Live Phish 09: 8/26/89 Townshend Family Park, Townshend, Vermont by Phish

Phish: Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell. Volume 9 is likely to remain the earliest show documented in this series, since Phish formed only a few years earlier. It gives us an educational look at the band's genesis and catches them before they became a national phenomenon. In a park in Southern Vermont, Phish found themselves playing to their largest crowd yet at some 3,000 strong, no doubt teeming with kids from nearby colleges. Vocalist/guitarist Trey Anastasio even suggests that the crowd, "go for a swim?" during the intermission, adding to the down-home feel. We're treated to several numbers previously unrepresented in this series. The Gamehenge narrative, which debuted in 1988, is represented with "Colonel Forbin's Ascent" and continues into "Fly Famous Mockingbird" with Trey using the local topography as a visual aide. Material from JUNTA makes up a large part of the show, with the cryptic "You Enjoy Myself" dissolving into an even more nonsensical a cappella section. "Dinner...