It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Phish, July 1st, 1994, Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, PA

      Greetings everyone. I don't know about you, but I am really pumped for Phish's Summer Tour to get under way. I'll be seeing 7 shows in 26 days from Philly down to South Orange Beach Alabama. But the venue I'm most excited to visit is Philly's Mann Music Center. And why am I most looking forward to that? Because I've been seeing Phish for so long (20 years) that things are starting to circle back around. The first time I ever visited the Mann was 20 years ago for a Phish show on July 1^st. So with out further ado, Kempepedia is proud to present another installment of It Was 20 Years Ago Today, Phish at the Mann Music Center, July 1^st, in Philadelphia, PA

      I had already seen Phish once at Penn State that spring and was pumped to see them again. I already had tickets for the RFK (July 16th and 17^th) Dead shows, so 2 weeks before fit my schedule quite well. Myself, Nad, and W set out. This was W's first Phish show (Nad's second) and we were ready to rage.
      The venue is located in Philly's Fairmount Park and is absolutely gorgeous. Definitely the most beautiful outdoor venue in an urban area I have ever encountered. All the parking is on the grass, with a ton of trees to provide shade. A centrally located fountain is the perfect spot to tell people to meet up. Remember, this was the era before cell phones.

      We chilled out in the Lot and then proceeded into the venue. I was still something of a noob, and didn't have my accessories adequately stashed, which was a huge problem when I got to the gate. When he asked me to empty my pockets, my response was to turn around and flee. W was directly behind me and all he could do was look at the guy and shrug his shoulders. W was still coming down from the balloons we had done before heading in. I went to another entrance and met up with my
 crew.

Friday, 07/01/1994
The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Soundcheck: Dog Log, Funky Bitch, Jam, The Old Home Place
Set 1: Runaway Jim, Foam, Sample in a Jar, NICU > Stash, The Mango Song > It's Ice > Tela > Julius, Suzy Greenberg
Set 2: David Bowie, If I Could > Fluffhead > Down with Disease > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Possum > Hold Your Head Up > Terrapin > Hold Your Head Up, Harry Hood, Cavern
Encore: Rocky Top
Teases:
· Voodoo Child (Slight Return) tease in Possum
Notes: Possum included teases of Voodoo Child (Slight Return).

You can stream the show here

http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1994-07-01

      I still wasn't familiar with all the songs but everything kicked ass. The Jim had some nice little moments and Foam was really good. The second set was really the meat of the show. Fluffhead was one of my favorite songs and this did not disappoint. I knew the TMWSIY> Avenu Malkenu>TMWSIY from tapes and hearing live brought home how beautiful a songwriter Trey was and how funky a 2000 year old Hebrew prayer could be. Only Phish could pull that off. Despite a lot of repeats from the Penn State show, I was thoroughly impressed.

      We ended up having seats near I guy I knew through the York Crew up at Penn State named D'Horhay. I know the spelling is wrong but he was an Asian/Polynesian guy with a Hispanic name so I have no idea what the proper spelling is. Nad wasn't and still isn't the biggest drinker. He really doesn't like alcohol. But for whatever reason, he was drinking a lot that day (Actually, it was probably like 2 beers). But it really made him ill, and he kept running to the bathroom to throw up. D'Horhay remarked to me” Wow, that guy has to piss ALOT” Ah, to be young and have absolutely no tolerance.

      So there you have it, my first but certainly not my last adventures at the beautiful Mann Music Center, which bills itself “As the Sound of Summer” And I can not wait to hear the Phish from Vermont rip it up 3.0 style there on July 8 and 9 this year.

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll