Saturday, 04/30/1994
The Edge Night Club, Orlando, FL

It’s Wednesday and all I can think about it heading back to the Fairgrounds tomorrow for Day 4 of my Jazzfest. Alas, I must listen to some Phish this morning. This show starts with a whimper, in my opinion. Even the Stash is pretty tame by 1994 standards. The entire first set is pretty standard. Disappointing given the raucous first set one night earlier.

Wilson opens the second set and it is clear the Wilson chant has not made it’s way south. So far, it’s a one-off Beacon thing. Then there’s this Bowie. It’s short, but so good. I love Bowies like this. Intense throughout. Then, just the 5th Wolfman’s ever is played with a funky little jam. Page sticks to the Rhodes and Trey finds a little pattern to lead the band through. It’s a shame that this tune didn’t take off right away as a funky jam vehicle. It’s soooo ripe for the pickin’ in these early iterations!

The rest of the set is Gold Standard 1994. Nothing is extraordinarily long, but it’s all really playful. The “Lion Sleeps” teases sprinkled throughout and the Possum that pokes around many of the tunes played earlier in the set all hint at the fun we’ll see in the next few weeks (I’m really looking forward to revisiting the Bomb Factory in the context of this listening process).

Finally, I can think of no better encore than Sleeping Monkey > Highway to Hell. Seriously. That’s happiness in a bottle for me!

Thanks for reading. Happy Jazzfest!!!

Saturday, 04/30/1994
The Edge Night Club, Orlando, FL
Set 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Mound, Stash, Poor Heart, Sample in a Jar, Punch You In the Eye, Rift, Ginseng Sullivan, Sweet Adeline
Set 2: Wilson > David Bowie, Wolfman’s Brother > Peaches en Regalia > Harry Hood, Axilla (Part II), McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Possum, Purple Rain > Hold Your Head Up, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars
Encore: Sleeping Monkey > Highway to Hell
Notes: Ginseng Sullivan and Sweet Adeline were performed acoustic without microphones. Lion Sleeps Tonight was teased in Wilson, Bowie, Hood, McGrupp, and Possum. Bowie also contained an All Fall Down signal and Possum also included Wilson, Peaches, Wolfman’s, and Axilla teases. During one of the pauses in BBFCFM, Fish said his mother was in attendance, prompting a New York, New York tease from Page.

Setlist courtesy of phish.net

Key tracks:
http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1994-04-30/david-bowie
http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1994-04-30/wolfman-s-brother
http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1994-04-30/possum