We’ve finally reached the end of our Phish Joy Box giveaway and we’d like to thank everybody for participating. The answers you’ve provided have been stellar and in a few days we’ll use a random number generator to pick two winners of the Joy Box which includes includes the CD plus 10 posters dedicated to each one of Joy’s 10 tracks each designed by a different artist, an extensive hard-bound booklet, as well as a “complete second album” called Party Time along with a DVD featuring some live performances from ’09.
[A Look at a Joy Box Mockup]
Today, we’ve got our eighth of eight questions and each answer you give to each of our eight questions will count as one entry in the contest. That’s right, you can enter eight times by answering all eight questions. Just don’t get greedy and answer the same question twice. This contest will run until September 25, 2009 at 11:59PM.
Just follow the rules below and we’ll announce our winners on 9/28:
- To enter the contest leave a comment below telling us about the best Phish concert that you’ve attended
- All comments must be longer than 10 words and shorter than 50
- Your comment must be left by 11:59 PM EST on Friday, Sept. 25
- Don’t be greedy, only one entry per person, per question
- Winners will be selected at random from all entries to all 8 questions
- Winners receive one copy of the Joy Box each
So there you have it. As you see, question #8 is “what is the best Phish show you’ve personally attended?” Thanks so much for participating and we’ll announce the winners on Monday, so check back to see if you’ve won.
- HT Joy Box Giveaway: Question #1, Question #2, Question #3, Question # 4, Question #5, Question #6, Question #7
- Previously on HT: Joy Review, Festival 8 Giveaway
- Dry Goods: Joy Box Pre-order
141 Responses
Sugarbush 7/16/94. My first show, but still the best show. This was definitely a turning point for Phish and a superb homecoming event.
Overall the best show I personally have attended would have to be Big Cypress 1-1-00, brilliant moments. As far as single shows I would have to say 11-22-97 Hampton.
EASY! Big Cypress was the best Phish concert EVER. hands down. all-nighter with my favorite band, and not to mention TOP NOTCH JAMS!
The best show I have attended was my birthday at MSG–12/30/94. Phish’s first at the Garden, my b-day, and a 1st set Fee add up to an unforgettable night.
Red Rocks….Friday night…after the set break rain the boys come out RAGIN playing Drowned>Crosseyed and painless! Epic indeed.
my first show – 7.30.03. I know its not the “greatest” ever, but I had a hell of a time seeing the boys. Went the next night also, simply amazing
7/9/03 –> Shoreline: I still think about this show all the time. The weather was perfect, the energy was outstanding, and Phish was on fire the whole night.
My personal best show(s) would have to be The Gorge run in ’09. TO me these shows proved Phish was back, and will provide me with listening pleasure for many years to come.
11/29/97- Worcester Centrum, Worcester ma
Very sick show, my first man that step amongst, buffalo Bill, moby dick and the 1 hour runaway Jim.
Hard to pick, Glens Falls 94 Halloween is what I was going to say, but my mind keeps going back to Big Cyprus. That was the absolute high point. Perfectly set up festival, unique all night set, awesome jamming, and I had all my friends in VIP Camping.
I would have to say that the best overall Phish experience would have to be Big Cypress. Nothing will match that. My favorite single show is Halloween at the Omni 10/31/96.
Darien Lake in 2000. The band liked it enough to release it as a Live Phish Album
Without a doubt Big Cypress. Far above and beyond any other Phish show ever. There may be other shows that were special in their own way, and maybe musically more on point, but BC was an epiphany.
My runner-up would have to be 6/22/94; one of the greatest Phish shows ever, and I had 7th row center seats!
So many to choose from but I would have to say, 5/16/92 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA
Halloween 1996 in Atlanta is the best Phish show I ever attended. Honorable mentions: 10.15.94 Oak Mtn., 4.4-5.98 Island Tour, 9.29.99 Memphish, 9.29-30.00 Vegas
The only show I have attended personally is the Chicago show from this year. 2009-08-11. Loved it.
Nothing could ever compete with my first show, Big Cypress.
My first phish show was at the historic ballpark in Boston, Fenway Park. With Curtis Loew and Destiny Unbound, I couldn’t possibly ask for a better introduction.
Bonnaroo 2009 Friday Night. First show i’ve attended, got to see divided sky, yem, hood live, not to mention highway to hell!
Gorge shows ’03. Particularly the second night- just melted my mind. Setting of the Gorge makes it hard not to love anything there.
The best show i’ve attended was Hampton, 3/6/09. Maybe musically it wasn’t their strongest moment, but the feeling in the room, the excitement of the crowd, the Fluffhead (finally) & hearing the boys were back was enough for me!
8/9/98- va beach, va. the ac/dc bag is super funked out and the terrapin station encore was great.
I can’t really pick. But if I have to, I’ll say the first night of The Clifford Ball. I had no idea that so many people would be there. It set the stage for everything that followed it.
12-31-1999
10/31/96 The Atlanta Halloween show. I have been to many shows since but none of them could top this one. Maybe this Halloween will be the show I have been waiting for.
i liked them all for their special memories best experience was 6.14.00 so…maybe the best was getting them back in hampton, well ,getting them back’is what i mean!!!
First day of Great Went -8/16/97
….when they played their Austin City Limits TV Recording on July 17, 2000 in Austin, Texas. My friends & I were the last of TEN to get in & with only a few hundred people there, the intimacy & energy was amazing!
Of the 25 shows I’ve seen beginning with Worcester 2/26/03, it’s gotta be the Hartford show from this summer. I’ve been chasing that kind of show since I started seeing Phish. Followed closely by IT and 12/30/03 Miami.
It’s hard to compare the best shows, but the 8/14/09 Hartford show on this most recent tour let me leave with a feeling I’d never before felt. That show proved to me that the boys are back.
11-21-98 Hampton. I’m pretty sure a volcano erupted on stage during Mike’s Song.
Another tough question! I will say 10-30-98 in Vegas. The Stash->Manteca->Tweezer->Nicu is perfect.
12/31/93 The Centrum – Worcester, MA – my first and still the best after way to many shows. you never forget your first!
Best show I attended was Creek 09. I know its wayyy past their mid-90s prime, but I only got to see a handful of shows from 03-04 and so obviously this past summer 09 tour was far superior!
WE GOT A FLUFFHEAD! That made the night for me.
I’m gonna say at “it” i think it was 8-3-03, having Trey call me Harry Potter during the vocal Jam was well one of those memories I will forever remember.
Seen some stellar Alpine and Creek gigs, but my favorite (and best) remains 10/25/1995 in St. Paul.
My first phish show will always be special. It was in November ’96 at the Mid-South Colesium in Memphis… After Jerry died I didn’t where our scene was going to go, but when I arrived at that parking lot, I was like “Yes, the scene lives!”
12/30/97 MSG. A fucking Fantastic show, so glad that it was finally released last year.
The best show i’ve been to was almost my first. 7-15-03 in West Valley, Utah. The whole show was perfect, it has one of the best Mike’s Song i’ve ever heard. And the entire 2nd set is so bad ass.
Simple, The Clifford ball. My second show! Amazing to me with the fans, the music, and the band giving so much back to its Phans. CANT WAIT FOR FEST 8!
Red Rocks. 8-20-93.
It’s so objective in what makes a show a personal favorite…that being said: 6-29-00 on the lawn at PNC with my best friends in the world, a few short days after high school graduation, and full of hilarity from the band.
For me, some shows are remembered for a number or reasons, the people I’m with, the music, freaky things that happened before or after…
So I have to say my favorite is a hometown show in Rochester, NY 12/11/97, nonstop jams, good friends, good music, everything I could want.
8-6-97 (st. louis) might be my favorite in terms of fun, but 4-4-98/4-5-98 would be tied for best shows attended.
can’t say it was the “best show” but it is my favorite for the company, the trip to LV, the vibe and everything else.
9/30/00
The best Phish show I have ever been to has to be 11/27/98. The wipeout show was so amazing on so many levels that in my book it was the best show I attended.
07-24-99 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
My best show ever!!!!
My best show (and first of three only) was opening night at Hampton. Not because it was my birthday or first Phish experience, but honestly the best show I attended this summer. (Plus, they sang happy birthday!)
Tough call…but today, i’ll go with 11.27.98. I was totally floored by that show. That second set just wouldn’t quit!
I have to say 8.7.09 The Gorge: Sally! Gin>Hood>Slave encore! Perfect!
This is always such a tough question to answer. My favs have always been Big Cypress of course and Alpine 98. However, since I was so fortunate to be at 3-6-09 I’m putting that in my top as well now. Never forget that Fluffhead!
I cant choose a best, I really cant! Personally, I have had so many great moments with this band. Whether it was the first time I saw them in Arizona 92, or seeing them at Red Rocks 95, the Gorge, MSG, Las Vegas, Shoreline, NJ, IT, and most recently in Hartford. Everything in between has been a blast! The bottom line is anytime I get to see them is a good day no matter what. Indio is on deck, cant wait!
for me, it’s definitely 2/28/03. tweezer seemed like it would last forever (in a good way).
I’m pretty new to phish shows but I’ll never forget 08/08/2009 at the gorge. emotional orgasm is the best way I can describe it…
The obvious answer is Big Cyprus. Epic! The best regular show I’ve seen was 7-10-99 Camden. I thought the band was so tight and the setlist was arranged perfectly. So-so tour- but unbelievable show
My favorite Phish experiences are constantly getting one-upped, so for the time being I’m going to have to go with this past August’s Gorge weekend.
The best show I’ve been to was 12-30-97. The anticipation of New Years and being at the Garden added an extra vibe to the show. The Sneakin Sally opener and the seemingly-endless second set really defines the best of ’97 Phish.
So many great ones! Just one? I’ll go with one I mentioned on an earlier question: 5-27-94. 1st set Harry, unfinished Mike’s Groove, Simple debut, and much more!
1st night Clifford Ball. Greatest experience of my life.
I’m inclined to answer with this year’s Hartford show, but I have to go with the Deer Creek Moby Dick show from 2000. Jammy, baby, Jammy!
There were so many great/memorable shows like my first show (12/30/92) and the last one I saw (8/14/09), but I would have to say, the best one was 7/8/94 at Great Woods. Everyone remembers this show because of the Gamehenge first set… while I was there, I could not believe I was seeing that, then in the second set during the YEM > Frankenstein > YEM I remember thinking that I would never in my life see anything as great as what I was seeing right then. I have a huge smile on my face just thinking about it now… time to go listen to that show!
A lot of people have been giving the Merriweather show on 8/15/09 bad reviews, but I had a great time at that show. Party Time and 46 Days>Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ made that a great night.
I only got brought into the wonderful world of Phish two years ago, and living in MA, away on May 31st, and no real means of getting to other shows, I was shut out from everything but Great Woods. So yea, best (only) show i’ve ever been too! Fluffhead was a great surprise.
Though each one has been special in its own way, I would have to say 08/02/03 was my favorite Phish show out of those that I have attended. IT was my first festival, and the overall experience was just incredible.
tough to pick a favortie show, but since I have to in this case, I’ve gotta go with 11/27/98 Worcester Centrum. WIPEOUT!
Hampton ’98 (I can count that as one show, right)
Probably not the best musically, but just a wonderful weekend.
Tough choice. Both Schnitzer 8.26.93 and Salem Armory 12.1.94 are amazing, with great setlists. But my all time fave is my first show: 4.13.91 at Biddy Mulligan’s in Chicago!
IT! Not the best musically, but my only voyage to limestone. It’s not an experience unless you bring someone along.
Hampton 09 because I’m a noob and proud of it.
:: Cowers in fear of shit-slinging vets ::
My favorite Phish show that I personally attended was my first show at Greatwoods on June 30th, 1995. I was lucky enough to pick up my friend’s last ‘extra,’ and had the best and craziest time listening to the unique sounds of Phish. Unforgettable.
Hampton 11/22/97
From the opening lick of Mikes > Groove to the Halleys > Tweezer > Katy > Piper in the second set , I was completely sucked into the Phishmosphere.
When the second set closed with Antelope, I knew that I was seeing my best Phish show.
There are so many to choose from but I will go with the most unique/intimate show that I’ve ever seen: Spokane Opera House, Spokane, Wa in oct of 95′. I was up front and the stage was only a few feet off the ground. I was basically eye-level with the band. The hood from that show was unfinished and so beautiful.
IT was the best experience I’ve had, not the best shows I’ve seen but that weekend was the shiz-nit-o-bam-snip-snap-snap.
Gorge takes the cake in 3.0 for music and Hampton wins for energy.
So hard to pick, but I will go with my first. Richmond, VA 1994 with a friend singing Honky Tonk Women during Harpua with the boys.
the best “show” I guess for me was the entire package of “The Great Went”. just had a blast, great people, great music, all around awesome times. my fave festival of them all.
shocking but 2/24/03 was my first show so in my mind it was the best! many others have been better but none come close to the first
BC is correct
Hmmmm. Tough question! If I have to pick one, I guess I will say that the best Phish show that I have personally attended was the 6/17/94 show in Milwaukee. My second show.
Never seen a show. Indio will be my first.
The epic journey down to the everglades, waiting in line for 14 plus hours, the affirmation that yes they will be playing all night, and the sky on the final morning all boil down to two words: BIG CYPRESS!!!
The best Phish show I have ever attended was 4/3/98. I distinctly remember walking out of the show and wondering how Phish could play a show perfectly; I was almost convinced they had composed the show note-for-note beforehand. there was no way it was spontaneous!
This was my first phish tour so the best one I’ve seen is Hartford 08.14.09. wow.
So hard to choose. I had a blast at Oak Mountain 9/28/99 and the next night in Memphis 9/29/99. Big Cypress was certainly the biggest event-wise, as were the Went & Lemon Wheel. Howevre, I’ll commit to my birthday show at Star Lake 8/13/97.
My first festival experience, I was only 16: The Lemonwheel. Amazing music and a weekend i will never forget
Another tour noob here, but Red Rocks 07.31 got it done for me in a big way. The Tweezer>BDTNL>Fluff>Piper>Day In the Life was about as perfect as I could have asked for!
Definitely Big Cypress, there is no way that after that 7 1/2 hours that anything they had ever done, or would ever do, could top it…
NYE MSG 1995–Got(face)miracled outside below the big screen, while surrounded by scalpers trying to out bid me. The guy yelled “this guy is getting it for face–enough” Found the crew and rocked to the Time Lab all night on through the new year! Best NYE ever!
08/07/09 Gorge, George, Washington. Awesome Possum and a Sneakin’ Sally vocal jam. Best show I’ve ever seen.
May 8, 1992 The Riviera Theatre, North Tonawanda, NY. Setlist was ridiculous…maybe 1000 people there? Page says, “the owners or this theater want us to remind you that this is an old wooden theater and that there’s no smoking here.” Hey Page – you’re at a Phish show buddy!
I’d have to go with my first show 05/02/92 Cabaret Metro in Chicago. Honorable mentions include 12/31/93 NYE Worcester or 08/13/93 Murat.
The Alladin Theater in Vegas, 1996. This is a difficult one to answer but I chose the Alladin because it stands out as one of the most memorable and fun shows. The set list was sweet, the guest stars were hysterical, the theater was gorgeous and spacious and it was Vegas!
Chattanooga early 90’s
That concert showed me a whole other level I hadn’t seen at other concerts and hooked.
The best show I went to was probably my first Rochester War Memorial 12/11/97. This is the show that is on Bittersweet Motel. It was the first time I’d ever heard Punch you in the Eye live or on tape.
Masquerade Music Park Atlanta when they were just startin out. They opened for SoulHat and the Grapes. Game On! Fishman with vacuum and Purple Rain.
My best show had to be my first show at LJVM 11/21/1995. I had listened to them but didn’t know how much fun they had. Barbershop Quartet and Fish’s Suspicious Minds costume were a few highlights.
Sugarbush, VT 1994. “And now the chairman of the boards will now play a solo as if he were just hit in the head with a comet!!”
Best show I attended was 12/30/97. Some great bustouts (Sally) and that amazing encore, but what really did it for me was the glowstick war during Hood. Trey puts down his guitar and just joins the fans for the fun. Such a REAL moment.
12-31-99 big cypress. Perphect phish. Unpredictability. Ck5 on y2k.
The third night at Hampton this past March is probably my favorite show I’ve seen. The emotion of having them back was overwhelming. Also the DWD from that show is my favorite of the year.
08-14-97 Darien Lake on the way up to the Went. Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters & my first Forbins. But this past hartford was close!
08/08/2009 Gorge, one of those everything shows. The crowd, the energy, the scenery, the sunset, the jams, the antics, the lights, all of it.
Third time’s a charm. My third show was the amazing White Album Halloween, 10/31/94. After a quick visit with my sister at Skidmore College, I drove to lovely Glens Falls for the show. An absolutely incredible night that never ended. Oddly, my memories of that night are in black and white. Should I be concerned about that? Pumped for The 8!!!!
1. Big Cypress – pure bliss. Time of my life.
Top 3?
2. 7.15.00 Columbus – dragged my pops there and a couple other family members. They were blown away.
3. 8.7.09 Gorge. Something was in the air that night.
besides big cypress being the best time of my life, my favorite show would be 08/09/98-va beach ampitheatre. I was 17 and had been to a few lots outside shows and jumped the fence the night before at merriweather during setbreak, but this was my first full show.
From the pyite opener through some of the best gems of phish’s catalog to the terrapin station encore! As soon as the first 6 notes of terrapin dropped, my teenage eyes saw more people cry than I could imagine. Great tour, great show!
10/21/95 Phish Pershing Auditorium, Lincoln, NE
Later to become a live download release. Drove from Lawrence KS with a great crew, great show, great memories.
Amy’s farm, what an energy, hidden away in maine, free, last min announcement!! it was awesome!
after driving and sitting in the car for 30+ hours, begging a local farmer to let us camp in his field, and hiking five miles to the show…I would say coventry was the experience of a lifetme!
8/15/09 my first (and so far only) show. I’m 16 and wasn’t able to see them before 09. Incredible. Will be seeing more.
Big Cypress has an unfair advantage but beyond that… 11/22/97 is probably the best beyond that.
12/31/02 Madison Square Garden. There first show back after the hiatus and my first ever Phish live experience, unreal. Seven Below around midnight with fake snow and people on stilts. WOW
5/30/93- Laguna Seca Daze- they opened with lengthwise. Great weather, great festival, great friends, great show!
My first show was Nobelsville this year (thanks to my parents and the haitus). That day was amazingly hot, the lightning storm/glow stick war during Fluffhead was friggin crazy, we got kicked out of the venue and the second set melted my face. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Other than Big Cypress, My personal fav, that I went to was 12/31/1995.
i’m gonna go with 8/1/99, the second set was everything i wanted!
I don’t know that it’s the “best,” by your (who every you are) measure, but 8/2/97 was my favorite attendance.
11/22/97. This show found phish during an apex of creativity at a favorite venue of theirs. Its difficult to select a favorite show, but this one has them pulling out all the stops and to this day is recalled as a top dog among fans.
So hard to pick just one BUT I will go with 8/16/96, first day of The Clifford Ball. There was an incredible vibe that whole weekend and they backed up the crowd’s expectations with 2 incredble shows. While second set from 8/17 is one of my all time favorite sets, the 8/16 show from top to bottom was just amazing. Also in the running for me are 12/31/95, 11/27/98, 7/25/99 and a bunch of others. Tough question indeed.
With 125+ shows going back to 11/27/92 I’ve seen some really amazing shows, but none compare to the experience I had on 8/14/09 1st row, between Trey and Page. From the first notes, they picked me up and spun me round, not letting me go until that awful WMGGW encore.
7-25-99 DeerCreek. The best 1st set I’ve seen to this day, and has to be considered in their Best of. The Meat, MFMF>MLT>Whipping Post is beyond epic. The Makisupa was hilarious, the Boogie On raged. Huge Birds>Walk Away. Classic Purple Rain! Enough Said!
9/18/1999 @ Chula Vista is a show I will always remember. From the 22 minute “Boogie”, to staring @ the side of the mountain, next to the venue. It was a special night for me.
Hard to top Big Cypress.
Hamburg, Germany 1996. Out of body experience.
6/24/94 – Murat Theater, Indianapolis, IN. This was my first show and is etched in my mind like no other. DSky opener, McGrupp, Sloth, Demand, Antelope. Nuts, I tell ya!
oh gosh, it’s like picking your favorite child. I would have to say 11.27.98 Worcester (the “Wipeout” show) or 4.4.98 / 4.5.98 Island Tour shows.
I can’t name just one.
1992: 5.12
1993: 2.9
1994: 11.4
1995: all of December (5 shows)
1996: 11.2
1997: 12.30
1998: New Years Run
1999: 7.10
2009: 8.14
I saw some shows in 2003 & 4, but I didn’t like them.
2/28/03
I got out of a mid term in Law School, drove 7 hours down from upstate (I am a slow driver) and drove right back to take it the next day. All the time I was writing on Con Crim Pro I was humming Destiny. I got a B+
The Gorge this summer.. it literally took my breathe away standing on the hill of the ampitheatre.. literally. I was so overwhelmed with emotion.. I will never listen to Phish the same.
12/31/95 – my favorite band on the greatest stage in the world, on the best concert night of the year, playing at the peak of their abilities – APEX
8/14/09 Hartford, CT – Put down your iPhones and read the fucking book!!!! the book was written, it was written by…by hand! by candlelight! by pen!
Big Cypress has an advantage over everything else, but as a reagular 2 set show i’d go with Hartford this year and 7.29.03 Burgettstown. The most fun i’ve had at shows were these two.
Cypress
Sesto Calende, Italy, 7.15.96. Small town, I remember the bus pulling in with the bands heads out the windows and Trey agreeing to a Makisupa if girl would jump off bridge next to and above the venue – many of us had already, she did, stellar night!
I’ve seen a lot of shows and no one ever really talks about this one, but after the hiatus, I really loved the time I caught them in Denver at the Pepsi Center. 2-18-2003, although I just like it slightly more than the time I saw them play Red Rocks in 1996.
8/16/96 – Day One of The Clifford Ball. The second and third set were just mind blowing. There is nothing like having a day where your only responsibility is to make it to 3 sets of Phish.
What happened with this? The winner was supposed to be announced yesterday.
Ian, The winner will be announced at 5PM. Sorry for the delay.
D’oh! Sorry for the pushiness Scott…..way too caught up in the Phish madness at the moment.
Did I miss the winner announcement?
Olyman – Here’s where we announced the winners https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/giveaway-vote-on-festival-8-finalists/
Quality articles is the secret to interest the viewers to visit the site,
that’s what this web site is providing.