Best Phish show

[Wolfman]

the total lack of respect for december 95 and 12/31/95 here is despicable people.

The only despicable thing are people who can\'t talk about Phish without putting down others.  

There is awesome Phish chatter going on here Klout.  Why don\'t you contribute to that?  I know you\'re capable of excellent elaboration on shows, so give us some.  Everyone posting clearly knows what they are talking about and has great insights into their favorite shows and eras.  Don\'t be that guy who just drops some date, says nothing about it, tells everyone else they suck, and disappears...you\'re better than that.

[Igziabeher]

any one i was at, couldn\'t have been that great if the greatness wasn\'t there to take it in.  6/30/00 the Meadows, since thats where I started my tour de force.

[Klout]

hey now I was not putting anyone down or telling anyone they suck!

poorly communicated interweb sarcasm, forgot to add my smilies and winkies

Do I need to hold your hand and break it down for you like a small child? (haha)

Seriously tho I am just astonished that besides leith, no one even MENTIONED NYE or the month that lead up to it.  Everyone I know holds both in the highest regards.

12/31/95 was arguably the pinnacle of their entire careers.

Every show in that month was just the perfect balance of uber-tightness, balls to the walls rock and roll, and epicness.  They really let loose like never before but kept it tight. You can literally put in ANY show from that month and it will be at least 9/10 performance.

"12/31/95 was one of several crucial peaks that Phish hit over their years, and many (probably myself included) consider this particular peak a notch above the rest. Don’t get me wrong…their other peaks were certainly worthy of nothing but gushing praise (plenty of August 93, Nov 94 Fall 97 & the Island Tour for example) but 12/31/95 rode the perfect plane between flawlessly executed composed sections nailed with dead-on precision, and reckless experimental abandon that explored moments of trancendence that were questioning and profound at the same time. “Tentative” was an adjective absent from Phish’s vernacular in December 1995. Their playing revealed a sense of urgency (not to be confused with hurried which has a different qualitative energy) and deftness of touch that changed into something slightly looser after this show. So more than just being a totally over-the-top performance, I believe this show has historical significance and it marks both a completion and a beginning for the band." -Syd Schwartz

I have aud mp3 of the whole month maybe I can do a torrent somewhere if anyone is really never given it a listen.

[Yoda]

Maybe it\'s because I\'m a WHO fan, I feel that 10/31/95 was one of their best shows and definitely the best Halloween cover show.  If there is a low point of that show for me, it would have to be the My Generation hoe-down, but who am I to complain.

I also really enjoyed 10/9/99, but again there is a WHO tie-in to that show as well.

[booztravlr]

As for best 2 set shows...I am a huge fan of 1998-12-29. Night 2 of a 4 night new years run.

Anyone else hit up this run? I was only 17 and took a Greyhound bus down to the city with a couple of my friends. Good times.

Wow booz we\'ve been living the same life.  I was 18 and took the Greyhound bus from Boston for that run too.  12/29/98 is indeed a great, great show.  Right out of the gate Page SHREDS the vox on Rock N Roll and you can taste the greatness in the air...

Haha, that\'s awesome! I had to bail on the 3 night Worcester shows a month earlier so I could afford the new years run. While 1998-11-27 is an amazing show, I don\'t regret my decision.

Big Cypress was probably the pinnacle of band/fan experiences. We squeezed 6 people in a rented 80\'s Caravan and drove non-stop from north NJ to Miami. I was stuck in the middle row with my friend and neither of us had a headrest. It didn\'t matter though. This trip is when my ears were opened up to good music. I recall James Brown - Star Time (4 CD box set) was played in its entirety from late in the night until sunrise. It totally wiped out any knowledge I had for what \'good\' music was and gave me a new insight on musical appreciation. Then Big Cypress went down and I couldn\'t believe what I had witnessed. Fortunately I was prepared for the midnight to sunrise set with 8g of Oregon Blue Caps.

Chasing that same high I went to Deer Creek and Columbus (5 shows) in Summer of 2000. We settled in a night early for Phil and Friends w/ Bob Dylan as an opener (I think). The setup was like a mini-festival which created a huge buzz around the camp grounds. The Moby Dick show was a blast! The only thing I have against it was how much of a pain in the ass it was to keep a setlist that night...especially on shrooms.

In 2003 I did something that not many other people can claim. I saw Phish play in all 4 corners of the U.S. that year. Summer tour I caught the first 6 shows in Phoenix, San Diego, Mtn. View, the Gorge and then IT to close out the tour. Then the 4 night run in Miami for new years. While none of it contained any epic shows, I had a great time meeting new people and seeing the country.

SPAC 2004 was probably the peak of post-hiatus. I highly recommend night two set two to anyone who has not heard it.

Anyone go to the Clifford Ball or Great Went?

[solver]

any one i was at, couldn\'t have been that great if the greatness wasn\'t there to take it in. 6/30/00 the Meadows, since thats where I started my tour de force.

that show was sick, so was second night. my friend went 7/1 for his first show. liquid + boomers = lost his shit, thought he could fly, and ran naked into the crowd above the seats at the beginning of set 2. the glowstick war during first tube was something he wasn\'t ready to handle with a head full of drugs. emts found him and brought him to hartford hospital where he flipped out for the rest of the night. i had the same headful, and that swept away>steep was brutally glorious. anywho, i called him up the week after and asked him if he wanted to do fall tour. he said yes without hesitating.
 
man, i don\'t like getting nostalgic about this band; so much more than just the music, it\'s hard to look back at it all. alright, sorry for blubbering. just wondering if anyone got run over by a naked samoan at that show, and if so, sorry we didn\'t have a tighter reign on him.
 
vegas fall \'00? night 1 [and obviously night 2]? just puttin\' it out there. all was good until kid "cock" rock showed up. love "spock\'s brain"

[Vassillios]

ok i\'ll give some credit to the august \'93 crowd now...

jonathan schwartz just played 8/14/93 on gone phishin\' tonight and i gotta say it was off the hook. somethin like 2001>antelope>sparks>walk away>antelope>have mercy>antelope... fuckin crazzzeeeeee

[ds673488]

yeah most would put that show in the epic category...that would be the 2nd set with that combo your talking about