Submitted to the legacy Phish.net site...

I'm a 1990 grad of Hobart College, and this was my first Phish show. At the time, I had never heard of them and had no clue that I was seeing what would become one of my favorite bands of all time. Anyway, I can hardly offer a song by song critique. What I can tell you is this: They played on the grassy "Quad" at Hobart on a stage set up in front of Coxe Hall, a really nice, old, gothic-type building. There were about 20 people in front of the stage watching the band. I remember the music was interesting, but I really wasn't blown away or anything. I remember talking to one guy I knew who told me that he had no idea what they were playing, but it was great music to trip to. That dude is a dentist in Vermont now. Anyway, the band was miffed because everyone was located about 45-50 yards away from the stage in the beer tent, the only place on the Quad you were allowed to drink. Trey called over to the tent a few times, asking people to come closer. Nevertheless, people for the most part stayed in the tent. The last thing I remember is Trey shouting "this next song is dedicated to the women of William Smith" (the women's college that shares the same campus with Hobart) and they launched into an awesome cover of "Good Times, Bad Times." You know..."In the days of my youth I was told what it is to be a man..." We took this as a hilarious comment on the female population of William Smith, whether Trey meant it that way or not. They totally rocked, and me and my friend, who were big Zeppelin Fans, were just laughing our asses off and rocking out. We left after the first set because we had a party to go to, and I don't think we even knew they were coming back out. We might not have stayed anyway. My educated guess is the second set was real short due to the lack of interest shown by most everyone there at the time. Postscript: in 1998 I attended my 13th or 14th Phish show at Ventura County Fairgrounds on 7/20. My brother was working on a popular TV show at the time as an editor, and, as a result we got to go back stage between sets with one of the stars of the show who knows the band. I felt the need to recount my Hobart experience to Trey, just to let him know that I was a fan from a ways back. After trying to figure out which Hobart show I was talking about, he said "Oh yeah, that was the night everyone was at the tent and not watching us." I said yeah, but your Zeppelin cover was awesome. And that was that. Anyway, I've got a photo with my brother, Trey and Mike and a green Dr. Zaius "Planet of the Apes" backstage pass to prove this yarn. And now you have a sort of review of this Hobart show. Thanks.

The above review I think is referencing another show at Hobart College that was performed outside on the Quad

The show referenced was actually inside a multi-use older building that was called the Barn. It was poorly attended as I recall. It was the first time I saw the band play, and I was turned off by the vacuum cleaner playing as I recall. I remember standing about 5 feet away from the band, as the building was quite small, and I don't think there was a stage per se.

I wouldn't see them play again until 2015 - I missed a lot of stuff in between

This recording is decent for being originally recorded on a Boombox. I’m sure the source tape sounds pretty good as Paul let them plug into the board that night. Also, these recent SBD recordings have a nice amount of the room mixed in.

The show itself, at least what’s available, is pretty straightforward for the time. The recording starts up towards the very end of Bag. Trey seems to be fumbling the lyrics to Fee more often this tour. Tonight was the first time he apologizes for it. The YEM>Makisupa is really the only highlight. Apparently the authorities show up during YEM inspiring the band to launch into Makisupa. The GTBT cuts out midway through. Anarchy opens Set 2 with a surprise appearance. Harpua cuts out at “how about a goldfish?” Not a very exciting show but it’s nice to have it for historical purposes. Big thanks to Todd and Art for getting this one circulated!