https://forum.phish.net/forum/permalink/1378126279

In the past, some things were better and other things were worse. To understand history, one must accept both halves of that proposition.

The band's recent performance of Gamehendge on the past New Year's Eve brings up the question of the value of nostalgia. How would fans would react if Phish took the stage in 2024 and played a typical setlist from 1992? Phish has evolved their repertoire along with their musicianship over the intervening years, discarding many songs along the way, and replacing them with new compositions. Songs written after 1992, like Down With Disease, Ghost, Piper, and Sand, have become the improvisational plow horses of today, as well as songs debuted after the 2009 reunion like Light, Fuego, Ruby Waves and A Wave of Hope. And other songs were in the repertoire in 1992, but had yet to fully blossom as jam vehicles, like Mike's Song (almost always 7-8 minutes long at that time), Chalk Dust Torture, and most significantly, Bathtub Gin.

Bathtub Gin is the silver bullet in the rhetorical revolver for the argument against "they were better back then, they suck now" Jaded-Vet-ness. There were a few good versions back in 1992, but even these don't match up to the majority of Bathtub Gin performances in 3.0 and 4.0. Back then, Gin's appearance in a setlist merely indicated that the band was digging a little deeper into their repertoire; now, Bathtub Gin can turn a good show into an amazing show. The song's rise to prominence was a direct result of the evolution in the band's improvisational style, as evidenced by four specific milestone performances: 8/13/93, 11/7/96, 8/17/97, and 7/29/98.

The Bathtub Gin from this show isn't as significant as those other versions, but it works well as the centerpiece of this second set, and is a fair example of the band's improvisational approach during the Fall '95 tour (check out funky Mike!). And Pittsburgh is another contender for the title of "location with the most underrated Phish shows": 11/30/92, 7/18/93, 10/18/96, 7/21/99, and 6/18/09 are all Western PA shows that deserve more recognition than they currently receive. Performing in the home arena of Pittsburgh's NHL franchise prompted Philadelphia Flyers/Boston Bruins fan Trey to insincerely dedicate a couple of tunes to Penguins' HOF Center (and past owner) Mario Lemieux. The second set also features Page emulating Trey's scat-singing-while-playing solo during Scent Of A Mule, as well as rarities like the Oh Kee Pa Ceremony opener, a stand-alone performance of Catapult, a pleasantly audible recording of Acoustic Army, and Bike featuring a vacuum solo from "Forrest Gump".