Phish, Alpine Valley, 6/30 & 7/1/12

Okay, I think I'm ready to talk about these shows.

To a non-Phish fan, or even a casual Phish fan, I'm sure these shows were fun. I enjoyed a few moments of them, here and there. But to someone who has seen this band a lot (and I consider myself a borderline fan of that department -- these shows were my 23rd and 24th times seeing Phish), these shows were a let-down before they even happened.

The band played two shows at Verizon Wireless, no, First Bank, no...ummm... screw it, Deer Creek in Indianapolis prior to Alpine Valley. And they were some of the choicest setlists the band has laid down, in my opinion, since 1999 or 2000. Bust-outs of old-school Phish originals (McGrupp, Tela, Sanity, and David Bowie, which was first on my "gotta have it" list this year) and ultra-rare cover songs like Velvet Underground's Cool It Down AND Sweet Jane (only the second time played each, and first since Halloween 1998), and the ultimate knife in the back, Blues Image's Ride Captain Ride, which I've been quietly chasing since 1998, at Deer Creek actually had me considering that I should sell my tickets to the first night at Alpine Valley. Typically, when Phish throws down some magic, the next show is a phone-in. While I wouldn't call either Alpine Valley show a phoned-in show, there's just no way that they could have been even comparable to the Deer Creek shows. I mean, I'm still steaming over Ride Captain Ride...I've missed it by one show at least two or three times now, and even missed it a few times at shows I should have been at, but didn't attend for whatever reason.

That all being said, the shows were still decently fun. They played a few originals that I was still excited to hear, like The Sloth, Reba, Runaway Jim, 2001, Maze, a cover of Talking Heads' Crosseyed and Painless, Let it Loose by the Rolling Stones, and, perhaps the highlight of the two shows, the 1-2 opening punch of Bob Marley's Soul Shakedown Party and Velvet Underground's Lonesome Cowboy Bill on Sunday night. It's quite possible that they'll never play Lonesome Cowboy Bill again, as, like the VU covers at Deer Creek, it hadn't been played since it's original bust-out on 10/31/98. 

Beyond the aforementioned original and cover-song highlights, the Alpine Valley shows were average at best, unfortunately. The critical side of my mind gets disappointed when I think about it, but after some reasoning and self-condolences, I tell that critical voice to shut the fuck up and just enjoy the shows for what they are -- a few nights to kick back with good friends, old acquaintences, and crunchy, hetty jamz.