Unfortunately, due to unruly fans, Phish would not be allowed back to this powerful venue, stamping these final four nights as Phish’s farewell to Morrison’s musical mecca.

With each night providing an array of smoking musical highlights, some of the best, in no particular order, were the 2001>Disease, Mike’s Groove, Runaway Jim > Gypsy Queen > Jim, Curtain > Tweezer, and the infamous Forbin’s > Mockingbird about the giant iguana and the newly discovered life on Mars, which they followed up with the appropriate Bowie cover. Specifically, the four-night run at Red Rocks, (for which they would also not be invited back), contained some of the more inspired music of the summer. With no lack of sharp and precise jamming, Summer ’96 produced some excellent musical portions. For a band who was always pushing the envelope of their own live music, they weren’t incorporating any truly new elements into their music- though they did feature a mini-acoustic stage throughout the summer. This underrated tour featured standout shows, and amazing jams yet Phish’s musical textures seemed to remain similar to the previous year’s fast, arena-rock psychedelia.

Musically, these shows remained relatively conservative for Phish, and didn’t necessarily break new ground while working some new songs into the rotation.Īs they wound up their European vacation, Phish headed back to the US for an abbreviated eleven show summer tour. An 18-show European tour followed in June, mixing opening gigs with Santana with some headlining gigs of their own. Taking the six months off after a marathon Fall 1995, Phish first reemerged for an exciting daytime slot at Jazzfest in New Orleans- for which they would not be invited back due to the scene that came with them. Unsure of where their next musical move would take them, a new direction would emerge over the course of the summer and fall, and by the time early- 1997 rolled around, Phish would be reinvented. As Phish embarked on the year 1996, it was this natural process of self-discovery that would unfold over the course of the year. Once you have reached a goal that has been in the distance for so long, self-reflection and reevaluation become a natural byproduct of success, and trying to figure out what comes next.

Bouncing red ball phish song