Phish – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theater 11/9, 11/10, 11/11/1995 [torrent of all three shows]
11/09/95
Set 1: Tweezer Reprise, The Divided Sky, Prince Caspian, Punch You In the Eye, Simple > Reba, Tela > Sample in a Jar
Set 2: Theme From the Bottom > Julius, The Lizards, Bathtub Gin[1] -> The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday Reprise, Life on Mars?, Hello My Baby, The Squirming Coil
Encore: Loving Cup
11/10/95
Set 1: Bouncing Around the Room, Runaway Jim, Taste That Surrounds, The Old Home Place, It’s Ice, Dog Faced Boy, Maze, Guyute, Cavern
Set 2: Free, Scent of a Mule, You Enjoy Myself -> Crossroads -> You Enjoy Myself, Strange Design, Sparkle, AC/DC Bag, Sweet Adeline
Encore: Harry Hood
11/11/95
Set 1: Cars Trucks Buses > Mike’s Song > A Day in the Life > Poor Heart > Weekapaug Groove, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Ya Mar, Stash, Amazing Grace[1], Fee > Chalk Dust Torture
Set 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra > David Bowie, Suzy Greenberg > Uncle Pen, Fluffhead, Sleeping Monkey > Frankenstein -> Suspicious Minds > Hold Your Head Up, Run Like an Antelope
Encore: Acoustic Army, Good Times Bad Times
14 years ago today, my life was literally changed forever! On this day, for the first time I would see my first Phish show at The Fox Theater in Atlanta, GA. This was a huge time for me in my life. At the beginning of 1995, I had just discovered Phish, The Grateful Dead and all of my father’s folk albums and my life was changed. I was at a point in my life where I knew I needed to be a different person and I was desperately seeking myself. I dabbled in a bit of everything but it was in this music that something spoke to me. Something reached deep into my heart and into my mind and pulled me deep into a world that I never knew existed and a world that I couldn’t have been more happy to embrace and become part of.
On November 9th, 1995, I got off of work from my fast food job around 5pm. I went to the rest room and changed out of my stinky ass clothes into my corduroy bellbottoms and my tyedyed Grateful Dead shirt. I got in my car and made my way out of Jonesboro, GA to downtown Atlanta. I got there, parked and I strolled around the Fox Theatre, ticket in hand and just took in the scene of my first Phish show. There were people everywhere looking for tickets, selling stickers, pipes, shirts, you name it. They were all over the place. Feeling a little overwhelmed, I made my way into a coffee shop right next to the Fox where I literally ran into Mike Gordon. I told him I was a fan and that I was excited that this was my first show. He smiled and said, “I’m kind of in a hurry but walk with me and we can talk.” I was a bit star struck so I walked with him through the crowd as people shouted, “Hey Mike!” He smiled and waved and just continued to talk to me. We talked briefly about music and what books he was reading. He then looked at me and says, “Your first show huh? Wow. I hope you enjoy it.” He smiled and when I asked if he’d pose for a picture he politely agreed and then made his way to the backstage door. I couldn’t believe it. I already knew it was going to be a special night.
When I got inside the Fox Theater, the energy was so high. I had no idea what to expect. I had live shows already in my collection so I knew they were good but the mystery! What would they open with? How would they sound? How would the audience be? The band came on and opened with “Tweezer Reprise” and right away the place erupted with energy and EVERYBODY was dancing and grooving to the music. Right away I could feel this energy that just cannot be captured on Maxell XLIIs or even on video. You can hear it, but you can’t feel it. Being part of it was pure magic. I just looked at everyone and felt like I had found my tribe. This girl came up to me and hugged me and said, “Just let go man and dance!” I just closed my eyes and before I knew it I was doing that dumb hippie swaying thing. It was then I totally understood the “hippie dance”. It’s like you just let go and move with the music. As corny as it sounds, it just kinda happens. The music literally takes you over if you let it and you just move.
The lights were amazing, the people were amazing and the band was playing at it’s career peek (as we would all learn later). I couldn’t believe just how amazing it was. Song after song just took me away and before I knew it, it was over. I had danced with some amazing people, made some great new friends and found my tribe. To my dismay, I didn’t have tickets to the next two nights but thanks to a generous scalper out side who sold me two tickets at face value, I was able to live the dream again for two nights in a row. I called my job and told them I had the flu and that I was running 102 fever. They told me to stay out the rest of the week. For the next two nights, I would congregate with my people. Each night I would meet new people and also bond with the same people from the previous nights. We would laugh, hug and tell stories of each others lives. They would all welcome me as the “new guy” in the tribe with open arms and share with me their tour stories, their food, their beverage and their overall good vibes.
These three nights were where my life had changed forever. Up until that point, the music lived in my ears, mind and heart and helped me to work towards the change that was about to come. After the November 11th show, I knew I had found my place. I knew there was a place for me and that there was a tribe for me. From there, I would build friendships, morals and beliefs that would last me a lifetime and that I would carry and instill to this day. Even as the scene changed over the years for better and for worse, I would find other bands and other branches of my tribe to become part of. 14 years later, I still look back at these three days and remember that this is where it all started.
When I look back at the set lists for these shows, they are pure gold. They are the kind of set lists that people look back on now and pretty much leave them speechless. When I look back on them, I remember the magical feeling of knowing that I was witnessing something really special. I had no idea that it would later on be considered legendary but at the time, I truly know I was seeing a run of shows that I would never forget for as long as I lived!
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