Like its obvious forbears, The Grateful Dead, Phish continues to release sprawling, jam-heavy issues of its live shows, despite the fact the group disbanded years ago.
“Live in Brooklyn,” released today, comes fast on the heels of December’s “Live at Madison Square Garden: New Year’s Eve 1995.” Like that release, it contains 20-some tracks and clocks in at 3 1/2 hours, spotlessly recorded and edited from the original soundboard mixes.
This set, however, offers both a three-disc CD version ($19.99) and a two-disc DVD ($25.99). For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the DVD because it mimics the sound and set list of the CD version.
Phish had been together for nearly 21 years by the time this Coney Island show was taped, and watching the Vermont-based band reinforces its near-telepathic chemistry. Good thing too, as this was to be the last tour of their career (unless, of course, they reunite in another couple of years).
Singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio indulges in zero stage banter during the June 17, 2004, set, preferring to smile and nod between improv-heavy songs that frequently top 12 minutes. He’s not much of a singer, so the camera focuses mainly on his aggressively technical guitar work, which is impressive and varied by any standard.
“Dinner and a Movie” could be a typical track: The playful, succinct number showcases Anastasio’s Zappa-esque melodic tendencies as he matches Page McConnell’s piano note-for-note. As the band harmonizes vocals, the song momentarily drops its virtuoso jazz face and becomes a soft pop number, only to crash back into noodling before ending seconds later.
Director and editor Eli Tishberg, a veteran of Pearl Jam and Bon Jovi concert films, knows how to keep it engaging even for nonhardcore fans. Frequent cuts from dozens of angles, including tracking and crane shots, grant a kinetic energy to the mostly stand-still quartet. Intense lighting and smoke effects – visible even during the day – get more intense as the skies grow dark and a drenching rain begins.
The Coney Island setting mimics the band’s colorful, unpredictable nature, symbolically reinforced with occasional cuts to the Cyclone roller coaster or Ferris wheel behind the massive stage.
The DVD extras feature the band’s soundcheck (even that draws dozens of fans), Anastasio practicing backstage alone in a candlelit room and more songs from additional days of their Coney Island stint. Signs proclaiming “Welcome Phish Phans” greet the mostly college-aged, white male neo-hippies as they filter into the venue.
The Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound mix resonates in the speakers without employing too much natural reverb, a live album cliché that sometimes washes out the finer points of a performance. Then again, it’s likely most diehard fans already have a bootleg of this performance. They’ll appreciate the clarity found here.
Certainly, diluting the market is a nonissue for this band, which officially released 20 volumes of its live sets between 2001 and 2003. Still, this is perhaps the best visual document of Phish’s boundless energy and devotion to its fans.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-820-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
