6-25-04 - Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI

please review the show, not the other reviews....

Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 08:17:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ryan O'Malley 
Subject: Alpine -- June 25th

Well, this was my second to last Phish show after
30-something shows since '96.  I have to say that when
they announced the breakup, my thoughts were "Yeah,
that seems about right."  I, along with the band, just
didn't seem to be into it anymore.  That being said, I
showed up at Alpine ready to get down one last time,
hoping all the while that the shows would allow me to
do so.  That they did.  So, here's a brief review of
the first night...

Julius: Had the chance to watch this from the 5th row.
 Good stuff.  Always a great tune that gets the juices
flowing.

Roses are Free: I guess it had been a while since they
played this.  Good tune.  A little rough/sloppy
towards the end though.

AC/DC Bag: Good version.  Good three song opener to
really get people moving.  Seemed like they went into
the spacey ending just as it was really getting
rocking, but good nonetheless.  

Glide: How can you not like this song?!  Just a great
song to make you feel good about yourself and the band
you're listening to.  

Anything but Me: One word....WHY?  It's your last tour
and you're playing songs that NO ONE wants to hear. 
Why?  If you need a breather, a Fast Enough or If I
Could would work just fine.  Glad to hear this one for
the last time!

David Bowie: Great Bowie.  Nailed the intro, unlike
the last two times I saw it (Phoenix and Vegas).  Just
a great jam, with your traditional Bowie energy!  

Wolfman's:  One of the best jams of the weekend by
far!  Great funk!  Great listening!  Great space, with
no one necessarily leading at any one time.  Just four
guys working together to create ONE sound. 
Incredible.  Can't wait to hear it again!

Golgi: Great way to end a rocking set!  

Set 2

Seven Below: Not a bad song, but I wasn't really
excited when they started it.  However, 28 or so
minutes later, I was screaming my head off for more. 
What an incredible jam!  Four of five distinct parts
to it, totally off of the song's chord structure. 
Good stuff again!

>Buffalo Bill: I love this song.  Short and sweet.  

>Lawn Boy:  I was sad to have missed the Squirming
Coil at Deer Creek, so this gave me a chance to say
goodbye to my favorite member of Phish.  I've never
felt so happy for a man in my life as when Page not
only signed an autograph in the middle of the song,
but he also took about 2 minutes and just stood there
with the spot light on him, with no music or anything,
and the crowd WENT NUTS!!  That man deserved every
single cheer that was sent his way.  INCREDIBLE!!

>Mike's Groove: Great Groove.  Mike's was kickin' as
usual with some great, rockin' energy.  Good Hydro,
and a slow but good Paug.  Could have ended the show
there, but I noticed there was still time...

>YEM>2001>YEM: Incredible way to end the show.  The
transition into 2001 was a little abrupt and pretty
much right after the trampolines, but once the 2001
got settled it was great!  Not too long or too short. 
Then back into the vocal jam.  If this wasn't my last
YEM ever, I could have skipped the vocal jam, but
seeing as it was, I LOVED it.  They ended it perfectly
too.  Kuroda was really doing some listening.  

Sample: I'll take it as an encore for this show.  I've
seen it a lot lately, but I really enjoyed it as a way
to just keep it rockin' out into the lot.  

GREAT show!   High energy.  Very few mistakes.  I
walked out saying to myself that if I didn't get to go
the next night, I would be totally satisfied with
being my last show ever.  Good good stuff.

Ryan



Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:54:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: 7 Zark 7
Subject: Phish, Alpine, Friday, 6/25

  Phish, Alpine Valley, June 25th After adjusting to the fact that nearly
90% of the people around me were under the age of 21, and were at their
first Phish show (and mostly rude, i hate to say), I sat down w/ my
friends, stage right, on the grass and got ready for my 2nd to last show
w/ the band.   My expectations were actually, very high given the context
of Friday's and Saturday's shows - the LAST shows Phish would play at
Alpine, EVER....if we believe Trey.  I was hoping for some decent snyergy
from the band - I was hoping they'd bring us back to the glory days on
some level, and I was hoping they'd sound competent when they played their
composed material.   What I got was far more than any of that. Before I go
into this, I want to say something that I think needs to be said. '93,
'94, '95, and '97, to me, were the best years of this band.   Each of
those years were ground-breaking years pack full of amazing energy and
incredible jams. But the truth about a large percentage of jams from those
eras is that we got tons and tons of SPACE.......space where Trey or Mike
or all of them, would search for the right motiff, and then lock onto
it.....we heard a lot of this in '94 and '95, and also in '97.......what
you'd end up w/ was a great jam, even a goose-bump raising jam, so make no
mistake - those tours, those jams are why I became a phan, but I find it
annoying when phans recall the genius of the old days - yes, they were
great back then but they were also lost a lot of the time too - what we
got at Alpine on Friday, was the absolute best jamming I've ever heard
them put together......the jam out of WOLMAN's was a new sound for them -
it was not a "going thru the motions" jam - it was fresh, intense, tight
and alive......there truly is no better wolfman's jam out there - and you
could see the magic on their faces - this was more than a fun, "i still
love you mike; and I sill love you Trey", sentimental, jam, this was like
sex for these guys - this was not your standard '98, '99, '00, '03
bore-jam........this was a full-on, trey's got a raging hard-on,
jamsphere. Throw in a great Bowie, one of the best Bags in years, and a
Glide taboot, and you have a great first set..........now, set II: For
starters, I hate 7 Below - the goofy guitar lick at the beginning kills
the tune for me... but once they'd played a couple verses of the tune, the
spaceship took off - 20 minutes later, I'd nearly been brouht to tears
twice - I heard textures (NOT space) and poly-rhythms that I've truly
never heard them play before - INSANE was this jam.......throw in a
wonderfully placed Buffalo Bill and Lawn Boy for good measure, and then
we're off into Mike's Groove - at times, somewhat standard, but by "Paug,
this jam was HOT - and it's at this point that I realize that I haven't
been this happy at a Phish show since '97.......there would be no
handicapping this show, it was, to the 'paug point, incredible.    So what
do they do then but throw us a YEM??!?!?? AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT YEM -
Somewhere around '96 or '97, Trey truly, IMHO, began struggling quite a
bit a times w/ the intro to YEM - those are rather tricky arpeggios that
he's playing there, and while he's at times, ALWAYS struggled w/ playing
the intro clean, he's obviously done it far more since '97 - this has
always bugged the shit out of me.......and since the hiatus, well, forget
it - he hadn't really hit one clean since I cannot remember when - so when
the opening notes of YEM played out, my heart sank a bit b/c the show, to
this point, had been totally dope, and I didn't want it ruined by a
train-wreck, trey, intro - HOLY SHIT - he NAILED IT SO HARD!!!  I haven't
heard Trey play the intro w/ that much confidence and precision in a
longass time......it meant the world to me and to everybody else who feels
the same way about YEM to hear Trey hit each and every note.......and then
to blast YEM into 2001 - wow - great seque, great jam, and CK was on as
usual........all in all, they could have quit after week'paug and I'd have
been happy - this jam was a bonus, and it was a phat bonus.....check the
tapes. (TIGHTNESS NOTE - both night (Fri/Sat) were TIGHT - fishman has
never been better; and everybody is listening to everybody else - full
band effort w/ synergernistic flair) The Sample encore was pefect;  the
perfect ending to one of the best phish shows I've ever seen - my first
show was back in '91 w/ 600 people in attendance - i saw them 5 times in
'93, 9 times in '94, 5 times in '95, 6 times in '96, 11 times in '97, 4
times in '98, 0 times in '99, 3 times in '00 and twice last year at
Alpine.   Friday was my 46th show, and quite honestly, my favorite - they
have never jammed like they did on Friday - just get the tapes and check
that jam out of Wolfman's and the jam out of 7 below - I'll take the Pepsi
challenge w/ any other jam on any given sunday - these guys reminded me
that I'm going to really miss them..........this show was quite simply -
pefect.   

my two cents: 
9.5 out of 10



Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:49:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kid Cisc0
Subject: Phish show Review (Friday Alpine 2004)

Phish Alpine 2004 Fri.

Knowing these Alpine shows were many phans last show, (being the furthest
west Phish traveled on their very short farewell tour) and based off what
I^Òve heard from the previous shows this tour^Å I had big expectations.
Phish brought a lot of flavor with a large blend of songs from all their
different eras. The scene at Alpine was very mixed between older,
younger, wooks, freaks, and custy type fans. Many older folks came out
for these shows. Shakedown was almost non-existent; probably due to the
large vending tickets they were handing out last year, although I was a
little late getting in the lot so maybe I missed the better part of
it^Å..but enough about all that.

With a little chaos, I got in the venue late, and not knowing what seats
I had. I knew my friend had good seats, but he hadn^Òt told me where. Low
and behold they were dead center; 17th row, so I he stubbed me down,
which is by far the closest I have ever sat!! That put my already happy
self, into super happy over drive!

1st set broke out Julius, which was bouncy, very on, and set a happy
mood. Nothing too crazy^Å. fun for an opener. Roses R Free was next and
the crowd went bonkers. I^Òve always been a sucker for the solo when
Phish plays Roses. Unfortunately Trey completely missed the solo and just
strummed through it as if he was a rhythm guitarist, (OUCH!!!) and that
wrapped up the song. A flub but I can^Òt say I was too bothered. Dead
center; 17th row^Å. remember! AC/DC Bag was very extended and super
funky. Lots of exploration. One of those phish jams where you had to turn
to your friend 15 min into it and ask, ^Ówhat song is this!?!^Ô Glide,
and Anything But Me were both nicely played. Both slowed the tempo from
the rage inprov funk of AC/DC bag. Into a monster of a Bowie! This Bowie
was definitely the best I^Òve heard live. Very creative. Great
communication between the band. I have yet to hear these shows on tape,
but know that AC/DC and Bowie will hold their own. Wolfman^Òs and Golgi
ended the set very solidly. I honestly can^Òt remember too much about
Wolfman^Òs.

2nd set started out with 7 Below off of the Round Room album. I^Òve never
heard a 7 Below live before. This version was over the top and beyond. It
was all about the extended jam on this one, and set the bar for the 2sd
set. Very long winded, but extremely interesting. I^Òd never been that
much of a fan of the song, but this one is well worth the listen. Buffalo
Bill was next. I^Òve never been big on it, although the standard funk
groove jam out of the composed part was cool. Next up was Lawn Boy, which
is always great fun for all. Of course Page did his lounge singer club
like vocal solo, which is always awesomely humorous, BUT Page, (in a very
seriously comical Frank Sinatra way) while singing his standard final
verse up in front of the stage^Å.. stops for a brief pause, and signs an
autograph for a phan in the front row. Stands up and polishes off the
final, ^ÓMy old factory Hughes^Ô as if he were some famous swanky
Hollywood act. Mike and Trey almost fell apart laughing. It was really
funny if you^Òd seen it. Into Hydrogen! WHOOHOO! Good fun but at this
point it was getting too crowded to stick around down in the 17th row.
Some people finally found their seats half way through the 2nd set, (what
the?). So I took off and spent the rest of the night dancing in the isle
and dodging security / people. Other wise it was to the lawn I go. I wish
I could have better input on the rest of the night but honestly; there
were too many distractions. Nonetheless Weekapaug > YEM > 2001 > YEM was
electrifying as it looks on paper. Sample was a fun encore. Phish
definitely came out to play. I knew they had been practicing and it
showed. Phish was pretty much clean and polished. Can^Òt wait to hear it
on disc. Very solid 1st night for the last run at Alpine.


Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 12:46:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Andrew S Katz
Subject: Phish Show Review 6/25/04 Alpine Valley

Here's my review...I've seen these guys all over the world, and have been
doing so since 92.  This is their last tour, so they say, so I'm
thininking - hmmm, maybe they'll play some of that shit they never do! 
Some of the oldies but goodies.  Some rarities, some gems.  And if they
don't give us any of that - then I was sure we'd get a couple sicko
jams.  Not this night.  Nope, just a walk in the park for them.  This was
one of the most standard, walk-thru performances I personally have ever
witnessed.  Big let down.  These guys need to call it quits, they're not
in it anymore.  So, here we go:
 
Julius - obviously a great opener, but played standard and short w/ no
extending jamming
 
Roses - AWESOME.  This was for sure the highlight of the evening, it just
came and went so quickly though.  They rocked it.
 
Glide - Excellent to hear 
 
Anything but me - whatever
 
Bowie - This one tried to go the distance, but just didn't quite get
there.  It had some cool jamming going on though. 
 
Wolfmans - This is the only song that went anywhere all night, it had an
extended funk jam that got pretty cool and was nice and smooth, but
nothing to write home about.
 
Golgi - Standard
 
2nd Set
 
7 Below - 25 minute unnecessary space
 
Buffalo Bill - whatever
 
Lawn Boy - whatever
 
Mikes-Hydrogen-Weekapaug - Standard - nothing special about this one. 
Although I always enjoy that Hydrogen in there.  Trey was pretty crisp in
that section and it sounded sweet.
 
YEM - Standard

2001 - Trey had a word with Mike and Fish during the YEM and then in
about 4 more beats, they just went right into it.  No teasing or segue or
antyhing, wasn't that tricky, just timing.  The song was standard.
 
Vocal Jam - okay
 
Encore: Sample -   I'd like to know who decided on this one and why?? 
They were over their curfew as well, so why come back with Sample?  If
you're paying for overtime minutes, come out and bust some shit out
already!  Instead, a huge dissappointment which was the perfect
conclusion for the type of show that was put on. 
 
These are my personal opinions.  Take them as you wish.


Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 12:47:48 -0500
From: Erik Anderson
Subject: Phish show review 6/25/04

I'll start out by saying it was my first show in 7 years. 20-somethingish
overall. Saw most of my shows between 93-96 - great ones for the most
part. I kind of fell out-of-touch with Phish as my musical interests
gravitated elsewhere: I was playing music of my own, I got a real job,
got married, etc. So, basically, I went in with an open mind - not very
versed on any songs post-Billy Breathes but very excited to see them one
last time.

Damn if Phish wasn't on fire last night! "The Hose" was back! I wasn't
surprised considering the circumstances but, damn dude! I'll admit my
personal experience was enhanced with a great seat (4th row center). From
my bird's eye view, it was abundantly clear that they were enjoying
themselves a lot. Musical telepathy was apparent. Oh, but the music!

First Set:
For those other old 'uns, who remembers the mixed reviews to we gave to
Hoist? "Aw, they're selling out. Bah! ;^)" So, my friend and I gave a
knowing nod when

-JULIUS started things out. Still, they rocked the crap out of it, with
Trey wailing his tasty blues licks over Fish's steady beat and Mike's
great walking bass. Trey came back in for the outro vocals, only to let
Mike and Page take the last few while he went back to solo some more.
Great start.

-ROSES ARE FREE was well done. I like Ween and had never seen Phish do
it. They had a nice little jam out of it and right into

-AC/DC BAG. Well done! Slow and funky. Nice build-up at the end.

-GLIDE followed. This is one of those songs that was played at every
other show back in the day but nowadays, more of a bust-out I guess(?).
The lyrics rang true, warm fuzzies abound, bowls packed, nugs smoked,
etc.

-ANYTHING BUT ME. Never heard it before but I enjoyed it. I think their
ballad songwriting has improved since songs like 'Waste' or 'If I Could'
which I could definitely give or take, the operative word being 'take,' I
guess. I'm just glad none of those songs made it onto a 'Party of Five,'
'O.C.,' or something of that ilk - although it would have been nice to
enjoy the show in the company of JL Hewitt. Ha. I hear she puffs tough.
:^|  Anyways, it was a nice little ditty with a very heartfelt solo by
Trey.

-BOWIE picked the momentum back up. A nice, compact version that was
intense nonetheless. The composed section was performed spot-on.

-WOLFMAN'S BROTHER came next. Another knowing nod between my friend and
I. I hear they've funked the crap out of this since I stopped seeing
them. They didn't disappoint, hanging it like a horse. Out of the song, a
cool little start/stop jam ensued, Page moved to his clavinet (his is so
much nicer-looking that mine - so jealous) and a big fat donkey dick of a
jam ensued - easily the highlight of the first set. The star here was
mosdef Mr.Gordon. The rest of them laid back and he just went off.
Beauteous.

-GOLGI was a nice closer. Trey had a flub in the instrumental segment but
recovered nicely - great energy.

Second set:

-SEVEN BELOW was a song I'd never heard. It was pleasant but the jam that
followed was a jaw-dropper. 20 or so minutes of shifting textures and
moods, ebb-and-flow, up-and-down. I forgot how much a part of the band CK
was - great trippy lights... and this is coming from someone who was
stone cold sober. Don't hate me. :^D  Finally, a crescendo at the end and
they returned to the song's main melody only to segue into...

-BUFFALO BILL? Wow. I guess that qualifies as a bust out. Weird little
song if I do say. The Reggae Stylings of da Pheesh, mon.

-LAWN BOY was hilarious. Page has a fertile career as a Vegas showman -
his understated lounge cheese sending the crowd into a frenzy and the
rest of the band (and me, at least) into hysterics. In the pause before
the final "olfactory hues" line, he signed some girl's ticket stub in the
front row. The rest of the band was beside themselves. Page just had a
bemused, half-deranged smile on his face. He was loving it.

-MIKES/H20/WEEKAPAUG: Words can't do justice. Get a copy of it. Hose.
After this expertly-played version, Trey talked to Mike and Fish:
something was afoot. They agreed on 'something' and after telling Page,
they pulled out

-YEM: The composed sections and the boymangodshit part were great. The
jam got funky and low-key. After a couple minutes, Trey gave some
directions to Mike and Page and, on a dime, a key change then...

-ALSO SPRACH ZARTHUSTRA!: Totally unexpected. Deodato would have been
proud. It was short and sweet, ending with a cacophony of noise back
into...

-VOCAL JAM: Scary, funny, twisted, bizarre, warped...

-Encore SAMPLE: Ah, well. Can't win 'em all. I still enjoyed it - it's
one of their most anthemic numbers and a good sing-along. And then it was
out into the cool Wisco night, filled with weedsmoke, grilled cheese, and
illegal fireworks. God Bless America. An hour and half or so later, we
finally got through the gridlock and out of the lot. A random 'head sat
on a chair between lanes of traffic with a sign that read:

REMEMBER TO VOTE, YOU STONER

Classic.

Thanks for the memories, Phish. Check out the tapes, all y'all. Fuck, I
guess that really dates me. Check out the 'torrents.' Is that better?

And if you're on the fence about checking out one of these final shows??
GO ALREADY! You won't be disappointed.


E-Rock out.

---end of transmission---



Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 08:08:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Scott Blue
Subject: Phish Alpine 6/25

After Vegas, I really wasn't sure what to expect at Alpine.   It seemed
the band (Trey) could no longer play the challenging material and that
the cohesive paste that gave us such great shows as 12/29/94, 12/31/95,
8/16/93, 12/29/95, 11/28/97, 12/11/99, and
11/12/94 (to name just a few), was long gone......lost somewhere after
THE SHOW (2/28/03 not withstanding) and rarely, if ever, seen again.   
 
Imagine my surprise Friday night when they played, quite honestly people,
one of the phinest shows EVER, in phish's career..........TIGHT
performances, AMAZING jams, wonderful band communication, along w/ the
BEST played intro to YEM I've heard Trey play since long before the
hiatus.
 
Explain this to me - the BEST Wolfman's Brother jam you will EVER hear
these guys play;   a smoking Bowie - a jam out of 7 below that had me
near tears, a YEM->2001->YEM (a first, if I'm not mistaken) complete w/
tramps, and the first Glide since when??  1801???  
 
Look, I went up to Alpine (will be back tonight) to see a great show;  I
prayed for a great show - what I got was the best Phish show I've ever
seen since first seeing them in '96;  24 shows may not be a huge Phish
show resume, but trust me (b/c I'm sure the tapes will bear this out),
this was one of the best shows you could ever hope to see Phish play -
the jam out of Wolfman's is as good a cow-funk jam as ANYTHING played in
'97, complete w/ three different phases and each w/ amazing, tight, funky
presence....I have NEVER heard Phish lock into ideas so quickly and make
them explode - un-fucking-real!!!!!!
 
And again, Trey NAILED the intro to YEM like it was '93 all over
again.....thank you Trey; thank you Mike for a POWERFUL performance;
thank you Page for the smiles;  thanks Fish for an amazing night (he was
a MONSTER) -
 
Top 25 show of Phish's career, if not a top 10.......
 
Thank you

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