Phish | 06.21.09 | Alpine Valley II
For the final show of Leg I, the band brought their kids to the stage and bust out rare gems...

Good write up. Not sure I agree with the quality of this show though. To each their own.

i wanna see this 5 necked guitar.

gotta love when they bust out a talking heads cover

simply wonderful review brian - Thanks for taking us along in your back pocket - this leg of the tour has been quite fun through your eyes.

Nice Review B. Saw the Camden 2009 show and it was amazing. First show was 96 > and have been to 30 + shows and counting. Red Rocks should be AMAZING!!!

great reviews brian. i saw four of the first five but can't believe i missed last night. tmwsiy, i was hoping they were holding that out for red rocks. 5 weeks and we're there.

Both Alpine shows were great. This was the 1st time I have seen them since 2000, and was very impressed with how tight they are sounding right now. Night 1 was a great batch of favorites, the second set of was overall my favorite of the weekend. Night 2 was good too, it was nice to see a few songs I have never seen or seen only rarely. Cant wait to see they do for a fall/winter tour!

Its nice that Phish is obviously the only band touring right now. 12 of the last 13 concert reviews are Phish? C'mon Jambase, you can do better.

Just like the real Ron Paul, bitch bitch bitch

For me, 2nd set 2nd night was what I was waiting for, some very smart, surreal, tight, communicative jamming from the band. Some folks don't like the crazyness/openness of the out-there jams, but that's one of the reasons Phish is who they are: 4 artists who, in real time, make soundtracks to our evening, our lives. Saturday night was pretty good, I really enjoyed the Maze and the slick YEM->NICU, 2nd night first set was kinda slow for some, but I thought it was thoughtful, beautiful, and the Time Turns Elastic, hated by some, was placed perfectly, and CK5 lights made the multi-section piece of music all the more strong. The way the lights faded out perfectly after the first part (submarine?) was like a curtain closing and re-opening at a play. By the way, where the hell is The Curtain? Prog-rock does live!

Couple of thoughts... First, I'm tired of hearing people say that they keep playing the same group of songs over and over. I used to be into all of the statistics and facts of Phish but age and life have stopped that, so... can anyone out there give a count of how many songs have been in rotation for each tour over the years. Maybe it's my brain failing over the years but I can't help but think this tour was comparable to any other in terms of over-all number of songs. I realize that they play songs over and over but I bet that a review of tours over the years will prove my point and I'll admit I'm wrong if so. However, IMO, this tour was one of the best in over 10 years. There was serious jamming, risks that both paid off and failed, and an over-all sense of happiness that I haven't felt with this band since the late 90's. While I can still find fault (man was i deflated when Trey bombed in the Pittsburgh Bowie), I can also appreciate what is up. I had to laugh at Mimilove after his Bonnaroo comments, something to the effect of why aren't they creative, after he just bitched about The Boss playing with them. I wasn't there, so I can't say it was good but, man, who else would try that. These guys are my age, and as much as I'd love to stay young my whole life, I can't... and either can they. Stuff changes, roll with it and love life! No matter who says what, I can tell you that there is at least 1 person that has had the fire lit under them again thanks to this band and their renewed efforts! Thank you Phish, rest for a week then start thinking about that second leg of summer tour. I'm sure I won't be the only one waiting!!!

PS... 5 neck guitar is a Rick Neilson trick... to be specific, Cheap Trick... he's been bustring out the 5 neck since at least the early 80's when I first saw them at ESU in NC. Don't know that it's the same thing or not, but how many 5 necked guitars can there be????

Great reviews....very descriptive, for someone like me who was not there, and have not listened, this is exactly what I was looking for. Looking forward to going to Red Rocks in your sidecar!

I was there, and I'd say this review was pretty dead on. Nicely done.