Customer Reviews

Live Phish Vol. 4: 6/14/00, Drum Logos, Fukuoka, Japan

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the better Phish shows I have heard in a looooong time. The thing that strikes me right off the bat is that they are jamming together on this more than just about anything I've heard by them. As much as I love Trey totally going off on guitar, this has such a high level of cohesion that its unreal.

This disc also also blew my pre-conceived notions right out the window. With only 15 songs and a more or less "boring" setlist, this show isn't anything like it casually looks. The jams out of "Twist" and "Back on the Train" are so much better than the "Split Open and Melt" on this disc. I never thought I would say that, but its true. The two so-called "Fukuoka Jams" are unreal, truly a mindbender. The "Gumbo" jam is tight, "Carini" is a monster as usual. The only problems I could find with this show were one flub in "The Curtain" and annoying feedback at the beginning of "Fee" (and that was a technical problem and not their fault!)

While I would of course rather hear "Antelope," "YEM," "Bowie" or some other jam heavy songs, this show is consistent and just great. It also made me think that the later, shorter songs (off of "Farmhouse", "Ghost" "Billy" etc) may actually be more condusive to jamming than earlier tunes. I say that because they are shorter and looser with more freedom to open up. Some of the earlier songs contain many heavily composed sections that restrict their ability to "go off" sometimes. But these simpler songs may actually allow them to go in different directions.

This disc, along with Volume 6 are by far the best ones yet. I really look forward to this ongoing series.

OK, I'm a reformed Phish-head who rarely even listens to the band anymore, but I held onto this show for good reason. It is, in my opinion, the best playing Phish has to offer-- cohesive, adventurous improvisational music where the musicians involved are clearly listening to one another and working to create a unified hole. It's the type of thing you hear in Miles Davis' best bands, and (at least to my ears) not in the majority of popular "jam bands." Frankly, I find endless guitar shredding beyond boring, which is why I prefer James Brown to say, Santana, but I love rhythmic, spontaneous jams and there are plenty to be found here. There's rip-roaring rock, ambient, textural exploration, funk, and countless shades in-between.

Still, it's not for everyone-- there are as many different types of Phish fan as there are Phish songs, and while some people love hearing Trey spit endless pentatonic licks over "Antelope," I prefer his more subtle, textural playing. If you're a fan of electric-era Miles, Can or Yo La Tengo, you might be surprised to discover this side of Phish. If you're a Phish fan who still gets excited when the band trots out "Fee" or "Fluffhead," maybe you should look elsewhere.

I can't begin to describe the quality of music in this show in words, but I'm more than willing to try! Fukuoka is hands down the most unique sounding Phish show out there. It is the length of a concert, but it flows like a studio album. The first disk starts things off with a great Carini. The setlist flows like a wave. About halfway through the first set, Gumbo gives you a little taste of whats to come on the second disk. You can also tell by Trey's monologue at the end of a great Split, that they're all "in the mood" to play spacey.
Set 2 really takes you to a interesting place inside your mind thats somewhere in between unconciousness and the dreamworld. It may sound uneventful at a party, but once your all alone, Fukuoka will pick you up and spin you around.
The third disk wraps up the night very nicely with a played-by-request Sleep and Coil to put you to bed for the night.
Enjoy.

This show is just amazing. Looking at the setlist might not wow you, but you simply must buy this album, put your headphones on, turn the lights off and just listen. Its hard to explain how incredibly locked in they are on every song. It almost sounds as if its a studio album, thats how perfected it is. I'll do the song by song thing.
set 1: CARINI, the best version i've ever heard, it rocks so hard with trey really tearing it up. THE CURTAIN is nice and cuts into a quality CITIES. next up is an absolutley orgasmic GUMBO; the jam that comes out of it is soo good, so patient but builds energy so beautifully. you seriously have to hear this gumbo, which busts into a pretty standard LLAMA. followed by a classic FEE. HEAVY THINGS is played very very well and keeps me smiling everytime i play it, which has been prolly over 40. and to close the set is my favorite SPLIT OPEN i've yet to hear. at 15 minutes, it just jams so well, everyone gets locked in. its one movement, they all stick together. Set 2 starts with a great BACK ON THE TRAIN which is just pure groove. Next is a monster TWIST that gets Soooo ambient, its like swimming in a sea of ambience. its almost as if trey disapears for awhile and slowly comes alive to close out the song. next is an amazing FUKUOKA JAM #1. you just have to buy this and listen to how they create a mood and build on it from scratch and flow seamlessly into WALK AWAY which is rockin, followed by another awesome FUKUOKA JAM #2 which is just relaxed and peaceful until fish launches into an incredibly funky liquid 2001. cactus holds this one down with such a think funk, as fish matches his beats, and trey and page add just the right layer to accompany the liquid funk. SLEEP and a beautiful COIL outro by page end the night. if you read the whole thing, thanks. just buy this cd set immediately and then thank me.

This is an outstanding live recording of Phish. Of the five live recordings that were released recently, this one has the best sound quality. The set list for the show is really good. It was great to hear Fee! When the vocals start on Fee, there is a section that has some pretty heavy feedback. The band and crowd's reactions are pretty funny.

"Gumbo" is amazing, possibly the best recording of it that I have heard. The two spontaneous jams on disc two are really good too.

This CD is a really good one for loyal Phish fans. The long jams are probably too heavy for the casual listener.

Overall this is a great recording. It has an excellent set list and great overall sound quality.

Although this show suffers from an initial lack of focus, the band eventually hits its stride somewhere near the end of the first set. "Back on the Train," with its growling guitar and rolling jam, chugs along breezily and features Mike's solid-yet-sensitive bass playing. Also contained on this release is a gorgeous rendition of "Twist." Using a simple rhythmic motif as its starting point, the Twist jam swells and floats its way into the sublime before returning to its original theme. The occasional missteps notwithstanding ("Walk Away"), this is an exceptional show from the transitional period between the release of Farmhouse and the band's hiatus, a period which was often characterized by lackluster performances.

Live Phish Vol. 4 from Fokuoka, Japan is by far the greatest official Live Phish release ever. This performance comes from 6-14-00 which was not a particularly groundbreaking time for the band, however this show is a diamond in the rough. This show kicks off with an amazing run of songs. Carini>Curtain>Cities>Gumbo>Llama, Are you kidding me????!!!! The Gumbo>Llama is particularly strong. The set is capped off with a raging Melt after which Trey asks the crowd to seek nourishment. Set 2 has no let down whatsoever. The entire set is an absolute masterpiece. This is the first and best jammed out Back on the Train. The Twist>Jam>Walk Away>Jam>2001 has to be heard to be beleived. This was the first and I beleive only time 2001 closed out a show. The encore is the perfect capper with a beautiful Sleep, which was a request from the audience, and your typically gorgeous Coil. This show is an absolute must have. I have never heard better improv than in the Twist>Jam from anybody anywhere. Gotta love Phish.

I use music as a method of putting me in certain moods or to get me out of other moods. Music is such an important part of my life and I think I would go insane if I didn't have music to listen to. That being said, this Phish show has been incredibly theraputic for me, especially the second disc. I mean, wow...it's just so jammy and mellow that I'm addicted to the whole thing. Not to mention the amazing Gumbo and Coil. I have had this CD in my car for 6 months now and I'm still learning something new. If you're into a jammy phish show or want something just to put headphones on and jam out, this is the show FOR SURE!

I was getting pretty tired of Phish live music. It is probably because I had too much from the mid to late nineties. There was some great stuff, but there was so much of it, it was all beginning to sound alike. I was beginning to dread the next live Phish CD I would hear.

But, this is different. This is from 2000 and it is the freshest Phish I have heard in a long time. The song selection is mostly newer material. The style of play is much different. Instead of the music being mostly Anastasio's looping guitar, the music is more of a group effort. There are great passages from everyone in the group, and many of the tracks are more keyboard oriented.

The best live Phish I have heard is Vol 15, with a fantastic rendition of the Talking Head's Remain In Light album. It can cover most of your needs for the mid-nineties version of Phish. I would skip Hampton Comes Alive, but get A Live One, instead. For historical perspective, there is Junta, which is mostly a studio CD, but matches the feel of a Phish concert. Then I would get this one, Vol 4, which proves that the band can evolve.

The sound quality of Vol 4 is very good. The first CD is of the first set and is over 70 minutes long. The second CD is over 60 minutes. The third CD is only 35 minutes long.

Clearly, Phish wasn't afraid to take some risks in Japan, and the results are fantastic. This is the first of 3 2000 releases in the Live Phish series, and perhaps the best. (Why, of all the great summer '00 shows, choose 7-8? Give me one of the Holmdel or Deer Creek shows!) The first set is pretty well-rounded, and Gumbo has a strong jam with a nice lead into Llama. Listen for one of my favorite Page flourishes to date right near the end of Heavy Things. You'd think they could've toned down that feedback during Fee... Split Open has a decent jam, and Trey talks about getting "nourishment" during set break. You'll want to do that, too, before hunkering down with Disc 2. Back on the Train starts it off with a much longer (12 minutes) and more exploratory rendition than what we hear in the States. The jam in Twist begins the mellow, intricate jamming style that pervades this disc. It quiets down before coming around for the song's finish, and is followed by a 16-minute jam some describe as being rooted in the opening of Ghost. I'd say there's much more going on here that just that, with some complex full-band improvisation and Phish weaving a very intricate jam. This leads into Walk Away, which, coupled with the Jam, is about 10 minutes and, again, much more out of the song than what we get in the US of A, excecpt perhaps for the phenomenal 5-7-94 Walk Away, if you've heard the Tweezerfest. Having 2001 start of the third disc kind of takes away some of the punch of hearing the song bust out of the calmness of Walk Away, but this is a good, long version with a deep groove. Sleep is nice to hear in the fantastic soundboard quality, and Coil closes it out with some mellow work from Page. You may listen to this first set more than the other shows' first sets. I love that flourish in Heavy Things! This may be Live Phish's strongest release as a whole, although I've yet to hear 11-27-98 and what looks to be a crazy second set. This show is also one of Trey's favorite of the series, and you'll hear why with the intricate, full-on improvisation that's most prevalent on Disc 2. A great show... why'd they have to play it thousands of miles away?