A note before I begin with the review:

Dear Dude Yelling "CONTACT" 22 Years Ago,
Once they actually start playing Contact, there is no need to continue to yell "Contact! Nice!" Thank yeeewww.

This show is on the money, both musically and humorously. Page takes a moment at the end of the Time Loves a Hero soundcheck to welcome everyone to the soundcheck. Just about every song in the first set is above average or unusual, especially Foam, Fluffhead, and Halley's > Antelope. There is some amusing post-contact banter which culminates in the line "And there's nothing better than getting it in the end every once in a while," and Halley's has some bizarre vocals in it.

Set II starts with Trey shouting "YEM!!" and he repeats "YEM!!!" during YEM, which is an excellent YEM even without much of a vocal jam. Sloth has an ending I've never heard before, almost It's Ice-ish. If I Only Had a Brain contains lyrical gems such as "Oh...Oh....Oh...," "Life would be a dingleberry," "And then I'd sit and shit some more," and "::cough:: ::cough:: ::coughing fit::" Sublime. Weekapaug is also above average, and even though the Esther is shaky in spots, it is also fairly unusual.

First set I think is a bit better than the second, but overall this is an excellent show and I think it's a solid 4 stars. Take a listen and enjoy!

This source sounds fantastic! Unfortunately, Relisten is missing the ‘Time Loves a Hero’ sound check. This is a solid show front to back. Highlights include: Antelope, Fire!! Weekapaug and Esther. Sloth had a similar ending to what we heard at The Paradise(1/26) and The Front (2/7), but this version didn’t segue into Possum.

Personally I don't think this Esther belongs on the jam charts - it's really rough.

This Fire, on the other hand, is quite interesting. It sounds to me like Trey detunes his E string to get a low, growling sound. He focuses entirely on this sound, which throws off the rest of band and very nearly derails the entire song. The recovery is sloppy, though I must admit I get excited when the band pushes a song like Fire to the brink.

I'll also say I'm always impressed at how enthusiastic the crowd sounds at many of these early shows. Imagine seeing Phish play Esther or Harpua in a bar or dorm hall in 1989. It must have been so bizarre. I guess people consistently "got it" from very early on. It sure sounds that way.