Going back to this show after the triumphant but comparatively muted (though far more deeply expressive and emotional) 2009 comeback, it's bracing to hear a version of Phish with a hundred times as much pep vim and vigor. A version of Antelope like this one comes along once in a long while - yet this 19-minute shred-a-thon is just the Set Two opener! The boys slide right into an interplanetary Harpua > 2001 > Harpua (weird to be reminded that for all their talents, Phish couldn't really play funk back in 1994). The crispness and tossed-off virtuosity are unbelievable; even Trey's utterly disastrous klezmer accelerandoooooh-no in Scent is a showoff routine. Listen for the brief Divided Sky tease during the climax of Hood - that kind of allusive detail is characteristic of the band at this key moment in their history, before 11/94 and summer '95 dramatically raised the stakes.

As I go through and write these reviews I realize that most people cover the musical analysis way better than I do. First of all I prefer type I style jamming to type II. I enjoy far out jams but I'm very critical of them and find I don't always agree with people about epic jams. So I mostly talk about my experience and the scene and whatnot.

I went to Sugarbush completely on a whim. My friends and I got really far out at the Jones Beach show and decided we had to be in Sugarbush. So we loaded up after JB and trekked to SUgarbush. We drove most of the way there and then camped at a rest stop about an hour from Vermont.

We got there early enough that we were able to park in the ski slope parking lot. So all the trauma people had about taking buses and stuff didn't apply to us. It was a great scene. We showed up pretty early(10am) and had to park at the bottom of the hill. I was worried about getting a ticket for some unfathomable reason so we walked up to the lodge and bought a few shortly after we got there. After that it was time to hang. For those of you who have never been to Vermont you are missing out. The air is the cleanest I can ever recall and just being there and loving Phish gives you a great inner peace.

Inside I just remember bouncing around. being relatively close then waaay in the back. I think I was about 30 rows back when Trey said "there are comets hitting Jupiter right now!!!" Also I remember they played the new Primus album at set break and it was the first time I heard it. when no2 started Keegan and I looked at each other and were like cool !Gamehendge again! but it was not to be. Still a cool song. Run like an Antelope was fantastic. At that point though it didn't even seem that special because after my run of shows that month it just seemed like the level they would always be playing at... Great tour closer.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

It was a marvelous sunny day in North Fayston, VT, with green mountains all around us. There was not a better day to see Phish, and as we would find out later, the band felt the same way. The venue was one of the most beautiful at which to see Phish, or any concert for that matter. It was on the side of Sugarbush Mountain in the middle of the Green Mountains. Unfortunately, there was a bus system (similar to Waterloo Village) where we had to line up so busloads of Phish fans could be taken to the actual concert site. But it was such a beautiful day that not one person in the ten thousand-plus crowd could care less what they had to do to see their beloved quartet.
They opened up the show with an unusual treat to make us feel like we were with them in their most beloved environment. They came out and harmonized a few lines from "Back in My Hometown". Five seconds later, "Golgi Apparatus" was permeating the crowd, and it had people going absolutely bananas. A selection from their latest release, Hoist, was next, "Down with Disease". It was a very simple, babyish version that featured Trey soloing throughout. Several minutes later, they slowed it down, along with the crowd. Weird noises appeared. Trey grabbed his megaphone off of his amp and started waving his arm in huge circles, passing the megaphone by his microphone. Mike grabbed a drill and held it in front of his mic. All this was giving up the sounds of a very rare "N2O", a song played only that summer a few times -  until 7/13/99. The effect they created was that we were sitting in a dentist's chair. How a band can make you feel like you are in a dentist's chair is beyond me but they did a great job of it. Mike played the part of the dentist, saying lines like, "You are getting sleepy," and "Don't worry, it won't hurt." Out of nowhere the band went right into Stash. The only way to describe it is short, brief, and concise, yet still somewhat engaging. Other favorites in the set were "Cavern", "Sparkle", and an incredible "Maze", "Horse > Silent", and the set closer, "Sample in a Jar". The energy and rare vibe that fans live for were there, but there was not too much to go crazy over except a well-played set.
If only we had known what was ahead. The lights went out, the sun was pretty much down. The remnants of a gorgeous sunset were still upon us, and we heard the opening lick to "Run Like an Antelope". Just writing this review is giving me goosebumps. This version of "Antelope" is by far one of the best versions I have ever seen or heard the band perform. The energy they put toward the crowd was like no other. The main jam of the song started off in orbit. Trey was wandering all around stage in a groove that he had very rarely been in. Out of nowhere, he started screaming into the microphone. Page followed, screaming bloody murder. Trey was screaming "WEEEEEEEEEE" like he was on some sort of amusement-park ride. They even started laughing obnoxiously. Trey then started running around stage at a track star's pace, taking another guitar and doing windmills with it like Pete Townshend. After that mayhem, they broke into "Catapult", where the famous argument between Fish and Trey took place. Fish suggested that Trey didn't really want to get married, Trey got mad, and Fish apologized, all with tongue firmly lodged in cheek. Quickly they went back into "Antelope", where more screaming and running occurred. Page stood up and was banging obnoxiously on his piano. At the end of Antelope they did the "D'oh!" from the Simpsons language, and the line "Set the gearshift for the high gear of your soul" was said with a passion, volume, and energy that no other "Antelope" has ever had. With some quiet feedback from "Antelope", the band burst into "Harpua", and what a "Harpua" it was. It was the most free-spirited and spontaneous narration I've ever heard. Trey first makes a claim that Vermont is the best state in the Union and that anyone who doesn't live there is totally missing out. The basic gist of the story is that Harpua and Poster are roaming around on top of the mountain we are standing on. Harpua is hungry and says, "Hot lunch, I want him." Just as he is about to attack poor Poster, a wave of energy came from nowhere and "they look up in the sky -  and see a giant comet -  crashing into Jupiter." Right then and there, a comet was actually crashing into Jupiter. Meanwhile the rest of the band was playing some heavy space, and then Fishman busted right into "2001", which I must say was one of the most perfectly placed versions ever. Following "2001", they proceeded to finish up "Harpua" with some altered lyrics ("your cat got hit by a comet!"). The band continued to rock hard by doing some great versions of "AC/DC Bag", "Scent of a Mule", "Contact", and "Harry Hood". They closed off the set with a fantastic version of "Chalk Dust". The encore was a ripping "Suzie Greenberg", and just like that, the tour was done. It was sad to say goodbye once more, but what made the ending worse was that now ten thousand tired kids all wanted to get on those buses to get back to their cars at the very same time.

Set 2 of this show was another one of my first cassette tapes. The playing here is outrageously good, and I listened to this tape quite a lot back in the day. Last week's yemconvo on twitter featured the topic, "What is the best show you think Trey Anastasio has ever played?" I considered this show as an answer, although waxbanks is correct about Trey's struggles during SOAMule. This performance features Trey playing skillfully and manically, though "soulfully" would not apply yet. But if you add the megaphone madness, heavy metal screaming, a timely Harpua narration, Barracuda teases, and a monumental Harry Hood, you might a great Trey show. I can't think of too much more that I could ask from him at one gig.

Noob confession: this was one of the first two or three versions of Run Like An Antelope I heard on tape. The next several versions of Antelope that I heard left me disappointed that they didn't extend the intro or go bonkers in the jam like they did at this show.

This was one of the most memorable Phish shows I ever saw. After seeing them in bars and then progressively bigger venues, this show left no doubt as to what Phish had become and was becoming. It was mind blowing, and the most memorable and best done Harpuas I have ever seen by my favorite band. A story well told for sure. The banter during Catapult showcased the band's humor, while the overall essence of the show provided me with on the of peak psychedelic experiences of my life. I have this on both CD and a high quality tape. It is one of the few Phish shows I still go back to and listen to on tape and prefer on tape as well. The tape I have is very high quality and has the funniest howl on there from someone in the audience at the perfect time that makes the tape standout vs. the CD. The tape really showcases the vibe and the emotion of what was happening and captures the band and the audience at one of their finest moments.

and it is happening right now

and there is no place like VT.

The guys playing there best and having a blast.

I can't think of very many shows where it's obvious how much fun the guys are having. Between the banter and comedic qualities to this show it's obvious. But you also have to stack the precise and powerful playing on top of it.

DWD is very short but somehow very inspired in it's playing. N02 is an excellent bustout. Stash is especially intense. Lizards is very polished and strong. Excellent Maze PAGE IS ON FIRE!. The whole rest of the set is so well played but for '94 that's standard.

Antelope kicks things off chaotic as hell. They weave in and out of Catapult seamlessly and having a ton of fun while doing it. Antelope comes back with full force for an excellent conclusion. Without getting into too much detail it's safe to say Harpua is one of the very best. Bag is very strong. Hood is absolutely gorgeous and well played, it's a top tier all time version. The slow movement towards the peak is so patient and beautiful it almost brings tears to the eyes. Trey ends it in fierce style. CDT has some excellent Barracuda teases towards the end as he finishes burning down the barn.

Suzy encore? Standard. But it doesn't matter!

Overall one of the best of the best from 1994. It's got excellent playing, bustouts, HARPUA, as well as a lot of fun comedic elements. It's got it all except maybe some deep jams, but this show isn't about that. It's about having a great time.

I have a crush on this show. Classic Phish ! 1.0 baby!!! Every thing here is air tight. Early DWD> NO2> Stash. I love Sample. It off sets the weird/prog phish just fine. The Antelope is so lively, so crazy, so 1.0. The Harpua> 2001> Harpua is exactly why I love phish. So cool of Trey to intertwine the comet hitting Jupiter that night with a crazy cool tune !!! Mike's interjection "He was hit by a comet" is still the funniest and phishiest thing I've ever heard. Bag through the encore consists of more tight playing on fun tunes. 5 Crazy Silly Chaotic stars .

I had to add my two cents (too sense) here as I was in a different head space at this show then most. I was 13, caught a ride from the tri-state to this show. Got slightly scared a few times thinking that a comet was somehow going to come down and crush me, all without any psychedelic nudging. The NO2, the Antelope screaming. To say I was here was only partially true, I was physically here but in essence the sheer madness and epic quality evaded me til years later when I actually started to see phish. It took 3 more years for me to actually start seeing Phish (ptsd maybe?!)

I lost the group of people I was with and wandered the lot scared shitless about how I would ever get home, my parents having no clue I was In VT, let alone at a rock and roll concert. I was about to approach a police officer when this couple from the tri-state somehow recognized my situation and offered to drive me home. I am grateful for their kindness and generosity. I was treated to Jerry picking on that long haul back to CT and got a degree in musical appreciation as well as the goodness of humanity on that ride home.

Fortunate to call this my first show, but there is difference between being there and appreciating what you are experiencing. But, I still get this haunting feeling when Trey starts screaming in Antelope!

I triple nipple dog dare you to show me a better Hood ever played. Fucking insane. Trey is in prime form and tears the jam to shreds. The rest of the show is sick as well but as a Hood connoisseur, I promise you that this will be the standard that you will hold all Hood's to after giving this one a whirl. Bliss out yawl!!

I don't remember much about the first set of this show, though Stash and Maze were surely on par for Summer '94, with its relentlessly reinventive vigor in composed portions and jams alike (Type I jams, in this case.) The second set is memorable to me for the "verbal jab by Fish" about Trey's upcoming wedding to Sue (née Statesir), as well as the Harpua with the "Your cat got hit by a comet" narration. 2001s back then were not typically variable in many ways, often serving as a Set-II opener, but this one has especial significance, as explained by the show notes. Summer '94 sees a decidedly Trey-led Phish, with his authoritatively virtuosic guitar taking the music in newly explorational directions following the watershed of August '93 and its introduction of nightly Type II to the repertoire, but I encourage you to listen carefully to all 4 band members, as Mike, Page, and Fish were all doing really interesting things, as well.

This show symbolized to me that the small days of Phish were over for sure and that this band was 'for real'. I should have known that on Halloween '89 at my first show but it took some shows on both coasts and some travel to be fully sold. I would only see one more show this year- San Jose in December, then no Phish until summer of 1998 for reasons which I still question now.

So my review of this show: antelope stands out as being a crazy jamfest. Trey screamed "set the gear shift to the high gear of your soul..." and then the show just blazed. I am not a fan of Harpua- and this is why this show gets 4 out of 5- Harpua was very long and intricate and conversational. But the 'new songs' like 'sample in a jar' and "DWD" were interesting at the time and their new jams were welcomed. I still recall standing on the ski slope and seeing the bandlook almost excited to see so many fans. This show was unofficially released (bootlegged' in an album and I recall seeing it in Rasputin's in Berkeley years later called, "Back Home'...i bought it at the time...

Super solid show to close out a legendary '94 Spring/Summer tour. First set is pretty straightforward, with a few highlights hidden among an unfinished DwD->NO2 and a really strong Maze where Trey is on fire. As the jam charts point out, Page and Fishman really crush the Stash, too.

Second set really gets into the meat of this beloved show. Antelope starts off with the band feeling a bit desynchronized, but any hiccups in the intro are more than accounted for in the remaining 15 minutes or so. The jam bleeds with anarchy, finding a nice little rhythmic pocket to allow for Catapult before throwing all caution to the wind. This is the band at their energetic peak. Tour closer makes a great excuse to pull out Harpua, and this one provides a very fun narrative and a gripping ascent to the musical finish. AC/DC Bag and Mule are a couple more sleepers, with each putting in a bit more special sauce in the pot than typical. Fishman and Trey destroy Hood before the band caps off their final set of the tour with a fun Contact and shredding CDT. Suzy encore is a nice celebratory finale, and Page runs with the opportunity to leave it all on the stage. Sort of an odd order of songs for the set, but each one is very, very strong.