#Phish95 Review: 6.13.95, Maryland Heights, MO
Review written by Tom Volk, Matt Burnham, Alex B. and RJ
Phish, 6.13.95, Riverport Amphitheater, Maryland Heights, MO
Set 1: Runaway Jim > Foam, Bouncing Around the Room, Stash, Strange Design > Taste, Reba, Hold Your Head Up > Terrapin > Hold Your Head Up, Sparkle > Chalk Dust Torture
Set 2: David Bowie, The Lizards, Axilla (Part II) > Theme From the Bottom, Acoustic Army, Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus
Encore: Sweet Adeline, Julius
On Phish.net, this show gets an average rating of 2.98 out of 5 stars. I wouldn’t say this show is one of the best of that Summer ‘95 tour, but a few songs stand out and make this show worth revisiting.
First, the “Foam.” The “Runaway > Foam” combo was just amazing during the ‘94-’95 years. This version of “Foam” shows the band at its absolute best with this song, completely locked in, nearly flawless.
Secondly, this “Reba.” Wow, this song. The 5.16.95 version is a standout, a fan favorite. But this version may match that one. Tom describes this one as “relentless.” There’s a lot of space and patience in the jam, but at the same time Trey’s peak is really unbelievable. It sounds like Fishman thinks about ending the jam, but then rolls into the next peak, which gives Trey an even bigger place to land. Really wonderful.
Following that “Reba” was “Terrapin,” which as Tom explains: “And then to follow that up with follow that up with Fishman apologizing to three ladies and singing a Syd Barrett tune in their honor would have to be disorienting to any new fan, or even someone familiar with them on a casual level.” Pretty wild first set.
And then Matt describes the “Chalk Dust” 1st set closer: “Oh I love me some DEG. That’s one thing that really sticks with me when listening back. It’s a tease (like Manteca, Catapult, or Have Mercy) that I think indicates the band is loose, having fun, and enjoying themselves. It’s all a bit self referential but well worth the price of admission.”
Alex calls the “Bowie” opener in the 2nd set BLAZING, which sounds right to the rest of us. And we all love our late 2nd set “Hood,” and although this one doesn’t hit the highs of some other versions from this tour, these two songs are worth a relisten of the 2nd set.
Finally, the encore. We found the crowd during “Adeline” pretty typical of the rowdy crowds in the 90s to ruin Sweet Adeline like that…but honestly, #STFUdance, people.
