I just counted up - I've given a five-star rating to a total of 82 Phish shows on the website. Most of these are IMO start-to-finish greatness, with the brilliance of the four musicians on continuous display (11/30/94, 8/10/97, and 8/28/12, to name three). Halloween '95, IMO, does not fit this description. What makes this show special to me, is the effort put forth by the band in the performance. The Quadrophenia set is marred by technical issues, missed cues, and flubs inherent in a set's worth of debut performances. But it is the effort put forth by the musicians and crew, and the confidence of 1995 Phish, that earns this show five stars from me.

Speaking about 1996 in The Phish Book, Page comments, "...in the end, we usually managed to rally and play our little hearts out." Listening to Page's bravura performance in Doctor Jimmy, and the band subsequently navigating through the different movements of The Rock with style and grace, reminds me of that quote. Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA Championships with the Boston Celtics, wrote that a Champion is someone who not only performs under pressure and adversity, but manages to raise their level of performance under these circumstances. On 10/31/95 at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, Phish played a show worthy of a Champion.