PHISH, JUNE 2004. Huzzah! Well, semi-huzzah.

Plus side: The second set is like a glorious hazy dance-a-thon, going to the usual June '04 places, hitting the usual high notes, occasionally shattering into crazy processed digital lunacy, climaxing in a scintillating Hood.

Minus side: Narcotized vibe flattens out Stash et al., entire month tends to blend into a single wondrous jam (which isn't nearly as excellent as you'd think (unsurprising since Phish's ludicrous brain-on-sleeve virtuosity has long been a big part of their appeal)); also, scintillating Hood has none of the all-arriving-at-once gallop that was a hallmark of the Old Days.

Plus side take 2: When I say 'glorious hazy dance-a-thon' *I am not kidding.* Boogie On > Ghost is one of the best moments of 2004, even if it's a lot like some of the other best moments of 2004. Dig?

Bottom line: Get it, but understand that Phish's 6/04 shows were very much of a piece, and miles away from the demon-acupuncturist precision and throwaway genius of the band's mid-90's coming of age.

If you listen to just about every era of Phish, you can hear notes of at least one other era of the band in their performances - for instance, 1995 retains the crazed energy of 1992-93, only sped up and given HGH; 1997 is the experimentation with minimalism started on 10/31/96 taken to its logical conclusion; 2012-13 is pretty much every era of Phish thrown into a blender and made into a really tasty musical smoothie. This is to be expected, of course - evolution in sound takes time, after all, and when you're playing the same songs over every era there's going to be overlap pretty much by default. But I guess what I'm getting at is that every version of Phish, even 2003, owes something to the Phish that came before.

That is, until you get to June 2004.

I'm not going to say that Phish in June 2004 sounds nothing like what came before, but I *am* going to say that, in my estimation, June 2004 sounds the *least* like everything that came before it, especially in the jamming style. I used this term before, but I'll use it again here - it sounds like Phish's jamming gun, usually so reliable and varied in its settings, is pretty much stuck on "upbeat foggy hose", which they will play for long, loooooooong jams (cf. the famous 6/19 Piper, which is an awesome jam with segments that just stretch on out into the horizon and screw you if you don't like it). Which is totally fine - they did "upbeat foggy hose" pretty darn well, especially over this short tour. But it does mean that you sort of have to temper your expectations, in that you're going to hear music that's very much of a particular style, and either you're going to love it or you're going to hate it. Lots of people hate it, which is why lots of people write off 2004 as a flat disaster. Those that do love it know what treasures this month can contain. I like to think of June '04 as a weird alternate universe where Phish re-invented themselves as a progenitor of modern EDM, where jams were all about finding a specific feeling and riding that feeling for all its worth, damn the torpedoes and all that.*

The first-set Scents and Subtle Sounds is a very good example of this - a jam that may not step outside its usual boundaries, but still climbs and climbs in a way that can't help but fill your heart with joy if you love "hose" jamming. It's essentially all hose from start to finish, if that makes sense. This style of play does mean that Stash, usually a reliable dive into darkness, loses a lot of its usual luster and just sounds like a band searching for a peak, shrugging its shoulders, and saying "hey, all good, man". But this does mean that the more upbeat numbers, like Funky Bitch and Zero, have a little extra pizzazz to them, which helps set the table for a personal favorite second frame.

Boogie On Reggae Woman starts things off, and it's as funky as it always is, before giving way to one of my all-time favorite jam sequences. Mike gets a few seconds to fool around on the bass, then the band slams into a *killer* funk jam, Trey playing fog-laden chords before switching to some nasty soloing, Fish keeping the pace going with some nifty cymbal work, Page hammering away on his piano. The jam never achieves total liftoff or hits any sort of BGCA Light-like peak, but it's ridiculously intense for all 7 minutes and 47 seconds, until the jam flattens out and turns into a quite familiar groove.

That groove, of course, is Ghost (via a superb segue), and while the composed section of Ghost features a nigh-unforgivable botch, the actual Ghost jam is a keeper, starting off deceptively quietly before Mike starts picking things up and Page switches to...um...*something* on his keyboard. The notes he starts spitting out after the 8 minute mark are unlike anything I've heard him play before, and matched with Trey's darker guitar tone and Fish's insistent beat they start building up a hurricane of sound, Trey finds some big-time power chords, and the band builds to a powerful peak.

After a couple minutes of sheer rock nirvana, the jam winds down and they go into Free, which actually steps out and has a cool funk jam (with a really gooey bass tone from Mike) with a stop-start section and some grimy bluesy play from Trey. Friday comes next, then Piper, and this Piper wastes no time in leading into a stripped-down, zippy groove, thanks to Fish going double-time on the toms, and Page & Trey meshing very well together with their clanging chords. The band then alternates between this fast-paced madness and crashing breakdowns, finding jam spaces that would not be out of place in Maze, before coming to a surprisingly funky finish and rolling right into Hood. Hood (which is pretty much built for June '04) is impressively strong (even if it doesn't so much peak and just sorta tiptoe its way into the usual climax), and Possum nicely rounds things out.

6/19 is still definitely the strongest show of this month, but this show has a heck of a lot going for it, and if you have the desire to delve into what Phish was doing in this month, you're going to find this show entirely to your liking.

* I ignored specifically talking about drugs in the main body for a reason - pretty much every other review mentions it. You all know what was going on in 2004.

Mike Gordon said in Glide Magazine his favorite on-stage moment of '04 came in this show's second set, "Loved" Alpine, he said. I concur and I would put the second set up there for most emotional and meaningful ever, not just for 2.0. Certainly in the ballpark. Some people complained about Friday, but it was as pertinent as it ever would be and was well-played (I happen to like the song though). The jams are attentive, really really funky in parts, and without reserve. The Free especially is an illumination of how delicate and yet unwavering this band dares to take its improvisation. So great, I just hope people are brave enough to listen despite the propaganda that blankets 2.0 shows. Highlights: The whole second set as one auditory odyssey. Cheers to Alpine and another great round in 2010!

well, it looks like i'm going to have to suck it up this year and miss the alpine run, which i havent missed since 98. i guess it's ok since i'm missing it in order to hit telluride and a buddy's wedding in crested butte but...

anyway, this one is one of my favorite alpine shows. the first set is a little flat. access me and scents, especially without the nifty intro, were kind of a bland opener. stash never really seemed to "go there." things pick up a little with moma dance. fishman/gordon appeared to be in sync on this one. the divided sky was good, but still, like stash, just never really soared like it normally does. the wilson>funky bitch combo really picked things up. zero is not my favorite tune, but at least, it was played with some passion and energy.

now, in the second set, the boys turned it up a huge notch, especially gordon and fishman. this is my all time favorite boogie on. trey is back in the game on this one and has some good playing in this one. page has some nice fills too, but the real heroes in this jam are gordon and fishman. like the tube and the cross eyed at deer creek, gordon is just all over this one. after a scorching hot funk jam, they find their way into a nice long ghost. there is some very nice dark funky exploration in this one. granted, this does not hit the peaks they were hitting from 98-00, but it is still well-played. this one works nicely into a good funky free. trey keeps up the good playing, but once again, the other 3 members really play nicely on this free. friday provides everyone with an ice breather and it wanders nicely into a very inspired piper. this is one of those songs that i never really want to hear until it really starts smoking. this one rocks pretty hard before finding some funkier realms. eventually, fishman leads the charge into a very good alpine harry hood. this song works so well at this massive venue, and this is no exception. like ghost, it does not soar as high as it used to, but it is still a strong version worth hearing. at the time, i thought this encore was going to be the last thing i would ever hear phish play together, i skipped the east coast shows in august. well, possum was a good way to go out. sure, i would've loved harpua, forbin's, camel walk, etc, but they played possum at my first 2 shows, so i should hear at my last!! good version too.

overall, i would say this is a good show. as mentioned, the first set was a little flat, but the first half of the second set is just pure gravy!. in my opinion, this is the last really interesting set that phish played before 2009. the east coast leg that came a couple of months later was just god awful. i'm sure emotions were running high, but they were not running as "high" as trey was. i feel like every east coast show almost got proggressively worse until the big suck fest that was coventry. anyway, the boogie>ghost>free alone was worth the price of admission.

highlights:
set 1:
wilson>funky bitch

set 2:
boogie>ghost>free, piper>hood

My first, and what I genuinely thought would be my only Phish show.

Let me give a little background. I had been dating my gf for a little over a year when she asked me if I'd ever want to go to a Phish show. Very early on in our relationship, with her influence, I started listening to the band and didn't really get it. I moved on and it wasn't until I heard Slip, Stitch and Pass before Phish really clicked for me. And I was hooked!

So she asked me about going to Alpine. Her sister, brother in law and mom had toured together for the last several years and were hitting up the Creek-Alpine run that year (and were also going to Coventry). So we scored some tix for second night Alpine and joined up with them.

Not only was this my first Phish show, but my first outdoor show as well. Needless to say I was pumped to jam out! I won't go into any detail really about how each song went, as I wasn't really familiar with most of them anyway, but I was having a great time.

The communal energy and positivity were phenomenal and like nothing I had experienced before. Really great time.

And then it was over. Coventry just wasn't possible, and I was bummed as hell that I'd probably have to wait another ten years to see Phish again. After hearing the horror stories of Coventry (and witnessing some on-stage horror from the live-cast in movie theaters) I was glad I didn't find a way to make it work.

Fast forward to today, and I have 17 shows under my belt, eagerly awaiting the announcement of Summer '13! I still come back and listen to this show frequently and I've come to recognize how tight a lot of the playing was at my first ever show--the show that without a doubt hooked me for life! Thank you Phish!!!

Another above average show.

I love the opening 1-2 punch of Access Me and SASS. SASS is played especially great even without a jam. Stash gets into a really nice groove that moves very well. Besides that a fairly straight forward first set.

The 2nd set starts with an absolute killer trio of songs. Boogie on goes into a quick little Mike led jam. Top notch segue into Ghost. It has a nice little cohesive jam, Trey keeps catching sparks and things escalate more and more as Trey works on a nice pretty little riff. Free is also very strong as all the 2004 versions seem to be. I wont say I'm a huge fan of Friday in the 2nd set, but this one works better than others. Piper goes into overdrive fast , it slows down and Fish lays down a techy beat. It turns into a roller coaster ride and goes full steam into hood before fizzing out at the last second as it goes into a quick little funk groove. Yet another short Hood.

Possum is fairly straight forward, but always a great encore song.

The 2nd set was quite emotional. Seeing that it was to be my last phish show due to the last tour "Friday" was a nice touch because i felt the same way. if it was friday it meant i still had 1 more phish show to be at!

Like another 2.0 favorite of mine, 2/22/03, an otherwise kick-ass second set is ruined by Friday, which is a strong contender for my least favorite Phish song of all time. Yet like 2/22/03, the non-Friday parts of this show are really great, highlighted by a personal favorite Scents in Set 1, and a preposterously fun Boogie On -> Ghost to open Set 2.

6/20 is the best show of 2004 top-to-bottom, and it also has the best individual set (Set 2). But this show's Boogie On -> Ghost might be the best 1-2 punch of the year.

I'm sorry, but this is my one and only chance to say this: 20 years later, I'm still upside down. Thank you.

First show, this review written 20 years to the day after the fact. The First Moment Of IT is still as seared into my brain now as it was when it happened. The summer going into college, I was getting over mono, liked the song Wilson and not much else, but good new friends of mine said you gotta check out Phish and they're quitting anyways so give it a shot. I was a Dead snob. But I'd already loved Alpine from a good handful of DMB shows, so sure. Phish felt like the more dangerous thing to do.

Fast forward through the first set, which felt cool, fun, different, appreciated Access Me (without knowing it going in) as feeling non-traditional and obvious as an opener, basically the footing underneath me was pleasantly shifty from the start. I was just happy to be there with. my buds. Boogie On is groovy, it's really dark outside now, and then:

GHOST.

IT, I learned during Ghost, is the feeling where mind, body (the face in particular) and soul are forcibly sucked from what you identify as "you" and melded solidly with the world created by the music. The world I most humbly found myself inside of during Ghost was unsettling and grooving, like we were in a factory of sorts and the four of them were experimenting with various kinds of machinery, pushing buttons that made me feel all sorts of different things, all pretenses of showmanship or performance or fronts vanished, nothing between me, them, and the strange world we were all experiencing unfolding together. It was alive and breathing and weird and awesome in a pure and profound way that I hadn't experienced before with anything in my life. Eventually Trey hit upon that "duh-duh-daa" lick that the rest of them rallied around to pull us out of the abyss, and they found their way into Free. I liked Free, but it wasn't THAT. I liked the rest of the show, but it wasn't THAT. I spent the rest of the show wondering why they didn't take us back THERE again, and stay there.

I don't wonder that anymore, because I'm wise enough now to know that to get THERE is only partly their doing, its mine too. I've gotten better at allowing myself to be taken there, and this subtle shift in mindset has allowed me to experience IT during moments I'd find unremarkable if I weren't at the concert: say, the Dicks 2019 Bug or the Alpine 2019 Caspian (in addition to plenty jams I do find remarkable). Surrender to the flow, don't roll your eyes or gloss over it, actually do it and IT will happen, easy to do but easy to forget.

IT is a wonderful thing, and it is a fact of life that if you allow yourself to, you can experience it while walking your dog or doing the dishes (also while on psychedelics; I'd had weed and alcohol at this show, btw, hadn't taken psychedelics yet). But mindfulness, you know.

There still hasn't been a time quite like during that Ghost. But there have been countless times since that I've felt many indescribably awesome things at the many Phish shows I've seen, and I'm grateful.

Slightly above average-great rating applies, I think! I've read here on Phish.Net that 2.0 seemed to be sort of "samey," as in all the jams had a kind of flavor that wasn't particularly characteristic of anything except maybe a transitional period, in the way that some phans view the underrated 1996 as a transitional year that paid off in spades with the cowfunk of 1997 (especially Fall.) One knows 2.0 when one hears it, but more because of a general water-treading feeling that seeps off the circus and onto the stage to some extent, and which was also "coming straight from the sewer" of backstage. There's no blame to be apportioned, in my opinion, but retrospectively some maturation should have--and has--been accomplished, to the great benefit of the health of the music.

Access Me's debut starts off Set I > Scents and Subtle Sounds without the Intro but with a good jam. I like to hear how comfortable Phish already was with the new Round Room and Undermind material at this point, and have to ponder how it might have otherwise developed if Phish had not broken up. A lot of those songs are either missing wholesale or underexposed nowadays. The second set is almost entirely a big jam--you can hear part of what I mean by that in how Piper just kind of belly-flops into Harry Hood--and I feel like Ghost in particular reaches some interesting territory, though the song portion is delivered somewhat haphazardly, IMO. I like very much about this show that nearly everything in the second set and encore exceeds 10 minutes in playing time. The difference between this night and the prior at the same venue is not a matter of night and day, but it also challenges me as a phan to find something tying the two together thematically... and that's ok!

To respond to deceasedlavy, you DO know that possum is a gamehenge tune right? the only song sung from the point of view of Icculus? Prolly the most "danceable" gamehenge tune IMO. READ THE BOOK! say what you will about the song being overplayed, but they clearly love the song and love playing it. Anyway this was a really fun show to attend. The boogie on>Ghost is good stuff. I called the Moma Dance on the ride up and was super stoked to hear it.

Cool to hear that bit about Gordon from the magazine. That summer I was feeling a bit sad while waiting for the already announced Phish break-up, which was of course due to the Treys mental state or whatever (honestly, who gives advanced noticed of a break up? Your car either drives or it doesn't, so don't tell me you can't give me a ride to the show because your muffler is loud!). It seemed like the band had so much to give, and I believe that energy could be felt in the air during 2nd set for sure.
Funky as hell! Mike bustin' solos. I had a blast!

Listen dudes. I love phish. We all do. And I'm particularly fond of talking about the old days and how they're better than the new ones. Sometimes this is true and sometimes it's not. In this case, it's not.

In short: I have no idea why these alpine shows are rated as highly as they are. Fresh off the news the band was going to break up and knowing we weren't going to make it to Coventry, my buddy and I decided to make this our last stand. We're both pretty dedicated fans and both agreed that these shows were two of the worst we'd ever seen. The coke rocks were practically dangling out of trey's nose. No patience. No melody. To complicate matters, a drunk girl vomited on my shoes. To be skipped.

When they busted into "Access Me" we lost it; about to call it quits and still debuting songs? Still love that tune. At the time I hated "SASS" but actually listening back I was amazed at how melodic and on-point Trey is for this jam; totally in the box but really sweet. But ugh, I feel queasy thinking about how ugly "Stash" was. I was also one of the few people who actually dug the previous night more than this one; the balleyhooed "Boogie">"Ghost">"Free" struck me as so generic, lazy and aimless. Type II is great and all, but the jams from this era, as noted above, all sound soooooo similar, and I like PEAKS, dammit. But I do think this "Piper" is way underrated, not as experimental as 2003's but every bit as good. At the time it felt like twice Trey was ready to let it die but then Fish was like "fuck that, last night at Alpine EVER" and he urged them on to more improv. I never wanted it to end. Ugly-ass "Hood", and we all thought they HAD to do a third set or SOMETHING, but no, just this meaningless song about a dumb rodent, end is the road, not a word, not even a thanks, no acknowledgement at all from our drug-addled hero? Ouch. It hurt, but to keep going like they were would've been much, much worse.