Wonderfully fun show, though a bit lite for June '04 in retrospect. The band's enthusiasm and affection are palpable from the start. If you like Phish of a 2003-04 vintage, certainly buy 'Live in Brooklyn' (for the crystal-clear audio if nothing else), but the deep cuts don't really start until the tour hits SPAC on the 19th. 46 Days > Possum is all strutting cock rock with a letter-perfect segue, Suzy heads out from clav-driven dance madness to 2004-standard uptempo haze, and Moma > Free is *spectacular*; hell, even 2001 gets a zippy dance workout; the show really does deserve its status as an official album release. But nothing here has the underground-cavern vibe that set in at SPAC (cf. the 6/20 version of Seven Below), and if you like your Phish deepwater dark and fathoms below sea level, this show will seem a touch inadequate.

But if it needs saying: this is a better-than-average Phish show, which is to say very few rock bands can do what this band does, on this night, without so much as breaking a sweat.

Hindsight is a funny thing. Over the past few days I've been *observing* (rather than "celebrating") the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Vegas run, by general consensus the worst three consecutive shows of the band's career. I couldn't stomach listening to the complete shows, resorting instead to revisiting a few selected tracks.

This afternoon, I put on my Live In Brooklyn CDs. What a difference.

The level of energy evident in the music is on par with the heady, nation-conquering days of 1993-95. And although the musicianship has changed, this remastered recording demonstrates how the band has improved at listening to each other and supporting each other musically. When the band has been consciously putting in the time to elevate this ability, it becomes infectious: Sample In A Jar is usually setlist fluff, but Page, Mike, and Fish are contributing to Trey's solo in rhythm, tempo, and dynamics, and Trey can't help but be inspired by this.

And during Free, Mike unleashes the Meatball pedal effect, the sound that has had such a profound effect on 3.0 funk jams.

Another indicator of a special show: when the band elects to play one of their early bread-and-butter jam songs in the encore slot, like Reba, Bowie, or Fluffhead. I will always have time for a Divided Sky encore.

Other reviewers have done a great job of explaining the context of the Summer 2004 shows. Live In Brooklyn was the first Phish release I purchased in the wake of the band's breakup in 2004, as a way of providing myself some closure in the grieving process. Of course there were specific reasons why the band broke up in 2004, but it was, and still is, astonishing that Phish could consider calling it quits when they still play shows like this. If you are at all familiar with the band's live show catalog, *please* get this show from livephish.com, (as well as the SPAC run from the following week) and listen, and enjoy, and consider what was and what might have been.

Things other reviewers have not mentioned....

*Very smooth segue from 46 Days->Possum
*18 minute Suzy with Reprise Jam. Straight funk (reminiscent of the 9/14/2000 Suzy) until about the 10:20 mark and then things take a turn for the nasty. Typical 2.0 dark jam sound.
11:40 Fishman starts this open hi-hat beat and Trey lays some nasty distorted chords and the jam kicks into high gear, very dark sound. Trey does some wanky oxy-chords but Fish and Mike never stop driving the jam. Eventually at 16:00 Trey explodes with rhythm, classic two chord vamp, and the jam comes full circle before eventually fizzling out (17:15 Trey does some weird stuff, they seem to get disjointed and fall off) but you can tell they are wanting to rage, hence following it up with a killer Axilla.

The first show after the announcement of Phish's impending breakup was eagerly anticipated by the fanbase. Would Trey reference the letter in words or in music? What would the band's chemistry be like? Truthfully, there were few signs musically that the band was running out of gas. Thanks to limited access to the general-admission field, we were able to park ourselves 30-40 feet back from center-stage and have plenty of room to dance.

ASIHTOS sounded like it could go deep early, but it was really a taste of where this song would go in the future. Dinner and a Movie was the appropriate and predictable call for the simulcast, while the Curtain With (first since Vegas 2000) was an obvious statement song ("Please, we have no regrets") that was quite pleasant, especially in light of the debacle that the song was at Coventry. Moma>Free is pure beauty and funkiness, while the rain began to fall during Nothing. Maze had us screaming "You'll never get out of this rain" as we were soaked to the skin.

46 Days>Possum showed off a beautiful segue and Suzy sounded at the time it might be the final-ever version (which it wasn't, of course). The second set was fun and danceable, but my favorite part of Weekapaugh was the brief Main Street hint. The clearing sky inspired the encore, which was welcome but botched. The Moma>Free and 46 Days>Possum are worth watching and hearing, but the jamming doesn't reach the heights of the SPAC.

This version of Suzy has a very distinct guitar progression in the moments before the tempo picks up. Trey plays a full on No Quarter chord sequence. The EXACT same sequence as Jimmy Page plays in No Quarter during The Song Remains The Same film. In Zeppelin's 73 Madison Square Garden version, the chord changes lead to a major rush of energy, here they do the same. It was always my favorite part of No Quarter from the movie. A very cool but subtle tribute. Hell, Trey probably played it subconsciously(because he's more than likely seen the movie 10,000 times like the rest of us)which makes it even cooler.

this is an AMAZING SHOW. you need to hear it, really sharp definitive 2.0 takes on some of the phish catalogue. the moma is what i used to always go back to early on in my listening to phish, absolutely ripping, and the curtain with, sample, free, all have a seemingly additional melodic nature. Amazing takes. Then the second set takes it up a notch, with incredible jamming, segues. The highlight of the second set to my ears is the 2001, which has a filthy and to me irresistible tone. Mike sounds like hes in a wind tunnel and trey is guitar is gnarly and murky. Highly recommended listen, also to check out on youtube.

Overall a very solid show that is definitely worth your time. This Moma Dance may be my all time second favorite version. SPAC '16 will always be my fave (attendance bias). A very nice segue takes us from that Moma into a stellar Free. IMO the momentum is lost during Maze due to a jam section that is surprisingly boring and without direction. Frankenstein gets things back on track before the set break.

There is plenty to enjoy in set two. 46 Days > Possum is a solid way to begin a set and Suzy has a fantastic jam. I'm not as big a fan of this 2001 as many others seem to be. The Mike's Groove is much more to my liking with some killer work from Gordo. Definitely give this show a spin or check out, as I did, The Live in Brooklyn DVD.

I have a huge qualm with .net's recap on this one, considering I believe this to be the greatest Free that they have ever played. Does the jam have to be long to be considered "Highly Recommended"?

There isn't a single thing from this show that has more relisten value than the Free imo and for anyone who hasn't heard it, pop it on and enjoy the hell out of it.

Moma Dance is unfinished.

This Moma dance in particular really shines bright in a particularly terrible year for phish. This Moma clocks in at 14+ minutes and is one of my all time favorites. Starts off almost like background music in a 70's adult film. Very funky. Peaks ~ beautifully with a full trey solo. Rips your face right off. Magnificent transition into a very blissful jam led by Mike Gordon's base. Like most good jams from this era it gets kind of "dark" at a point, which turns the jam from "crowd sway" into a total head banger, brings the jam into a very hard rock/prog sounding jam.
10/10 One of my regular "Go to's."

This version of Suzy has a very distinct guitar progression in the moments before the tempo picks up. Trey plays a full on No Quarter chord sequence. The EXACT same sequence as Jimmy Page plays in No Quarter during The Song Remains The Same film. In Zeppelin's 73 Madison Square Garden version, the chord changes lead to a major rush of energy, here they do the same. It was always my favorite part of No Quarter from the movie. A very cool but subtle tribute. Hell, Trey probably played it subconsciously(because he's more than likely seen the movie 10,000 times like the rest of us)which makes it even cooler.

This version of Suzy has a very distinct guitar progression in the moments before the tempo picks up. Trey plays a full on No Quarter chord sequence. The EXACT same sequence as Jimmy Page plays in No Quarter during The Song Remains The Same film. In Zeppelin's 73 Madison Square Garden version, the chord changes lead to a major rush of energy, here they do the same. It was always my favorite part of No Quarter from the movie. A very cool but subtle tribute. Hell, Trey probably played it subconsciously(because he's more than likely seen the movie 10,000 times like the rest of us)which makes it even cooler.

Another fairly average show.

SITHTOS starts things of fierce and dark. Curtain With is very well played and an interesting pre cursor to Phish's "Final Song" later on. When With comes on people lose it, must have been pretty cool to see in person. Moma Dance is a really good version with a great pulsing jam. The Free that proceeds it is also top shelf with one of the best Mike mid sections I've heard. Maze is fairly straight forward.

46 Days kicks off the 2nd set and drifts off into a quick groove, and a decent segue into possum. 2001 is straight forward, as is Mike's Groove. Kung IMO is completely ruined by having a first set request type feel. It is a song meant to be a bridge between songs or stuffed in the middle of a jam.

Divided Sky is a unique and cool encore, but a fairly average version.