Show Review

As most people in the world of jam music know, Phish is breaking up. But before they call it quits they are playing a handful of shows, culminating with a final, two-day festival with 70,000 fans in Vermont that has already sold out.

Last Thursday, Phish kicked off the farewell tour in a Class A baseball park in the middle of Coney Island. It was a unique setting for the band, providing a circus-themed backdrop, which called to mind some of the more elaborate festivals the band has produced on their own.

The weather on opening night was not exactly ideal for an outdoor concert, with the rain coming down hard at times. But while there was still plenty of energy in the stands, the performance was delivered rather loosely, and it certainly felt like an opening night.

“Dinner and a Movie” - a nod to the show being simulcast to over 100 movie theaters across the country - and “The Curtain With,” another rarely played favorite, were early highlights for the reminiscent crowd. Clearly enjoying the moment themselves, in the second set, guitarist Trey Anastasio dedicated “Kung” to the golfers playing in the U.S. Open over at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. The greeting was delivered with drummer Jon Fishman screaming, “We can stage a runaway golf cart marathon” in true Phish lunacy.

Ending the night with the perennial song sandwich, “Mike’s Song” > “I Am Hyrdrogen” > “Weekapaug Groove,” they emphatically closed out the kickoff show with an encore of “The Divided Sky,” yet another early classic.

If the first night was a warm up, and a strong one at that, the second night was confident, containing even more musical high points for the band. The first set closed with roaring versions of “Character Zero” - with Anastasio bouncing up and down in excitement - and the always jam heavyweight, “Tweezer.”

The crowd participative, “Wilson” bled into a heated “Down With Disease” and Anastasio sang to the audience what it already knew: “Waiting for the time when I can finally say/This has all been wonderful but now I’m on my way.”

Apparently still lavishing in the unexpected, Phish then became a backing band as hip-hop artist, Jay-Z joined the fellow retirees to run through his own material, "99 Problems” and “Big Pimpin’.” With fans waving their hands in the air, singing along in unison, it was most likely as surreal for Jay-Z as it was for the audience.

After thanking their guest, Phish became themselves again, giving way to spirited versions of “Chalk Dust Torture,” “Harry Hood” and “Taste.” Encoring with “Bug, ” they reassured the audience that “it doesn’t matter,” and followed with a homerun out of the park, tearing into a blistering “Tweezer Reprise.”

There has been more than enough talk about Phish not quite playing to the high standards they set for themselves years ago, but this time around, it's not about playing “the best show since (name favorite obscure date)." It's about friends getting together to celebrate a band they’ve grown up with, enjoying the band that is Phish today and saying thank you for enriching their lives.

Photos by Chad Anderson