So, that was my first show. I was in graduate school at Ohio State the time, and a couple of office mates and I had just discovered Phish. One of those office mates was Randall, who was 6'10". He played college basketball as an undergrad, and while in graduate school he'd typically wear basketball jerseys over t-shirts. He was skinny, with a short neck and a long face. Almost all of his extra height was in his legs -- he had a 46" inseam. He was overly smart, and he always had a stoic bored look on his face that took a while to get used to. His nickname was Lurch, like the butler in the adams family. He did very much look like this:

http://www.addamsfamily.com/addams/lurch4.jpg />
On 6/22/94, Randall, another office mate, and I were in the 7th row right in the center of Veterans Auditorium, and of course Randall stood out since he was so much taller than everyone. That night the Knicks were playing the Rockets in game 7 of the NBA finals and so Randall had a Rockets Jersey on (he wasn't a Rockets fan per se, but he I think he had at least one of every NBA jersey). With everyone standing up for the show, there was the normal sea of heads, and he looked like he was standing in chest high water. Because of his proportions, he looked like some guy standing on a box in the middle of the crowd.

During the first set, Trey couldn't help but keep looking at him. And of course, typical Randall just stood there with his normal bored looking face, and every once and while he'd write something down on a small hand size notebook he had with him. Between songs Trey would push his glasses up and look at Randall with an inquisitive look on his face.

Then when the second set started, of course Trey came out and announced the game 7, score, "First Quarter, Houston by 5". He was clearly acknowledging Randall who looked down at me with a quick stoic glance and smirk.

We all know what happened next. The Mikes Song was ridiculous. Kuroda turned on the dry ice and strobe lights for entire song up through the end of Simple into Icculus. The air pressure in the theater was such that the dry ice stayed perfectly on the stage and covered it so completely that the theater stage looked like it had a movie screen between the crowd and the band and there was nothing but that strobe going off.

By time the band got to the end of Simple the dry ice was dissipating. When Icculus started Kuroda put a yellow light on Trey and he was all you could see. The rest of the band was still hidden from view by the dry ice fog. I think he moved his mic stand out towards the front of the stage as well.

Clearly, Trey was obsessed with Randall. Early on during the transistion from Simple into Iccullus, you can hear Trey saying "Cym-bop and beeb-a-phone, skyballs and scratch paper." Referring to Randall writing stuff down during the set.

And then he looked right at Randall, and was talking to him saying, "You might be standing up on top of your skyscraper..."

"you can be Akeem, Shalim, any of those people..." He was referencing Akeem Olajuwan from the Houston Rockets, and was pointing directly at Randall.

By the time Trey said, "You might think your life is okay, but you're wrong, you're all wrong...", Trey finally had Randall laughing.

What a night!

Randall and I become huge fans and attended the first 6 Phish festivals together.

Still think it's the best Icculus of all time.

I finally gave this show a listen thanks to @Sixtwentytwo94 's fantastic and hilarious story about that night. I have to say - I've now heard plenty of shows that have peaked with a majestic jam, but this has to be the first show I've ever heard that peaked with Trey and the rest of the band screaming at the audience like deranged homeless people. What a great Mike's Groove, and a great second set.

Since there are no reviews of this amazing show, I thought I would add my $.02. Just an amazing, blistering tight almost non-stop second set. The Mike's Groove is maybe one of the most creative ever, fun Simple, Catapult(!?!), Icculus with Simple references and tons of great screaming from Trey, awesome Weekapaug.

As it says in the show note, this show was released as Live Phish 10. I'm not sure if the CDs are still in print, but you can get FLACs or mp3s from livephish.com - and I highly recommend that you do, the SBDs sound spectacular!

You'd better read the book. You. YOU! Had better read the book!

Best. Icculus. Ever.

This is one of the Top Twenty Essential fuck me silly PHiSH shows - but this isn't a review. I just have to write this somewhere: One of my best musical soul brothers, a kickass drummer we call Skin Richards, a bandmate of mine past present & future, told me (when I asked him years ago if he ever saw PHiSH play live) "Yeah, I saw 'em a couple of times when I still lived in Ohio - the first time was in Columbus back in '94" .....

Do I really need to review this show? Probably not. Many others have expressed what were surely a few of the high points. But I feel compelled. Its personal to be sure. I need to get it off my chest.

When I first heard this show I was just starting to get interested in the band and they were past their 90's prime. It was likely in 99' or so. I didn't know much about the band or the music. I don't even know why I bought this show. Maybe the reviews were good. But what I can remember clearly is what the effect of listening to the 2nd set had on me.
Sheer amazement. Tinges of awe.

I mean when they start Mike's they don't really stop but for a brief halt out of Icculus. And they keep on plowing ahead and didn't settle down until My sweet one 8 or so songs later. ???!!!

Funk, rock freak outs, maddness, silliness, melancholy, and epic grandeur. I had never heard a band do anything like this before. I always wonder about what kind of state the band was in the night of the show and the day of. What happened that brought this set to life?

So many shows get thrown around for "best" show ever. Fall 97's. 12/31/95 or 93. Y2k. But this one is up there for me. I still wonder how they did it. Magic.

Another no-brainer 5-star Phish show from 1994. This show has a few things in common with 5/7/94: well played first sets with Llama openers (Trey is messing with loops and effects here, foreshadowing 7/8/94), second set segue-fests, and Sample in a Jar closers with Trey's guitar sounding out of tune . The vibe in the second set is also on the crazy-wacky side. With Trey's comments related to the Knicks-Rockets NBA Finals game, I wonder if the band thought they could give the Knicks a needed boost of energy with their playing. Even if that isn't true, this show is still a-maz-ing.

Without question one of the strongest months in the history of Phish. Without question one of the major reasons you can make that statement.

This show is just simply Phish in a nutshell. I would find it hard to imagine any Phish fan listening to this show and not crack a smile at least one in the second set.

I was in 10th grade when Phish broke up and I was much more interested in The Strokes and The White Stripes to have any patience for a jamband. Attempts from my older brother and other phans had tried and tried in vain to get me on the Phish train. So here I was a young high schooler and I finally bought LivePhish 10, I saw few if any 15-20+ min songs and I decided this was my best chance. This show changed all of that. This is the first time I got IT and changed my music direction permanently. For every type 2 monster show there had to be these shows, easily digestible without any intimidating gigantic jams. To me this show will always be an easy 5 and the beginning of my Phish obsession. I don't care who you are. Read the book.

Overall, a really strong show. But the Cavern is outstanding!!!

I was miracled a ticket from a college buddy that couldn't make the show. I had never heard of Phish, but it was a free concert, so I said what the hell. I asked the group I was going with what type of music they played and the only response I got was, "Just wait, you're gonna love it" from my friends. My seat was with another noob while everyone else was spread around the place. Great seats, sitting center stage about 25 rows back. Phish comes out hot from the get-go and I remember thinking, "yeah this is pretty good stuff." Then the second set starts. I know 2001 (obviously) then these guys just starting blowing my mind. I don't know any songs, I just hear a wall of sound take over my head and body. That's the only way I can explain it. They're weaving in and out of songs, but I have no idea what is and what isn't a part of a song. I mean, these guys are singing about cymbals (or is it symbols) and skyscrapers then signing about being hooked up to a machine and then Trey starts screaming at the audience about reading a fucking book. I am absolutely mind scrambled at this point. Then everything transitions into this unbelievably beautiful flow of music where they suddenly begin singing in another language and then flowing back into songs. It progresses there until all of a sudden they bring a giant ball on stage and start throwing it around with the audience while the drum is going crazy. I figure that's got to be the end, but they put the ball away and continue on with more. When it was all over and I met back up with my friends my first questions was "what is this book I need to read?" Of course, they all just laughed. Getting a free ticket to this show has got to be the greatest gift I have ever received from someone. It changed so many aspects of my life and I am so grateful I received it from my friend.

Having the official LivePhish release is a privilege for a show like this. I heard this one early on when I started getting into the band's live act (even though I was unable to see them until years later). This "Mike's Song" has always been one of my default versions to listen to, the first one I mean; and the sandwich that "Mike's" creates in this instance is awesome. Icculus is always a top hope to hear and this one sort of creeps up on ya out of simple. Trey's emphatic profanity is pretty comical here too. I've yet to review a show negatively, not sure if I ever will but my point is that you're more likely to review one that you like and recommend people download ... Hence this show: download and enjoy.

One of the best of '94. They dug deep and brought the fire. The second set is hands down one of the best theyve ever played.

I got to tell the story of this show on Undermine. It's basically the same story that posted here a long time ago, but I got to tell it in person which was fun. One thing I forgot to mention was that Randall played basketball as an undergrad in Indiana. For this reason he tended to wear basketball jerseys over a t-shirt and he had a lot of these jerseys. This night he was wearing a Rockets jersey in honor of the finals game between the Rockets and the Knicks. I hope you enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krc8bECr3tI

Right in the middle of the summer '94 tour, 6/22 at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium is one of only a few shows to have been selected for the initial Live Phish release series. Upon first listen, one would likely (and correctly assume) that this honor is earned in the second set, as the first half of the show, while strong, does little to stand out on its own. Llama opener rips pretty hard, and there's a sweet Mule worked in there, but only Stash really rises to the challenge. I do really love the early harmonic synchronization Trey and Mike land on, underlining the dark movements of the tune, and the final minutes that approach the song's end are more unique than many others. Solid first set, but where's the meat?

The answer to that question comes immediately after Trey announces the first quarter score of the NBA finals, launching my personal favorite segue-fest. Though this mega-stuffed Mike's Groove may not boast the same distance and ground explored as Tinley Park Antelope or Bomb Factory Tweezer, the energy and mood more than make up for any shortage of Type II jamming. Best Catapult and Icculus out there; the Midnight Rider theme carries the band far. The groove is only further sweetened by an immaculate transition into TMWSIY/Avenu/TMWSIY, which itself bleeds expertly into a beautiful DDLJ. Tack on a strong Fluffhead and a killer JJLC (along with some other loosies), and you've got yourself a bangin' second set. (Side note: I loooove the era of Cavern with Trey's wailing and bends at the end of each verse. Bring that shit back!)

Tight, well-played first set (Summer '94 is all that way for me) and the second set is one of those huge segue-fests, coming off another one about a week prior at the 6/17/94 OJ Show of renown. If you haven't heard the Icculus from this show, you've got to. That may seem silly to single out from the entire setlist, but Mike plays this arpeggio(?) that is really one of my favorite moments in Phishtory. Hey, if you can't cherish the little things... Speaking of fleeting moments, there's also the Hakeem banter... Relentless energy and inventiveness on display here, just a fantastic show.

It seems every eight months or so I dust this show off and give it a spin in hopes that I will recognize it’s brilliance. About two weeks ago, as I was driving home for the holidays, I threw this show on. My family is a 2 hour 45 minute drive away, the perfect amount of time to listen to a show, and on December 23, 2014, this show got the nod. Unfortunately, I’m still unconvinced that it deserves it's legendary status.

There’s no single glaringly bad element that stands out in this show. Coming at arguably the peak of Phish’s musical precision, the overall sloppiness of this show is perhaps the most negative trait worth noting. The brilliant thing about ’94 is that the trademark infectious energy that characterizes it trumps most any other negative qualities. But to me the slop is just a little too consistent throughout the show, specifically the second set, to really ignore. I wouldn’t even call myself a stickler when it comes to slop. If you've read my review of 10.21.14 you know I excuse the slop at the end of Birds with no qualms, but that slop is an isolated incident and not part of a slop-suite.

Many say the second set segues are ingenious, spontaneous, humorous, and energetic. I wish I had such good adjectives to describe them. The Mike’s Song centerpiece just sounds very disjointed. The constant sloppy segueing sounds like it’s trying to make up for directionless and uninspired jamming. That’s the major difference between this show and a show like the Bomb Factory. The segues from the Bomb Factory are arguably just as unexpected or disjointed, but they’re a compliment to, not a replacement for, awesome jamming. To my ears that isn’t the case with this show.

Truth be told: '94 is my favorite post ’97 year and I’d actually really like to love this show. It has *that* energy and a great song list, but in the end it just doesn’t come together for me.