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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. This week’s guest is Dennis Baker, who first came to my attention toward the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. At that time, I noticed someone on a Twitter account who began to stream video of Phish shows throughout their history. Sort of like a do it yourself version of Dinner and a Movie. The big difference is that Dennis was streaming these videos every single night.

After watching a few of Dennis’ videos, in addition to the regular Dinner and a Movie shows, it dawned on me that even though I’d been listening to Phish for 25 years, I’d been missing out on an entire perspective of the band. So many shows that I love and hold close to my heart have only existed in my mind’s eye. I’d never seen what shows from 1996 or 1991, or festivals before IT, looked like. Seeing these shows was almost like hearing the show for the first time all over again, and I have Dennis to thank for that opportunity.

For today’s episode, Dennis picked November 27, 1998 from the Worcester Centrum. Better known as “The Wipeout Show,” it deserves comparison with the Tinley Park 1993 Antelope show, the February Roxy show from 1993, and the Tweezer Led Zeppelin show from Atlantic City in 2010, as Wipeout weaves in and out of the 2nd set, punctuating outstanding performances of fan favorites. It was also a hometown show for Dennis, with the crowd being made up of long time New England Phish fans, adding to the heartfelt feeling.

So let’s join Dave to hear about Phish videos, what makes Phish in '96 and '98 so special, and November 27, 1998 at the Worcester Centrum.