As promised on Monday, here’s another playlist to help prove that 2004 Phish featured far more than opiates and sloppy compositions.
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“Birds of a Feather” 8.10 I, Great Woods
This “Birds” is another monster jam that often gets lost in the shuffle of the dark, ending period of August ’04. This version closed the first set of the first show at Great Woods in scintillating and exploratory fashion— a stellar excursion through and through.
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“Halley’s > Tweezer” 4.17 I, Las Vegas, NV
Though April’s Vegas run was the low point of ’04 (less Coventry), Phish still cranked out a keeper version of “Tweezer” in this first set combo that directly followed a “Soul Shakedown” opener on the third and final night.
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“Piper -> Jibboo” 6.19 II, SPAC
The world-famous SPAC “Piper” and a slinky segue into “Jibboo.”
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“Chalk Dust Torture” 6.18 II, Brooklyn, NY
After Jay-Z left the stage, Phish dug into things for real with this perspective altering “Chalk Dust.”
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“Nothing” 6.23 II, Noblesville, IN
Phish expanded on their Undermind single only one time, at this Deer Creek stop in June ’04. I’ve always liked this song (which I’m sure most will scoff at) and I think it could make for some interesting modern day jams. Not included in this clip is the “Forcety-Six Days” that follows a particularly ugly transition.
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“Seven Below -> Ghost” 6.20 II, SPAC
This is the first half of Phish’s last four-song set on the second night of SPAC. While the opening show focused more on groove, this pairing favored twisted psychedlia. “Ghost” was followed by “Twist” and “YEM.”
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One of few versions of”Walls” in which Phish has crafted an interesting jam, this time with a quasi-then-fully ambient extension that blossoms beautifully before bleeding into a set-closing “Bowie.”
