This is my original review (typos and all) from rec.music.phish titled "West Palm Beach Crosseyed and Painless" posted November 6, 1996 at 3 am:

Hello everyone,
I have recently returned from a rather hellacious roadtrip in
which I enjoyed every second (you know the kind). Almost 3,000 miles
roundtrip from Chicago->Atlanta->Fort Meyers->West Palm Beach->Chicago.
But oh was it worth it...

I have a lot to say about Haloween but so does everyone else. I
have only seen commentary by Saul and Alan on the West Palm Beach show so
I thought I would add my own.

First of all, south Florida is just an amazing place. If you read
Saul's review, we traveled together and had a splendid time. Before the
show on Saturday we went to Sanibel and Captiva islands and went swimming
and it was truly cleansing of the soul. Staring at my computer screen on
this shitty day in the Midwest is a far cry from my weekend.

Getting on to the Phish, the Crosseyed and Painless jam was just
phenomenal. It is a very hard jam to describe since I don't have any
tapes. The jam itself lasted 25 minutes and was just bliss. Carl on
percussion adds so much to the Phish sound that it makes it so much more
dense. He is quite a treat to listen to. This jam was not like many
other long, incredible jams I've seen in the last year (12/9, 6/26, 6/14,
12/29, etc). I don't remember it having a really huge climax. It was
just raw permagroove. I felt like I was at a dance party (even though
I've never been to one;) with the most amazing music conceivable
surrounding me. I had no choice but to dance. And the Antelope was just
spectacular. I have seen some of the greats (10/24, 12/12, 8/12) recently
and this one measured up in every sense.

And to close, two very funny moments that occured during this
show:

1. In the middle of Waste, some drunk guy in front of my didn't yell the
usual "Trey" or "Fishman". He just yelled "PHISH" at the top of his
lungs. This was even during the beginning with just Trey singing and
playing. Wow!

and 2. During Sweet Adeline, THE CROWD STARTED CLAPPING. Try and invision
this inside of your head. I don't think I could if I hadn't witnessed it
myself. I remember people complaining about clapping during the MSG Hood.
How about Sweet Adeline???

Get this set. You will not be disappointed.

Drew

PS Palm trees...

This is my long, rambling review as it was originally posted on rec.music.phish 12/8/96 at 3 am typos and all. It was titled: "San Diego Review - 12/4/96 (Raving and Long)"

Hello everybody,
I have just returned from a trip which took me to the wonderful
cities of Pheonix and San Diego. I wrote a long review of the Pheonix show
in the computer commons of Arizona State the next night but I was unable to
post and have since lost it. Oh well. Here is my opinion of an
unbelievable show:

The scene for this show was unbelievably pleasant. The weather
obviously was much kinder than some of the other shows I've seen this tour
(Pittsburgh or Champaign to name a couple). But most importantly, the scene
was very small and managable. A security guard told me that they only sold
5200 tickets with a capacity of 10,000! It was really nice to see Phish in
such an intimate setting. I haven't seen a crowd that small in about my
last 40 shows. The security was the best I've been with in years as well.
I had a general admission floor seat and saw ABSOLUTELY NO security on the
entire floor other than the soundboard area for any time the band was making
music. At least the two completely different places I stood for each set.
The crowd seemed very relaxed as a result of this. I also didn't personally
any police officers inside the venue. I'm sure there were some there but
they really weren't very visible because I walked around the arena several
times. The combination of a small crowd, general admission, and mellow cops
and security gave me a really good vibe from the beginning. Now to the music.
The My Friend was a truly inspired version. This was my ninth time
seeing this tune open a show and it was probably the best I've seen. At one
point, Fishman played a fill that was incredibly more busy than it usually
is. Trey's head wipped around and he gave Fishman a great big smile as
Tubbs continued to whack away.
The Chalkdust Torture was a perfect match for the very powerful My
Friend. Right before Trey's solo, he looked at someone in the first or
second row, stuck out his tongue, and shook his head back and forth as if he
were the devil. It was a very similar phenomenon to him pumping his fist in
the air twice at Red Rocks before his solo in Julius. Needless to say, it
made me very happy. He then preceeded to blow the shit out of the
Chalkdust. Quite an impressive build up and an awesome and much more
extended than usual climax.
For some reason, Horn seemed a lot slower and kept my interest much
more intensely than it usually does. I was just mezmerised by the delicacy
that Fishman played with throughout.
Uncle Pen was a very nice treat that I had not seen for quite a few
shows. And country-ish toons always are proceeded by something really
nice...Timber (Jerry) (thanks Dean). This was a very extended version that
a very nice jam with Trey doing some real wailing.
The next present (yet very temporary) was that Trey didn't actually
play the Sample solo note for note like he has the other 15 times I've seen
the song. He actually was improvising until the climax which he ALWAYS
plays note for note. This was followed by the first electric Trainsong that
I've seen and I thought it transferred rather well. Then the set got really
fun...
I had not seen a Guyute in over ten shows and it was a very tight
version. I found myself staring in amazement at Fishman's energy throughout
this entire song (yes I do listen to other people than Trey). When they
started Character Zero I immediately looked at my watch to see what time it
was in the set. I was very surprised to see that it was only 52 minutes
into the set because they have been closing a lot of first sets with it.
And the set was going much to nicely to end under an hour. When they
started Lizards I was even more confused because I have never seen them end
a set with it.
At this point I was honestly expecting a Cavern or something along
those lines to make the set a usual 60 some minutes. Needless to say I was
elated when they started Bowie, which to my delight ran 15 minutes and was a
very, very good version. The build was evil and amazingly intense as always
and the band really brought the place down with the ending. Quite an
impressive first set. Easily the best of the 8 I've seen this tour with the
obvious exception of Haloween (thank you Charlie for the tapes).
Set two opened with my first Ha Ha Ha since Portland last fall.
Then I got what I had been waiting for the entire tour: A Mike's Song which
absolutely blew my shit away. Ever since Deer Creek and Plattsburgh I had
been waiting for another Mike's that was this good and finally got one. I
especially love Mike's so early in the set as it allows them a lot of
liberty as to where it goes. The Mike's was easily one of the top three or
four that I've seen and ran 17 minutes of bliss. The strobe section was
extra riveting for some reason and the band slipped some PermaGroove in
there for good measure. It was the hardest I've danced all tour (with the
obvious exception of Haloween;).
I was so happy with the direction that this show was going that I
actually sang along and danced with both Prince Caspian and Sparkle (not two
songs you will often hear me calling for at a Phish show). Following the
"after country song" rule, PYITE was really slow and really hard. I have
personally never heard Trey so pissed off at Wilson before;)
Life On Mars is always a welcome treat and it nice to hear Page
singing this one better with every version that I hear. What a tough job on
the vocals!
I have come to the conclusion that the key to eternal happiness is a
second set Reba (see St. Paul). This Reba just wailed. Plain and simple.
The build was incredibly long and trey did this unbelievably effective
repeated dotted quarter note rhythm at the climax over and over again. It
was truly a magical moment.
The Lawn Boy was absolutely hilarious as Trey dedicated it to two
girls who catered the entire tour for the band. This was the last night
that they cooked and he announced that Page would sing them both a love
song. As the band vamped, Trey reached down to the front row and pulled
each girl up and slow danced with them as the entire crowd roared in approval.
The Groove was nice but nothing close to the Mike's. The band came
down in the middle similar to the Champaign one and thanked the crowd for
coming blah blah blah.
Possibly the highlight of the entire show musically for me was the
encore, which is a big turnaround from all of the Fee's, Rocky Top's, and
Golgi's that I've seen. This Jesus Left Chicago made both Haloween '95 and
'96 sound like the band didn't know what they were doing. Page's solo was
easily one of the best things that I have ever heard him play. But of
course, Sir Trey was not going to be outdone. Right as his solo was wailing
to the point of almost not being real anymore the entire band dropped off of
a sonic cliff. Just Fishman with his bass drum and rim shots. This dynamic
contrast instantly reminded me of the Madison Antelope from last year's Fall
Tour. Wow! It also lasted ten minutes.

So, to sum it up I would put this show in probably my top five or
six shows that I've seen. There were so many highlights that it was hard to
keep track of them all. The tunes in combination with the scene made it a
day and trip that I will never forget.

If you actually read this far, thanks for listening to the longest
review that I have ever subjected r.m.p to...

Drew

PS Oh yeah, an 8.9 on the SJRP (Scott Jordan Review Poll).

The acoustic set is delicious - songs like Army of One, McGrupp, and Curtain With(!!) really come alive in this stripped-down setting. For fans it's a must-hear for historical reasons, but it's also surprising evidence that the band could just do acoustic shows if they wanted to, and still make a fine living. Lovely.

Set 2 is a weird, rocky thing. Bag through Heavy Things is a superb run of tight/loose tunes, then things go a little haywire. There's some tension in Reba - Trey pushes for a fast tempo in the opening but the band holds back, and though 'the chase' is fine, the transition into the jam is a trainwreck. The resulting jam is equally tense, not gelling as it normally does - check out Fish's weirdly standoffish middle-school drumming in the first half of the jam. Trey's playing on Reba through Melt led some listeners to believe he'd fallen off the wagon, an uncharitable assumption...in any case, Wedge and Guelah are eerily bad, Undermind is astonishingly good (because Trey goes absolutely batshit during the jam, driving the whole thing to new heights of intensity), and Melt is a weird hear-it-to-understand nightmare. It's hard to rate this set; it's worth hearing but I don't know how often I'll listen to anything but that blistering Undermind.

Apparently a conversation took place between sets 2 and 3!

The band goes deep right away: a big bold echt-2009 Tweezer segues slyly into a huge Maze. Fishman is a *monster* on these first tunes - he drives the segue into Maze, which he singlehandedly turns into a must-hear version. It's a standard thrilling 2009 Free, all bass bombs and barroom funk, though I seem to recall the return-to-song chords being a little shaky at first. The boys pull it together and pretty much *nail* the vocals on the way back, thank heavens. After a riotous Sugar Shack we get a celebratory LxL and compact Theme (again, forceful vocals).

Some fans thought Mike's Song might not show up at all, but it arrived with bells on in the middle of this final set, with a big surprise waiting after the closing chords: 2001. It's a cheeky midtempo version, very Page-centric (like so many of the weekend's best jams), and clears the way for the deep-space jam of the weekend, the darkest Light of the year. That setlist should real Light > Jam > Slave; the transitional passage between the two songs is really its own creature, fully seven minutes long. Slave is what you'd hope: patient, delicate, cathartic.

And that encore? As good as it looks, with Grind containing - by the way - its steadiest 'for a grand total of...' section yet.

11/1/09 III is an immediate contender for set of the year, though I'd go with the most abstract late-summer stuff first. But it's a Fenway-style late-night blowout with better jamming, including that one transcendent run of songs that otherwise very fine shows like Fenway are missing. Sets 1 and 3 are the ones to get if you're stingy with hard drive space, though you ought to make room for that Undermind as well.

Best birthday ever.

This show had some interesting things going on. One of them being the unbelievable start with Chalkdust Torture to the sputtering version of Fee. I am not one to knock points off for lyric flubs, in fact, sometimes it makes them more memorable, so Trey's mess up with the lyrics is not why I gave this song a 2. It was something else. I love this song, but the beat seemed to be off a little bit. I have noticed that there seems to be a bit off confusing starting off this song for the band generally. It's almost as if they seem unsure about it. It's almost like they just start playing with the hope of eventually joining together in some ambiguous future. It might make a difference if Trey began with a little lick or maybe even Page with a few tickles to the ivories but I can't really get behind the way they have been starting it lately. Chalkdust Torture is usually a great show starter and this version definately didn't dissappoint. The only other exceptional piece in the first set seemed to be First Tube. The highlights of the second set were Sand, Joy, and Run Like an Antelope. This was the second time this summer a debut (Joy) received 5 stars. Trey has always been a great songwriter. He just keeps getting better. This is a great song.

Set I
Chalk Dust Torture:*****
Fee:**
Wolfman's Brother:****
Guyute:**
My Sweet One:***
46 Days:***
The Lizards:***
The Wedge:***
Strange Design:***
Tube:***
First Tube:*****

Set II
Sand:*****
Suzy Greenberg:***
Limb By Limb:***
The Horse:***
Silent In The Morning:***
Sugar Shack:**
Character Zero:****
Tweezer:***

Encore
Joy:*****
Bouncing Around the Room:****
Run Like An Antelope:*****
Tweezer Reprise:****

GHI: 3.4/5.0
Batting Average: .686 (76/115)

The two ratings are Batting Average and GHI. Both are defined below.
BA: The total number of stars achieved divided by the total possible stars a concert can achieve. Each song can achieve a total possible 5 stars, 5 being the best, 0 being the worst. Therefore, each show receives anywhere from a 1.0 to a .001.

GHI: This rating is used in The Phish Companion 2nd Ed. Each show is given a score from 0 to 5, five being the best and 0 being the worst.

The two scores are synonymous. I like the BA form better because each show receives a score closer to its worth depending on how you rated it.

This was an interesting show. Simply put, I think the first set wasn't exceptional, the second set was. It is kind of odd, but the highest score from the first set I gave to the debut song: Let Me Lie. I know what you are thinking, "Oh, he's just a sucker for those slow songs." If it makes you feel any better, I gave it a four out of five. I just thought it was good. The second set was a pretty amazing set. If the first set was as good, this show would have received outrageous scores. This show ended up in the middle of the road as far as the rest of the shows of the summer go, but the second set has to be one of the best sets of the summer. Seven below was a great song to start with. I loved that album and those simple little riffs are just amazing. I gave Fluffhead, Scent of a Mule, Harry Hood, Possum, and Contact all a five. Scent of a Mule is one of those songs that they don't play nearly enough. I wish that song was one of their staples. It has such a Mike influence but is so much more quarky than their other bluegrass-type songs. Harry Hood is pretty high on my favorite song list and it generally gets anywhere from a three to a five. Fluffhead was a huge surprise for me. I am a little less critical if there are some mistakes in that song just because of it's difficulty but still, in the past, it hasn't been one of my favorites. This version was amazing, though. Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan was the weak link. It is a good song but I think there are some things that need to be hashed out with that song.

Set I
Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan:**
Nothing:***
Back On The Train:***
Golgi Apparatus:***
Sparkle:***
Gotta Jibboo:***
Lawn Boy:***
Let Me Lie:****
Taste:***
Makisupa Policeman:***
Prince Caspian:****

Set II
Seven Below:****
Fluffhead:*****
Scent of a Mule:*****
Heavy Things:****
Harry Hood:*****
Possum:*****
Bug:****

Encore
Contact:*****
Julius:****

GHI: 3.7/5.0
Batting Average: .750 (75/100)

The two ratings are Batting Average and GHI. Both are defined below.
BA: The total number of stars achieved divided by the total possible stars a concert can achieve. Each song can achieve a total possible 5 stars, 5 being the best, 0 being the worst. Therefore, each show receives anywhere from a 1.0 to a .001.

GHI: This rating is used in The Phish Companion 2nd Ed. Each show is given a score from 0 to 5, five being the best and 0 being the worst.

The two scores are synonymous. I like the BA form better because each show receives a score closer to its worth depending on how you rated it.

Best Tweezer ever!

I would not skip this show!

The Ghost was great and the whole 2nd set is great. You can hear that they were ready to
jam as soon as then stepped foot on the stage in the 2nd set. The Stash was a killer opener.
The Julius was so rocking! The jam is swinging so hard and it was nice to hear a song take
the spot light in 2nd set that normally wouldn't be there and the Slave is killer.

1. Do not skip this show.
2. do not skip any 97 shows.

According to my scores, this show was the third worst show of the summer. It got a Gotta Have It Rating of 3.1, though, and if you look at the Gotta Have It ratings from the 2nd Ed. of the Phish Companion, 3.1 is actually pretty good. I think I have been rating these summer shows higher than usual, but then I think I rate shows generally higher than everyone else anyway. I am critical, though, I think. Sorry to those of you out there who think I am too soft. The highlight of this show was Kill Devil Falls. This song should be voted the best song of the summer. I love this song. It is so good. One of the best Phish has ever written. I don't want to give sole credit to Trey but he did a good job here. This song is unreal. A true rock song. A song about a woman who leaves for no reason. A song about an insensitive man. The lyrics "Who knew a day would turn into a week," and "I learned my lesson until I do it again. WOOOOOOOOOO!" Man, I love this song. Among the other highlights are I Didn't Know (always a great song), Ya Mar, and Backwards Down the Number Line. Suprisingly, 2001, Boogie on Reggae Woman, and AC/DC Bag were the weak links.

Set I
Wilson:***
Buried Alive:***
Kill Devil Falls:*****
AC/DC Bag:**
I Didn't Know:****
My Friend, My Friend:***
Ya Mar:****
Theme From The Bottom:***
Boogie On Reggae Woman:**
Split Open and Melt:***

Set II
Down With Disease:***
Twist:***
Piper:***
Backwards Down the Number Line:*****
Free:***
Twenty Years Later:***
2001:**
Slave to the Traffic Light:***

Encore
A Day In The Life:***

GHI: 3.1/5.0
Batting Average: .621 (59/95)

The two ratings are Batting Average and GHI. Both are defined below.
BA: The total number of stars achieved divided by the total possible stars a concert can achieve. Each song can achieve a total possible 5 stars, 5 being the best, 0 being the worst. Therefore, each show receives anywhere from a 1.0 to a .001.

GHI: This rating is used in The Phish Companion 2nd Ed. Each show is given a score from 0 to 5, five being the best and 0 being the worst.

The two scores are synonymous. I like the BA form better because each show receives a score closer to its worth depending on how you rated it.

Let me start by saying that I thought this show was tied for the fifth worst show of the summer. There were a few strong songs and only one that I really thought was excellent, that being Ghost. A few words on Ghost: I often think this is a bad, bad live song. It is one of my favorite studio songs but I don't feel like they have every really been able to transfer the studio versions strengths to the stage. The chorus has always seemed flat and weak. This version is the exception. This is one of the only Ghost's that I have given a five. It was the highlight of the show. Some other highlights were Grind, Divided Sky, The Squirming Coil, and Rock & Roll. Also, I don't know if there are those of you out there that have problems with Drowned. That is one of Phish's covers that I have always doubted. Especially since their comeback. I really don't think that song is anywhere near Mike's vocal range and often it almost hurts to hear him try to sing that high. Plus, there are so many other Who covers that would be fun to hear from the Quadrophenia album alone. Why not Love, Reign O'er Me or even The Real Me. I have problems with Drowned. I guess I might be the only one. Here are my individual scores:

Set I:
Grind:****
The Divided Sky:****
Ocelot:***
The Squirming Coil:****
Punch You In The Eye:***
Dirt:***
NICU:***
Ghost:*****
Run Like An Antelope:***

Set II:
Water In The Sky:***
Birds Of A Feather:***
Drowned:*
Jones Beach Jam:***
Meatstick:***
Time Turns Elastic:***
Waste:**
You Enjoy Myself:***

Encore
Rock & Roll:****

GHI: 3.1/5.0
Batting Average: .633 (57/90)

The two ratings are Batting Average and GHI. Both are defined below.
BA: The total number of stars achieved divided by the total possible stars a concert can achieve. Each song can achieve a total possible 5 stars, 5 being the best, 0 being the worst. Therefore, each show receives anywhere from a 1.0 to a .001.

GHI: This rating is used in The Phish Companion 2nd Ed. Each show is given a score from 0 to 5, five being the best and 0 being the worst.

The two scores are synonymous. I like the BA form better because each show receives a score closer to its worth depending on how you rated it.

This was a fun show. The Gumbo was super funky and cool. The piano solo in Lizards is still
burned into my memory. It is one of my favorite Lizards because of this. Mikes bass in
wolfman's>Free was rattling the entire venue. Limb by limb was very cool too. The Chalkdust was super
high energy. Treys solo was almost like an Antelope style solo. Trippy.

My initial reaction for this show was surprise at how fast Phish stepped into their element. I expected this type of quality show around the end of June. Certainly not the second show into the tour. Among the highlights were If I Could, Harry Hood, and Suzy Greenberg. Another notable, and possibly the highlight, was the requested "Kill Devil Falls." I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be the first debut to ever be requested. I assume someone heard the wonderful soundcheck version of this in Boston and requested. I admit, the first time I heard it, I was sure it would become one of my favorites. This show for me tied for fourth for the summer tour. Here are the individual song scores:

Set I:
Runaway Jim:****
Foam:**
Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan:**
Timber:***
Cities:***
Driver:****
Reba:****
Possum:***
Farmhouse:****
If I Could:*****

Set II:
Mike's Song >:****
Simple:****
Wolfman's Brother >:****
Weekapaug Groove:****
When The Circus Comes To Town:****
Kill Devil Falls:****
Harry Hood >:*****
Loving Cup:****

Encore:
Suzy Greenberg:*****

GHI: 3.7/5.0
Batting Average: .757 (72 Stars/95 Stars)

The two ratings are Batting Average and GHI. Both are defined below.
BA: The total number of stars achieved divided by the total possible stars a concert can achieve. Each song can achieve a total possible 5 stars, 5 being the best, 0 being the worst. Therefore, each show receives anywhere from a 1.0 to a .001.

GHI: This rating is used in The Phish Companion 2nd Ed. Each show is given a score from 0 to 5, five being the best and 0 being the worst.

The two scores are synonymous. I like the BA form better because each show receives a score closer to its worth depending on how you rated it.

The sun was so hot this weekend and there was nowhere you could go to get out of it.
This was one of the coolest feeling at a Phish show was watching the sun set behind the gorge
to Divided Sky and it felt like the band was jamming to the sun and everyone cheered like crazy when the
sun fell behind the gorge. It gave me the hebejebeez and it still does thinking about it.

This was such a great weekend. It felt like we were walking to mecca heading into the show.
In the middle of the dessert following this string of people to this big black box of a stage.

Among the highlights for this show were Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Poor Heart, Tweezer, David Bowie, and You Enjoy Myself. My overall reaction was that it is going to take some time for these guys to get to a point where they are going to create sounds they never have before. It turns out, after listening to the entire summer tour, that they totally exceeded all of my expectations. Of the summer shows, this show received the fourth weakest score.

Set I: 1. Star Spangled Banner: ★★★; 2. Sample In A Jar: ★★★; 3. The Moma Dance: ★★★; 4. Chalk Dust Torture: ★★★; 5. Ocelot: ★★★; 6. Stash: ★★★★; 7. Bouncing Around The Room: ★★★★; 8. Poor Heart: ★★★★; 9. Limb By Limb: ★★; 10. Wading in the Velvet Sea: ★★; 11. Down With Disease: ★★★; 12. Destiny Unbound: ★★; 13. Character Zero: ★★★

Set II: 14. Tweezer: ★★★★; 15. Light: ★★★; 16. Bathtub Gin: ★★★; 17. David Bowie: ★★★★; 18. Time Turns Elastic: ★★★; 19. Free: ★★★; 20. Curtis Lowe: ★★★; 21. You Enjoy Myself: ★★★★

Encore: 22. Cavern: ★★★; 23. Good Times, Bad Times: ★★★; 24. Tweezer Reprise: ★★★

GHI: 3.1/5.0
Batting Average: .625 (75 Stars/120 Stars)

The two ratings are Batting Average and GHI. Both are defined below.
BA: The total number of stars achieved divided by the total possible stars a concert can achieve. Each song can achieve a total possible 5 stars, 5 being the best, 0 being the worst. Therefore, each show receives anywhere from a 1.0 to a .001.

GHI: This rating is used in The Phish Companion 2nd Ed. Each show is given a score from 0 to 5, five being the best and 0 being the worst.

The two scores are synonymous. I like the BA form better because each show receives a score closer to its worth depending on how you rated it.

I got into Phish right before Coventry, so I had the terrible misfortune to never see them live. Listened to them non-stop since '04, and I finally got to see them here. The venue was terrible, it was a square soccer stadium, wasn't made for music. However, this was the first time I've ever seen Phish, so I kinda got over it. Happy to hear Sample, one of my favorite "non-jammed" songs. Gumbo was great, I've heard so many recording of that song that it was nice to hear it live. The first set was plain, nothing to fancy or nothing to bad to say about it.
On the flip side, the second set is why I fell in love with phish to begin with. You can read the songs, all of them were great. It was a great set of Phish that will be hard to top. Loving Cup was a good encore.

Favorite parts:
1. Carini 2. Harry Hood 3. Wilson>2001>Chalk Dust 4. Ending the concert on Coil, with Page's extended outro.