December 1995 is hallowed ground for Phish fans. We try to do it justice with this two-part episode to round out the HF Pod episodes for the year. We have two special guests who help us rank, evaluate and ultimately recommit to the amazingness that was this month.
Our guests, Drew and Chop, share their personal experiences of being at many of these shows. We talk a lot about the merits of rankings shows, where each of these 17 shows fall on the spectrum, an then we play clips from a lot of these shows. We had a blast recording this, and we hope you enjoy listening.
Let us know what you think. Do you agree with these rankings? What would you do differently? What is your favorite show from December 1995?
Lastly, I'd encourage you to read our friend Brian's blog recap of December 1995, which you can check out here and here.
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12/30 -That Bowie is one of my favorite versions. Particularly intense and a fantastic peak.
12/16- I didn't think you mentioned that Reba, but that was an above average version in my opinion.
12/2-The Tweezer is one of my favorite Phish jams, but the start to that set was no slouch either. Well played versions of 2001/Maze/Simple. I am not a big fan of Simple, but they played that song to perfection that night.
12/5 Gin and Hood-- I became obsessed with both of these jams at one point when amassing my collection. What's funny is that I used to read the Pharmer's Almanac (the 2000 version) and the 12/5 Hood was not among those Hoods listed on the "best version" list. I almost felt like I was missing something when I thought 12/5 took the edge over 12/30 overall. Rankings be damned, the Fall 94 Hoods have nothing on the 4/10/94 Hood. Greasy Physique. Kudos to you for making mention of Fishman's playing in the 12/5 Hood. He was a beast in Dec 95 in general, but yeah, the fills, the timing, the guy was hitting on all cylinders in that version.
One last note on the 12/5 version. On occasion, I drive to upstate NY to visit in-laws. My mother-in-law is usually with me on the ride up. I'll often play a Phish show or two on the way up. A couple years back, I played 12/5, and after the Hood, she remarked that she really liked it; the only time she made a positive remark about the Phish.
11/30/95 ended about half an hour before 12/95, and it would be an upper tier 12/95 show imo. Tweezer -> Makisupa -> Antelope is one of the best 35 minute segments Phish has ever played. The rest of the set is strong too: Free is one of the best of its ilk (i.e., short and with the original jam segment), and the Hood encore is special.
I jumped on the the Train Dec' 95
First shoes were 5, 12 , 28-29
Such a special time in our generations past and to have it all broken down so critically on Hfpod is epic