, attached to 1992-04-18

Review by Anonymous

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

This was the fourth straight show for me as well as the band, so I took it easy for this one. A free show at Stanford was the right price for many heads, so even more people made it out of Santa Cruz for the show. We made it to Stanford in the early afternoon and found the soccer field where the band would be playing. I remember it being a beautiful, sunny day (around eighty degrees) with people playing Frisbee on the field and getting ready for the show.
The band and audience were clearly laid back due to the constant sunshine. I'd say there never were more than a few hundred folks at this show. Many students showed up for a while, checked out the scene, and then split. There was a bottle of Snapple (possibly iced tea?) going around that really got quite a few people really high for this gig. I didn't partake myself, and I don't remember anyone freaking out in a bad way at the show, but I do remember some friends having an extra-special good time. Trey's dog Marley spent the entire show running around the crowd.
The show starts out with an amazing "Wilson" > "Divided Sky". The "Divided Sky" is one of the best versions I have ever heard. "Guelah" and "Poor Heart" are both played well, but are nothing special. The set picks up again with an intense version of "Split Open and Melt". Again one of my favorite versions, this "Split Open" really grooves and showcases some incredible guitar work from Trey. "Esther" is nice, and something I probably only saw the band play a couple of times. "Possum" (like so much else in this set) is played at 100%, another full-on peak of the set followed by solid versions of "Ice", "Sparkle", and "All Things Reconsidered". "Antelope" is yet another insane musical peak to close the set. The setbreak was a welcome break, giving everyone an opportunity to rest up and cool down before dancing again for Set II.
"Glide" always puts a smile on my face, and at the time it was one of my favorite tunes, so I was really happy to have them open the set with the song. "Manteca" is a treat, as is "Bathtub Gin". After each song Trey repeated "Squirt Gun Break" into the mics. Someone from the crew was using a Super Soaker on the crowd up front. This show, like most GA shows on the tour, was great because if you wanted to you could walk right up to the stage during the show, or drop back fifteen to twenty feet and have endless space to dance in. This was part of what made these shows so great, and something I miss about today's shows.
Trey's playing in "Llama" is really intense, with the band still playing at 100%. The "TMWSIY" > "Avenu" > "TMWSIY" sandwich was a real treat, as I had no idea they played "Avenu Malkenu" and had just received a large ration of guilt for leaving my family during Passover for Phish tour. (I had pulled a similar stunt to go see Dead shows back in high school). After tour I told them that any band that played "Avenu" couldn't be that bad. The parents were somewhat relieved.
"Dinner and a Movie" got way out there, and was a real treat. "Harry Hood"? This is my personal favorite version of this song, and I really like the places they go with this one (if you can find a better version, please let me know). I vividly remember the encore songs as being totally hilarious... it was an excellent choice of songs to close out a sunny afternoon show. Overall the second set is amazing; it starts off average, and then from "Bathtub Gin" through "BBFCFM" the band is simply on fire.
I left the soccer field knowing that we'd seen another great show, and really excited to see the band play walking distance from my house the very next night. I skipped Panic headlining the Catalyst later that night in order to get some desperately needed sleep.
For years this show was one of my favorite tapes to listen to when I would pick a show from this run. There is a great quality soundboard source in circulation with a great mix, so I would certainly suggest getting this one if only to hear the "Harry Hood".


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