This show was very special to all who were lucky enough to be there.

But, that's what everyone says about most every show they've ever played! But, that's how I feel about it just the same.

It was the last time seeing them felt like it was a word-of-mouth band, or a cult band, as far for my personal experience. The little gym wasn't packed, there was enough room for everyone to move and dance. The 'security' was some freshman looking girls in bright yellow jackets. I only saw them on the way in and on the way out.

The band was very much on and in a good mood. You can hear this in the tapes as there is a bit of bantering. They also do the Vibration of Life which was incredible. That was so unreal. I wish they would do that again sometime, but it might not work as well in a huge hockey hall.

The show they played is fantastic. It has some incredible jams that have been talked about for years by others, so I won't go into too much detail. Set one, the Simple through Antelope needs to be heard and turned up loud. Second Set, all of it is excellent and very deftly played (despite some minor flubs which I don't notice nor care about). Fishman is the MVP, he is just phenomenal. And, his humor is very much in evidence here... his adlibs this night still make me smile to this day!!

The encore was really beautiful and the way Trey spoke to the crowd was very cool. They felt an affinity for the NC mountain town Boone (and Asheville), and you can hear that in their playing.

The only thing that might hold this back from being a 5 star gig is that they stopped and started a few times during each set, and didn't keep an extended flow from all the songs into another, but I think this made this show interesting because it was totally unpredictable what they were going to play next. I guess not much has changed!

This show was also the last time I showed up to a gig, in the winter, with no place to sleep sorted out! We managed to find floor space with some local kind people who were friends with a girl that was tagging along with us (her first gig).

Listen to more Phish!!

So we were leaving the show in Atlanta the night before and Jeff told me "it's your turn to drive tonight" My response was "I don't have a license dude" Jeff"neither do I dude!" So that was that I was driving. unfortunately I had taken L during set break and I was still pretty high when we left. I do not recommend anyone doing this ever. It was a terrible idea but I was a young kid and I just did it. The drive from Atlanta to Boone was really fucking far. At least it seemed that way. Jeff woke up at 8am or so and saw that I wasn't doing too well so he took over the driving duties thank god. We got on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is the most beautiful road on the East Coast. It was late October and all the trees were changing color . it was stunning. I was still high and the scenery was stupendous. THis is the other reason to tour. It's not all about the shows and the scene. You get to see this wonderful country of ours up close and personal...

So we get to Boone and I was kind of worried about getting a ticket. I shouldn't have been because I walked right up to the box office and I was in. I believe it was 15 bucks... The venue was a college gym. A rectangular box so not the best acoustics. The recording I've heard of this night is pretty terrible quality but I blame the room. Trey had let the tour know that he was practicing the fiddle. We all thought he would break it out in Boone but it was not to be. We also thought it would be a heavy bluegrass night but it didn't turn out that way. The Greenpeace Mike chant during YEM was a fantastic way to thank a guy who was living the dream. Helping the Earth while seeing Phish every night. I used to stash my jacket at his booth every night... The Bowie was also fantastic with lots of weird backup vocals from Fish. I love that shit.
Great night in a beautiful town... Their booking agent really scored a touchdown on this tour. They hit some amazing venues/towns.

Halloween came early in 1994 for all the phans in Boone. I was so stoked about this show then, and it is still the pride of my show list. How many people live in tiny-ass towns (outside of VT) and can say the boys have been to play in your crappy school gym?

The acoustic encore still makes me smile like a phool every time I hear it. This was the show that cemented the boys in my heart.

Love everything about this show. This is Boone's Halloween show and the only time Phish has ever played in my heady home town.

Simple opener, one of there earlier versions of the song; Fishman breathes heavily into the mic to start the show, gettin freaky to start off... the old Simples holding the simbob and beepafone longer and more vocal action.

It's Ice, Mike goes crazy...awesome break down. you'll have to check it out.

NICU, great song, Page

Run like an Antelope...teases yes, ripper yes...break down after heavy jam is jungleish, spooky jungleish, big drum junga, really kool stuff run run run run run run run

First early version of guyute ive ever heard. spacier intro than present versions, refer to it's ice

dog faced boy was played well and scent of a mule kicks ass
o kee pah is always fun, suzy suzy suzy, stando version, nice jammin on runaway jim to end the first

second set is wild

high energy rift, bouncing comes to continue anticipation

Reba is very well executed. the jam starts out slow and you just ride the wave really...trey plays awesome as usual but turn your ears on page in this one, he's the perfect glue and his sound is a beaut

Axilla Part 2 - Love this song, like the lyrics more than part 1 and the spooky jam at the end (even spooky than normal in this one)..too bad they haven't played it since 97

YEM - Vibro - YEM - awesomely 1994...hardcore jamming, simple teases, trey's nerdy vibro speech, flat weird and scary vocal jam ex... washhaaaaa, sheee uhhh, ha ha ha, catapulting down town, favoritefianeinalavendergound (yea that fast).... sorry, i lost it there but seriously GREEN PEACE MIKE!

thank you for the hyhu and cracklin rosie break, that was too weird, but amazing

Just when you think you couldn't get anymore, "the cows come out to play!!!!!!!" with high hats from none other than john fishman fishman fish.... rockin socks sik and yet again very weird metalish bowie type 1 type 2 type 5 and type 19 jamming going on here

I loved Phish during this time with their weird setlists, more vocal improv, and high energy sets, wish i couldve been at this one, sometimes i feel i was when i listen to it. im from boone but was only 8 when this show was going on... shoulda been a decade earlier....

Listen to this show

This show starts off with Simple, which is still in its infancy and was attached to Mike’s Song more often than not at this point. This is the second time it opened a show, after doing do so for the first time just a couple of shows earlier. It does an admirable job although the band doesn’t start to take it anywhere until the upcoming Halloween show. The It’s Ice that follows is excellent, as at first it shows the band completely in synch and then they do some nice exploring.

Moving through NICU, the band arrives at a mid-set Antelope that is full of energy. I always love it when this song appears in anywhere other than its traditional set closing placement so this is a welcome spot. Next up is Guyute, which continues to get better since its debut earlier in the month. Dog Faced Boy is a nice breather before Mule, which is fine, and we move to the solidly played and energetic set-ending Oh Kee Pah > Suzy > Jim sequence.

Set II begins with a well-executed Rift, followed by BATR, and then into Reba. Reba had a banner year in ‘94 and this version exemplifies this. While not quite on par with my favorite versions from the year (check out 7.6.94, 10.18.94 & 10.31.94, which are all phenomenal), this version comes pretty close.

The YEM is another highlight, containing a Vibration of Life and the Catapult lyrics during the vocal jam. I’m surprised this doesn’t count as Catapult actually being played and it’s not clear why, other than because it’s part of the vocal jam? The set-closing Bowie is more classic Fall ‘94 excellence, with strong playing in the structured segments, and frenzied chaos in the jam that follows. Between the Reba, YEM and Bowie, this is a monstrous set.

I really like this show, and it’s worthy of a couple of listens.

I am reviewing this by listening to the AKG c1000 Audience source.

Simple opener, not sure how rare that is, but gets you ready right off the bat.

A strong It's Ice segues into a tentative NICU and then we really get moving with a fantastic Antelope, complete with Machine Gun Trey.

For all the flub-watchers, the transition during Guyute is rather rough...as is the end of Mule which had been really good until the transition into Oh Kee Pa.

Flubs and a rough finish during the 2nd set opener of Rift.

Bouncing doesn't really bear a review as pretty much all versions are identical.

The Reba provides a good liftoff though, pretty much nailed with some very good playing and a nice Trey solo to finish.

A rough but high-energy Axilla part 2 follows and then kind of fades out into the YEM intro which quickly morphs into Vibration of Life and then nicely back into YEM.

After some HYHU silliness and a fine Cracklin Rosie, Bowie gets a slow start with Fishman? saying "When the cows come out to play..." well this Bowie is pretty solid and sure packs the beef.

A nice trio of Nellie Kane, Foreplay/Longtime and an Amazing Grace round out a solid if not spectacular show from fall 1994.

This Runaway Jim is such a cheeky add-on. Suzy Greenberg finishes comfortably north of the 1-hour mark, but instead of wrapping up the set, as most could have been forgiven for expecting, they dive into Jim. Bravo.

The Antelope is awesome. Reba doesn't hit those July 94 heights but is plenty good.

There are hints of Simple and Boogie On Reggae Woman from Mike in the latter part of YEM.

I listened to the official LivePhish “Hurricane Relief” archival release of this show last night, one of two shows which Phish released to help support recovery efforts for the areas of the southern and southeastern U.S. that were devastated by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton (two massive hurricanes, which made landfall back-to-back within a couple weeks of each other in late Sep./early Oct. of 2024, and which combined to cause over 280 combined deaths and at least $209 billion USD in damages.)

As a rule, I am generally a fan of the archival releases that Phish puts out into the world - out of the depths of a catalogue as deep as theirs, anything from the vault they decide to publish in an official capacity years later is likely to be excellent - but especially when it’s in support of a great cause like this, I’m all in.

That said, this show took a while to win me over on a musical level. I listened all the way through the show, and up until around midway through the second set, I was honestly still on the fence about it. As a rule, if I judge the show to be 4.5+ (or 9/10+), I round that up to 5. Many if not most archival releases will get there for me. But at the end of the first set, this show was probably a 4.1, maybe getting up to a 4.2. “Antelope” is always a fun time, the early, spooky-sounding “Guyute” was pretty cool, and SOAM had some great energy on the backside piano jam, but - certainly by 1994 standards - it was overall mid, imho.

Granted, ‘94 Phish playing mid is still worth your time, money, and energy, but in comparison to some of the all-time shows that they put on around that same timeframe, it was nothing special.

The fiery, über-energetic “Reba” (measuring even by the crazy-high standards they were setting for that particular number during this era), placed early in Set 2, did help push the show a bit closer to that tipping point of 4.5+ for me. But it wasn’t until they entered into what must be considered one of their all-time YEMs (complete with detours to helpfully explain the Vibration of Life to their audience and to Catapult them forward into a vocal jam conclusion that resolved in a delightfully deranged “Greenpeace Mike!” finale chant) that I felt I’d found the show’s heart (and the raison d’être for the archival release of this show in particular).

The vicious, up-tempo Bowie jam as set closer just affirmed that this was, in fact, a show fully worthy of its noble aims (and five-star rating), achieved with aplomb.

But the moment that became what will be remembered as my favorite part of the show was yet to come.

Emerging for the Encore, Trey told the crowd that he and the other band members had all enjoyed a lovely time during their first time (and, at time of writing, still their only) visiting the small college town (population, c. the 1990 iteration of the U.S. census: 12,915) of Boone, NC, spread out across a patch of slopes and valleys within North Carolina’s stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountain range.

Boone, NC has the highest elevation (3,333 feet, or 1,016 meters, above sea level) of any U.S. town located east of the Mississippi River, “which gives Boone a winter climate more similar to coastal southern New England rather than the Southeast,” per Wikipedia. It is perhaps, then, no surprise that the Phish from Vermont collectively perceived, in Boone, a familiar, homey kind of vibe.

“I don’t know how many of you know this, but we all live in Vermont - that’s where we come from,” Trey says to the audience, before beginning the Encore. “It’s real similar… similar kind of feel, the mountains and everything, and, uh, it’s really nice to be here. Kinda feels like home. So, uh, we’re going to do our best here to play a little bit of mountain music, which originated right around here.”

With that, they launch into an all-acoustic Encore set of “mountain music”, beginning with a hot and spicy “Nellie Kane” that was followed with what was (and remains, as they’ve yet to revisit the number in the 30+ years since) just their fourth-ever run at the bluegrass standard “Beaumont Rag”, an instrumental ditty that has come to be heavily associated with the legendary guitar virtuoso Doc Watson, one of the greatest pickers of the last century (who hailed, as it happens, from the tiny unincorporated community of Deep Gap, NC, located in the same North Carolina county as Boone, “just down the road a stretch” as folks from that region might put it.

Having apparently felt they’d paid sufficient homage to the traditional music of their hosts, the band then launched into a bluegrass (*ahem* …an “asphalt-grass”)-style arrangement of Boston’s technically demanding “Foreplay/Long Time”, for a showpiece which was positively captivating.

They concluded the night with a traditional “mountain music” number of a different kind, performing an a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace” that was reminiscent of the vocal harmonies one might well have heard in the region two centuries back, emanating through the open windows of some tiny Church of Christ or Primitive Baptist congregation, the sacred melodies borne on mountain breezes alongside the incense of pine and juniper, carried down through the hollers and off into the thin mountain air - reminiscent of such things, even if Phish’s vocal arrangement of the hymn might feel more at home in a Whiffenpoofs recital than in the hardwood pews of an old country church. This particular rendition of “Amazing Grace” - unlike many such closers from this period in the band’s history - was actually mic’d, and can thus be clearly heard over the crowd noice on the soundboard recording.

It takes its time to get there, but this show delivers the goods - it has the heat, the light, and the chance, unpredictable, almost ineffable je ne sais quoi that makes a show really stick in one’s mind. As I said, if they’d just packed it in for the night after the “Bowie”, it would still have been a great show overall, with other highlights being “Antelope” “Reba”, and an all-timer of a YEM. But when, atop all of that, you add in the alchemical concoction of culture, mythos, music, and vibes that are made manifest in the show’s encore, it pushes the end result onto a higher plane, beyond being merely a great show (ha!) and into the realm of something that is even rarer and more special. Don’t miss this one.

SET 1: Simple: This is interesting in the opening slot, second time ever.

It's Ice: Really good version, it definitely gets more uncomfortable than it typically does >

NICU: Standard >

Run Like an Antelope: Strong Antelope but didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary or enough to place it on jamcharts, but it is.

Guyute: This version seems off and tentative.

Dog Faced Boy, Scent of a Mule, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg > Runaway Jim: Standard stuff. Jim to close out the set – cool placement! Rare set I closer, you have to go back to 8.21.93 to have seen it close a first set and it would not close another first set until 10.15.95

First set summary: Good set, the only thing that I would reach back for though would be the It’s Ice.

SET 2: Rift: Plenty of ripping and good way to come out of the break.

Bouncing Around the Room: Ouch, two hole in set II? No thanks.

Reba: Really, really strong Reba. Not exactly an all timer but this one deserves plenty of praise.

Axilla (Part II) -- Standard.

You Enjoy Myself -> The Vibration of Life -> You Enjoy Myself: Greenpeace Mike chant after the vocal jam, lol. Mike is all over Simple and Boogie on Reggae Woman late in the YEM jam, I think it was in the Bass and Drums segment. Pretty cool. YEM is ripped hard.

Hold Your Head Up > Cracklin' Rosie > Hold Your Head Up,

David Bowie: Bunch of nonsense from Fish about cows playing or something in the intro. This Bowie is quite chaotic and not for the faint of heart. Would recommend!

ENCORE: Nellie Kane[2], Beaumont Rag[2], Foreplay/Long Time[2], Amazing Grace – Standard.

Second set summary: Muscular! Standout versions of Reba, YEM, and Bowie make this a potent set. Phish.net has this rated at an even 4 of 5, which seems right on point for me too. I am going with an even 4 out of 5. Rocking show in Boone on a Wednesday night, and never to return to this town again (as of 10.25.22)