This was my 1st Phish show ever! As a die-hard Deadhead, who refused to listen to any other bands beside the Grateful Dead during their existence, could not believe how good Phish was!

I must give kudos to two friends, Matt C. & Merri R., for convincing me to check them out. I went on a summer tour with them following the Dead. Both were adamant that I check out Phish. Finally, Phish came to Portland, OR while I was living there for a short period of time. I had 1 Phish CD - A Live One as my education of Phish thus far. Therefore, you could imagine how I felt after this show was over. Here is my review of what I could VIVIDLY remember of this show almost 17 years later...

Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon! What can I say, Phish is playing in the same building as the 1976-77 NBA Champions Portland Trailblazers who I remembered watching Bill Walton (well known Deadhead who seen the Dead over 600 times!) bringing the Trailblazers back from the dead down 0-2 to the Philadelphia 76ers to 4 straight wins capturing the NBA Championship! Therefore, it was the 1st time I've ever stepped into the Coliseum...

Poor Heart was the 1st song of the show. I thought I was seeing a bluegrass band? That changed when AC/DC Bag came on. HOLY PHUCK! I did not expect the tenacious jamming toward the end of the song and felt like it went on for 10 minutes. All Things Reconsidered, no memory of it at all. It's the only time I have ever seen this song in 164 shows. Probably won't recognize it the next time if the band ever play it again. Bouncing was on A Live One and knew this song. It was a nice treat (at the time). Didn't know a single song for the rest of the set.

Second Set, Theme song from 2001 was familiar and short. I remember David Bowie (could not stop singing DAVID BOWIE!) as it was well played. Loved "A Day In The Life" as a Beatles Fan (who isn't a Beatles fan??)! You Enjoy Myself was spacey as Trey used to have a synthesizer keyboard/drums equipment that he would take a drum stick and bang on it to give the equipment a boooiiinnnnggg song repeatedly. It was interesting. Loving Cup was another familiar song I knew and it was a blast/treat! Suzy Greenberg was another song I've heard previously.

I was blown away, didn't realize it then, that I would surpass my beloved Grateful Dead in # of shows. I thought I would never see another band 128 times as I did with the Dead, but Phish gave me the hook that I never took off...