quad by the fountain, as often was the case for one reason or another on any given day. But something different was catching my ear and I found my feet moving to the sound, rather than back to the dorm.
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I sat down in my favorite patch of grass in front of the band that was playing, among a small handful of other students, and I watched. And I listened. I was intrigued, yet thoroughly puzzled (particularly by the bass-lines, truth be told). My frame of musical appreciation at this point in my life was Springsteen, U2, Tom Petty...you get the idea. I had no idea who was playing or what was happening, but I was shook.
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The storms returned, and the band stopped, and I sat there for a little while just yearning for more, before finally standing up and heading to the dining hall for an early dinner.
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In the next edition of the campus paper "The Notre Dame Observer," I learned the name of the band Phish, a New England based band booked for Spirit Week (see attached photo). This of course was pre-internet (at least as far as I knew of it), and pre-label, so it was all left there until later that year when I met the Student Union member and Phish phan responsible for booking them. Thank you, Rich -- forever indebted.
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And that's when I truly began walking the path of what became a life-changing obsession with the band. Thanks to Rich I then went to my first "real" show at a bar (with a whopping 150 or so in attendance), bought my tee and Junta/Lawn Boy tapes at the merch table, joined the mailing list, found the Phish email digest, (in its earliest form, later Phishnet, not even yet Phish.net) and dutifully bought my high quality dubbing machine and XLIIs to jump on every Tape Tree I could. I also submitted the soundboard of the Notre Dame show, which was otherwise not yet in rotation amongst the group. My Walkman had bootlegs playing round the clock. I was a "regular" in posting in and reading the digest, obsessed with every kernel of anything Phish, as this group felt "home" to me and instantly displayed the true connecting power of social media long before social media was a thing. I knew there were others out there that "got it," just like I did.
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It's funny: At that bar show, I remember standing starstruck about halfway through the night and asking the person standing next to me, "Why doesn't the world know about this band?" His response was "You're giving the world too much credit."
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Thankfully, he was proven quite wrong in just a few short years. I lovingly followed the band from bars to minifests (a la Arrowhead) to clubs to theaters to arenas and stadiums and you know the rest of the beautiful story. Me? I changed my major to pursue music, picked up a bass, joined a band, eventually became a school music teacher to help others find a "home" and their own joy through music -- and, well, it all started with that walk across the campus lawn.

Peace, Patti

Phish at U of Notre Dame 4/25/90

I stumbled upon a SBD recording of this show recently and it didn't look like anything earth-shaking, besides being from an earlier Phish era than I usually get into, but I decided to give it a shot anyway - and I have to say that this is some pretty damn good stuff. The recording kicks off with Foam, which is from the soundcheck, but is nevertheless a fully-formed and satisfying rendition. The Reba which follows Sweet Adeline at the top of the first set is a lot more laid-back and mellow on the whole than most later versions that I've heard - but despite being a little out of the ordinary, it's still a great version. The Ya Mar and You Enjoy Myself which follow are also very good. It's a shame that both The Divided Sky AND David Bowie are missing from the second set on the recording. Two of my favorite Phish compositions, so their absence leaves the second set feeling a bit empty. Nonetheless, what is hear is extremely enjoyable and well-played, to my ears at least. Great early Phish. Give it a whirl if you can find it.

So the Reba is...yeah. It's a process. Ya Mar seems really amped up, and though for a bit I was worried about them losing control, it turns out pretty good. Lots of fun banter at this show, here about Ya Mar exhausting their repertoire of "pool songs." In YEM, here's another instance of what sounds like a blatant tease of something, but I don't have any idea what it might be. It's a good YEM, though. Dinner & A Movie is introduced as "Pre-Mating Ritual #1", is described as a Reggae number, and features someone yelling "Rastafari!" as the song starts. There's also a nice Weekapaug here. Oh, and one more quote from the show, from Fishman: "This is the sack-vac of Boulder. And I'm gonna do nasty things with it."

Fun show, loose, chatty, good versions of Ya Mar, YEM and 'Paug. 3 Stars.

Decent sounding SBD source for this show. There’s some cassette hiss, but it doesn’t take away from the energy of the performance. Great mastering work from Marmar on this one.

The recording starts off with a nice Sound Check of Foam. Like the show in Fort Collins, they open with a Sweet Adeline, Reba combo. After Adeline Trey says “going way back there to the turn of the Century.” Fish says “Clear the air, relax things a little bit…and then it’s off to La La Land!” lol. They take a break following Reba to let a brief rainstorm pass through. Trey tells the story of how Mike first heard Ya Mar. Trey tells the crowd YEM was written while visiting Stonehenge and even says Stonehenge in the intro. Fantastic version with Trey locking onto a Stairway to Heaven riff. The band takes another rain break after Esther. Hilarious banter precedes DaaM. Solid Mike’s Groove to close the first set.

Set 2 opens with Henrietta’s rendition of If I only had a Brain. Unfortunately Sky and Bowie are cut from the recording. The Contact encore fades out towards the end. Pretty entertaining listen overall

Not a show I'd listen to again but it does have some cool elements to it. I like the Led Zeppelin teases throughout by Mike. I also like the good amount of banter that seems to be caused by inclement weather. It's one of those things that would be taken for granted considering the guys would talk less and less as time went on.

The one thing about this show that I would consider a "Highlight" would be "If I Only Had A Brain". Yes, as silly as it sounds I really thing that will be the most memorable part of this show to me. It's especially funny hearing Fish singing it through the electrolux. I like how he slips "What are you looking at Paul?" quickly during one of his verses.

Overall I'd say it's a fairly rough show. But the repetition of shows like this is what makes Phish a powerhouse in the later years so no real gripes here.