(Posted to rec.music.phish 2/3/97...)

My first show!! The World Trade Center in Boston is a big hall where they have a lot of conventions, like home shows and MacWorld. The stage was set up along the left wall with a small wooden dancefloor in front of the stage. They had fruit and nachos set out for all the New Year's guests. I had never seen Phish before, but had been very into them from tapes for about 8 months. I had no idea what they looked like except that the guitarist was red-headed with a beard. I saw a guy who fit this description and smiled, but it turned out not to be him.

The Ululators opened. Not so exciting really. Sorta world beat kind of stuff. I got right up front for Phish's set. 3 of the 4 members came out... Trey, Mike, and Page. They started up "I Didn't Know" and when the vac solo came... out came Fish, dressed in nothing but a top-hat and a g-string with tux-tails in the back. (The rest of the band was wearing tuxes and hats) He played his solo, and then got behind the kit. Thanks gawd he hid behind those drums!! What an atrocious sight for an impressionable 16 year old like myself!! The whole show I was yelling for the brand new Reba (debuted 3 months earlier). But never got it. Page sang a "dance tune".. Satin doll. An I saw my first in a string of 6 shows in a row with Mike's -> H2 -> Groove. (9 in my first 10)

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

After many months of being into the band, I finally got my chance to go see them, the first in a tradition of Phish shows on New Year’s Eve. My friend Dug and I got to the venue fairly early. The room, usually used for home shows and computer shows, had been set up with a stage and a small dance floor, along with a “buffet” of fruit and nacho chips, provided by the band. To start the show, Page, Mike, and Trey came out in tuxedos and started into I Didn’t Know, and then when it came time for the vacuum solo, Fish emerged from backstage, wearing a top hat and a g-string with tails. Fortunately, it was a short song, and Fish got behind his kit, fully hidden from my impressionable sixteen-year-old eyes. I was begging for the brand-new Reba all night long, but I never got it. However, I did get an excellent “Mike’s” > “Hydrogen” > “Groove”, and Page sang a “dance song,” “Satin Doll”. What better way to bring in the ‘90s, but with the band of the ‘90s.