Phish fans correctly identify certain years or periods in the band’s history as “breakthrough” ones, moments when the band elevated its playing style, improvisation, sound, and song catalog to a new and higher level. Most commonly identified among these transition periods is August 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1997. Others rightly point to 2000, 2003 - 2004, and perhaps 2012 as seminal periods in the band’s musical development. 1988 is rarely mentioned in such company, but should be, and here’s why.

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