Twenty years ago today, Phish started a rock solid 3-night run (happy birthday Fishman!). Gotta love the .net show notes here -- if *eleven* annotations and a couple dozen lines of descriptions of the show don't indicate this was a wild one (i.e. a typically great early '90s Phish show), I don't know what else will. And as other reviewers have pointed out, this show has a little bit of everything: megaphone, teases, a guest sit-in, a debut, a Gamehendge narration, a mini-bustout (84 shows for Bag), some acoustic work by Trey, some a capella work, and TWO Fishman vacuum solos, one of which came during a Moby Dick that was the whale meat in a Bowie sandwich.

Is 2/19 must hear stuff? Maybe so, maybe not -- the next night is where it's at, and the best Phish of 1993 comes in August. But this is still good shit, and the band's unwavering energy is palpable even in these recordings twenty years later.

P.S. When I fired this one up today, I thought I had screwed up and sorted my files in reverse -- seeing the Loving Cup opener and AC/DC Bag encore definitely tripped me up!

Wow, this is a very good show! The energy level starts out high and never lets up. SOAM and Maze are both scorching. Colonel Forbin's > Mockingbird is very well-played. This is one of the better Poor Hearts that I've heard, with some fast, spot-on soloing. Bowie, infused with Moby Dick silliness (and a vacuum solo to boot!) reminds me of the Deer Creek show they would play 7 years later – I guess the seed was planted early on. YEM rocks quite hard, and the vocal jam is outstanding: they start with a very percussive groove and eventually transition to a surprisingly well-coordinated medieval monk chant. Ya Mar is extra lively, and the band's happy mood is evident in the improvised vocals that are thrown in the mix. Lawn Boy, which Page dedicates to his parents, is easily one of the better - if not best – versions that I've heard, due primarily to Trey's sweeeet solo.
Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit) can really play! His style stands out in stark contrast to that of Trey, yet he manages to mesh fairly well with the rest of the band.
I highly recommend this show for the consistently high quality of playing throughout. Its good-time vibe comes through loud and clear.

This is the first of three nights at the Roxy and apparently that's all the time they needed to create a legend of sorts. The band seems to agree as all three of these shows have been released on LivePhish. What a great way to start off this run with Fishman's 28th birthday show! Complete with special guests on and off the stage, this show has a little of everything, lots of bluegrass, even a bust-out encore! Great recording, fourteenth show of the tour.

Really nice Cup to start the first set. And with Page's parents in attendance, I feel like he wanted to show off the new piano. Rift still has some little timing problems and the solo sections were a little off. Melt is mostly well played. Fee was good going right into a smoking Maze. Really good energy tonight. Woo Hoo!! We have a Forbin's. I love this song and this one doesn't let me down. Funny story, as usual, from Trey and a pretty good Mockingbird to follow. Sparkle sounds a little uncertain tonight. My Friend has a few off spots in the intro, but otherwise it’s good. Poor Heart still has the little extra solo section before the last verse and is well played. Then we have more of an official celebration with the debut of "JON FISHMAN...MOBY DICK...DICK...DICK..." Very funny vacuum solo combo on this debut. Bowie itself is pretty good and a nice cap off to the first set.

Jim is a great start to the second set. Maybe just a little off at the end. Mike was off in spots during Ice, otherwise it’s ok. Paul was good as was YEM, complete with the church choir ending. A rather long and loud YaMar also has a birthday shout out. Then the balls come out to play. The official dedication to the parents precedes a good Lawn Boy. Then Jimmy Herring comes out! Nice Funky Bitch trading solos with Trey and Jimmy. My Sweet One has some funny false stars from Fishman and was unfinished going into HYHU. This brings Fish back out for Love You, and a second vacuum solo and a guitar solo? Poor Jimmy hangs in there with this circus type show going into a rocking Llama. Another dedication to the parents before a nice Amazing Grace to close up a crazy second set.

Awesome bust-out encore tonight with another birthday dedication to a guy named Hack. Bag itself was a little rusty sounding, but still great to hear. Funny to hear an encore that fades out.

This is definitely more like four star Phish. I can't wait to hear tomorrow’s show!

No review, eh? This show was nuts from start to finish, and the band didn't let up. Though the energy was totally different, this show is equally as frenetic and intense as the much heralded second night. "We're gonna make it up to you, we're gonna make it up to you!" I was at the flood show from the previous year, and my god, did they ever make it up to us. Not the craziest setlist, but the energy was off the chart. When Jimmy Herring joined them, it kicked into the high gear. The only song surprise was the return of AC/DC Bag, and a kick ass way to go out.

We parked in the lot next to the theatre. After the show, we walked in slack-jawed, silent amazement about five blocks in 15* weather before we realized we had parked next to the Roxy. THAT'S a sick show.

The first of 3 nights at the Roxy in Atlanta. The boys came in on a mission: compensate for the unfortunate flooding that stopped their last ATL show on 3/28/1992. This show certainly demonstrates to the returning fans that they'll be getting what they waited for. The band is hot.

Setlist Thoughts
- Fun to hear what has become an encore staple open this earlier 1.0 three night run. This version is particularly lively and drives into a swung groove for Trey's solo by the end
- Split Open and Melt is kept on a short leash, but it's a fun one. Mike , Page, and Fishman all take turns sharing the rhythmic spotlight while Trey keeps the energy chaotic with a solo that alternates between heavily distorted riffs, bends, and slides, sustained soaring notes, and some cool motif development (6:20 - 6:45)
- the tried and true Fee -> Maze pipeline is always fun (see Star Lake '98). The juxtaposition of a calming, lighthearted singsong tune like Fee with the utter hosefest that Maze promises to provide never fails to excite as soon as Fishman brings in the Maze kick drum pattern. Trey crushes the peak
- Mockingbird narration rewards the patrons of ATL Phish shows. They've been pulling these in jokes forever, everybody. Moments like this define the community
- Trey and Page are both HOT on Poor Heart. This is some of the high level bluegrass performance you'd expect from southern moonshiners, not a couple hippies from Vermont. Cool moment of ascending dissonance in Page's solo and matched by Mike.
- Fishman's Birthday Bowie! This 5-min intro gives Fish the floor to bang the drums and wack out on the vacuum, all the while the ticking hi hate keeps us rooted in the tune that's about to come. Trey and Mike work in additional Moby Dick teases throughout the jam section.
- A lot of fun back and forth in the middle of the YEM jam, which also runs at a slightly faster tempo than usual.
- Any time Jimmy Herring sits in with the boys is a special treat (see the Aquarium Rescue Unit YEM from 5/5/93). Funky Bitch and Llama are particularly great choices to let him shine.