The Paradise Boston, MA
tour
notes
Possum was dedicated by Fish to Stacey Stienmetz and included a Fishin' Hole tease from Trey. The opening act was Widespread Panic.
Harry Hood was dedicated to Trey’s friend, “Dave.” Trey dedicated Rocky Top to Katie McConnell (Page's sister) and the contingent of Volunteers from the University of Tennessee. Trey teased Third Stone From The Son several times, off-key, in Mike's Song. Weekapaug included a Bonanza theme tease from Trey. Before If I Only Had a Brain, Fish was introduced as “Moses Heaps.”
Antelope was dedicated by Trey to "Chris" and "Bob." This show marked the debut of Lawn Boy, which Trey announced as a “world premiere.” Antelope and 'A' Train contained Sailor's Hornpipe teases. Fee and Suzy included Long Tall Glasses teases. Suzy also contained a Brady Bunch theme tease. SOAM included Dave's Energy Guide teasing. 'A' Train also contained a Dixie tease. Bowie included a Contact tease in the intro and Mr. P.C. tease in the song. Prior to In a Hole, Auld Lang Syne was teased.
Fish performed Happy Birthday (last played July 12, 1988, or 134 shows) on the vacuum for his brother David. This setlist is incomplete and likely out of order.
Antelope contained Sailor's Hornpipe and Jeopardy! theme teases.
This setlist is incomplete and is out of order. The only recording in circulation is a mix of songs from the show, which features Hydrogen brutally cut out of the Mike’s Groove. This setlist is in the order in which those songs appear on the mix. (The mix also includes several songs from the Paradise show on January 26, 1989.) Possum contained a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tease, which raises the question – were these songs really performed in March 1989? David Bowie closed the first set. Before Brain, someone introduced Fish – or is it Phish – as being “from Bogota, Columbia.”  It is therefore possible that Brain opened this show, which would be the only (known) time that Brain opened a show.
This was the band’s first major gig in Boston. The Paradise held around 650 people, they didn’t think the band could come close to selling out the room and so refused to book Phish. John Paluska and Ben Hunter, who were managing Phish at the time, therefore rented the room for the evening. John and Ben promoted the gig heavily, including via radio. Tickets were only $5. Tom Baggott, a fan of the band, helped get Burlington fans to the show by Greyhound bus. Not only did the gig sell out, but there were some 200 people shut out (mostly Boston University and Boston College students). I Didn't Know featured Fish on trombone. Alumni contained additional lyrics. Prior to YEM, Trey welcomed his mom, who had come "all the way from Ireland." After YEM, Trey said that they had a special guest that night for the person in the front row that kept requesting that they play Minkin. Trey mentioned that there was a Minkin hanging behind the band and that Minkin was also there that night. There was a subsequent brief Minkin vocal tease prior to Lizards. This version of Sanity was the fast version.