Phish played a free concert at “first fan” Amy Skelton’s Larrabee Farm in Auburn, Maine on August 3, 1991 that holds a special place in the band’s history. Amy’s Farm was a predecessor to the massive festivals that would come such as 1996’s Clifford Ball, 1997’s The Great Went, 2003’s It and 2015’s Magnaball done on a much small scale but with the same intent. Matt Laurence was one of the fans in attendance at the legendary three-set concert held at Amy’s Farm and he brought video equipment to capture the action. Today, more than 27 years later, Laurence has shared his (nearly) complete footage of the legendary performance via Phish.net in support of the Mockingbird Foundation.
“This was the small, friendly version of a Phish festival. What it lacked in spectacle, it made up for in ease of access,” attendee David “ZZYZX” Steinberg wrote about Amy’s Farm for the third edition of the Phish Companion. “Located just north of Portland, the parts of the farm we could access had an upper and lower field. The upper one is where we all parked, set up camp, and otherwise hung out. When it came time to walk to the show, there was a path down the hill that led us to the stage. It was set up like a Phish festival in miniature: stage up front in a field with food vendors around the sides. However, there was one noticeable difference – the crowd was so much smaller and so laid back, that you could walk to the front whenever you wanted.”
Matt Laurence roamed the grounds with a camera on his shoulder and set up a camera at the soundboard. His footage remained on VHS and “lost” until last year, when he started the process of digitizing his video. The raw video has been edited and synced with high-quality audio to give current fans the best possible look at the memorable day in Phish history. While footage of the encore in incomplete, Matt did a nice job of mixing what video does exist with photos from the show. Much thanks go out to Laurence for all of his hard work. Please consider donating to the Mockingbird Foundation to help fund music education for children in appreciation for this “new” video.
