, attached to 2004-06-20

Review by Guntman

Guntman This was my first show. Phish has been my favorite band since i was introduced to them at 12, and in the 4 years between my intro to the band and me seeing them live for the first time i had been pretty much confined to local shows because of my age. I live near Scranton,PA, of "The Office" fame, and was pretty lucky to have a nice assortment of live music venues within distance for my parents to drive me to, or trust me to be driven to by an older friend, but all those venues were and have been a little too small for Phish. So i saw bands and people like Tom Petty, MMW, Phil and Friends, Ratdog, ect. So in 2004 when i found out Phish mite break up, the mission became clear, i had to see them at least once b4 that happened. I got on my computer to search for tickets and the first somewhat close venue i saw was SPAC 6/20/04. I didnt even realize there was 2 nights there or i would have tryed to see both. I bought the tickets and convinced my mom to drive me and a friend there. We get to the show and SPAC is like a maze, a beautiful, tranquil, easy to get lost in maze. It took what about an hour and a half for me to find the entrance, mostly because we walked from the hotel through the woods to get there, and by this time most of the lawn is filled. So I end up with a spot right on the edge of where the hill becomes flat, and right away i notice the people here are a little different then the other shows ive been to, a little nicer. You will always have a few bad apples but there seemed to be less here. Almost imediatly my friend and i made friends with this group of 3 30 something couples who were together and seated near us. Such nice people. I hadnt as yet met many adults who treated me with such an equality and respect, and it was at this point i realized Phish fans were my people. Like minded people of intelligence who respected and helped one another to make the show as enjoyable as possible for everyone. The first set was great Rift went nicely into Julius, both songs i was unfamiliar with because i only had farmhouse, lawn boy, slip stich and pass, a live one, and a couple Phish Live series vols. And this was the theme for most of my nite, except for Gumbo, WITS, Twist, and YEM, I enjoyed but recocnized nothing. A fact made sour only by the knowledge i would probly never see them again. But none the less the show was killer. I have to admit i had no idea that was Page's Dad was up there for Bill Bailey, or even that it was fathers day for that matter (sorry dad). But Gumbo, WITS, Horn and Poor Heart set up nicely for the best Drowned jam i could ever hope to hear. The second set was a series of jams that in retrospect i feel lucky to have heard. Seven Below was awsomely mellow. I didnt like Ghost at the time, it has since become an aquired taste for me, but at the time all i could think was please play some stuff i know like Fluff, or Antelope. Things began to look up when they busted out an amazingly jammy version of Twist which again was probly the best version i could hope to hear. And then it came, YEM, a song i was not just familiar with but had listened to on A Live One so much i knew every note of that version. And for the first time i felt the crowd build and descend with the music as if all our energy was connected (the band, the music and the crowd). I had Felt a feeling like this once b4 during casy jones at a phil and friends show, but not even close to this magnitude. And when the song reached its main build/release of,"Boy!" its was like all the endorphins in my brain released at once, and right then and there my life had changed. I knew then that this band i already loved for their musical skill and intelligent lyrics had a whole other level of joy to offer at their live shows, but alas this would be my only one. Although i now love and feel lucky to have been at this show, i harbored a sour taste toward the band and specificaly trey, who i felt was responsible for the break up. I stopped going to shows almost entirley during the 5 year hiatus and even 2 years after the hiatus, not realizing they were back because i was out of the loop. Til i read in the paper at work that phish would be playing bethel in 2011. Instantly i was back going to shows and Phish is pretty much all ill go see, because time off from work is hard to get and must be used rationaly and because i cant think of anyone id rather see live (sorry further fans). So now i look back on this show and see probly the jammiest show ill ever see, but for years i would wake up in the middle of nite with a cold sweat screaming," I'll never see Fluffhead!". But thankfully Phish is back, and i havnt had that nightmare since 2011. P.S. i completely forget how to use proper grammer when writing, also this is my first review of a show and i apologize if i talked a little too much about my expirience and not enough about how good the music was or wasnt. But if you like long jammy phish this show is a must get. P.P.S. I almost forgot to mention how great the Good Times Bad Times encore was. I realy enjoyed it and at the time i thought i was getting something rare and didnt realize it was one of their standard encores. But its always good and that nite was no exception.


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