04-17-04 Thomas & Mack Center

Phish Live Shows
#1

04/17/04 Thomas & Mack Center - Las Vegas, NV

1: Soul Shakedown Party, Halley's Comet > Tweezer, Ginseng Sullivan, Horn, Sample in a Jar, Piper -> Frankenstein, David Bowie

2: Meatstick, Pebbles and Marbles > Prince Caspian -> Simple > Friday, Ghost, You Enjoy Myself -> Tweezer Reprise

E: Wolfman’s Brother, The Squirming Coil

Notes: Fenton Williams (Dave Matthews Band crew) was at the light board in place of Chris Kuroda. "Meatstick" included Trey and Mike removing their instruments to do the full dance as usual, and the Japanese lyrics were sung. This "YEM" might better be called "You Enjoy My Meatstick": After the trampolines segment, Trey took off his guitar to do the Meatsick Dance while Fish played a drum solo. The crowd erupted in the Meatstick chant. Trey then did the Dance two more times (first while Mike soloed on the bass, and then Page on the keys). There was no standard vocal jam. "Wolfman's" had teases of "Sneakin' Sally," "Possum, and "Meatstick." The "Tweezer Reprise" lyrics were replaced by alternate "Meatstick" lines ("time for the Meatstick"; "won't you step into the Meatstick").
#2

I’ve always enjoyed this show (even if Trey was clearly fuct up for a lot of it). Soul Shakedown starts the show on a very fun note. Halley’s has a very nice little jam in it and the Tweezer that follows is classic gritty 2.0 funk shit. Ginseng (a song I love) is done pretty nicely. Horn is nice, especially in instrumental section. Good stuff. In Sample, Trey makes up for some pretty edgy vocals with the guitar solo. 13-minute long Piper hits some nice and energetic places. Frankenstein is pretty standard. I enjoy me a dark Bowie and this one defines that quite well.

Meatstick is taken at a slower tempo than usual. It is enjoyable and plays an obvious role later in the show. Pebbles and Marbles (a song we haven’t seen enough in 3.0) is awesome and is possibly the highlight of the show. Some of Trey’s worst vocals ever are in the following Caspian. However, the jam is very sweet. Simple, although it is very short, gets into one of those extremely soothing Simple jams that I love love love. Friday is Friday. Ghost is definitely not the best jam of the night but has some nice spots for sure. YEM is far from one of the most perfectly executed versions. The jam does contain some fun stuff though with the Meatstick-ness as well as some quality playing. This version ends with ambiance and no vocal jam. >Tweezer Reprise to close set. Step into the Meatstick, enough said.

Excellent choices for encore songs. However, Trey obviously sounds exhausted. The Wolfman’s jam doesn’t ever really build. It’s great that they pulled it together for Coil to make up for this lackluster Wolfman’s. The composed sections are hit nicely and Page NEVER fails to end a show with a great Coil solo.

In my opinion this show does have a loose feel with some great jamming. Maybe I’m a sucker for 2.0 for some reason because so many people complain about that era but I always find jams or segments in shows that I enjoy (even in Coventry!). I think it has to do with the fact that I wasn’t around for this era to dislike it as it was going on. And when I first started listening to Phish and I heard some 03-04 shows, I didn’t really compare it to anything else I heard from them so it was all part of this one continuous thing that is Phish.

#3

4/16/04 was the show of this run IMO. Granted that’s not saying much, however it is what it is.

#4

I kind of like the Tweezer. :shh:

#5

Trey was all messed up, but I also think he was fairly ill… No voice et al…

I had a fun time at this show~