Thursday, April 15, 2004 | 8:20 a.m.
Phish's spring 2004 tour begins and ends in Las Vegas this week.
Once famous for their rigorous concert schedule, the popular jam band has cut way back on its live dates since reuniting in December of 2002.
Phish's Thomas & Mack Center run -- tonight, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. -- are the quartet's first shows of 2004, and their first since a New Year's Eve appearance in Miami.
Not surprisingly, given those circumstances, all three Vegas concerts sold out in several hours of going on sale last month.
This week tickets for the events sold for upwards of $100 apiece on eBay. As of press time, many still remained available through the online auction house.
Although this will be Phish's first three-night stand in Las Vegas, the band has shown a fondness for the city over the years, playing Vegas eight times between 1996 and 2003.
Those concerts have been marked by several legendary Phish moments, including guest appearances by Kid Rock (2000) and Primus' Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde (1996), a complete rendition of the Velvet Underground album "Loaded" (1998) and the arrival of a bevy of Elvis impersonators (1996).
This week the band unveiled 11 summer tour dates, all in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Also expected to be announced soon: a two-day Phish festival in the group's home state of Vermont the weekend of Aug. 14-15.
Diehard fans may notice something different at this weekend's shows -- its visuals. Longtime lighting director Chris Kuroda will miss the concerts for personal reasons. Filling in will be Fenton Williams, who handles lighting for the Dave Matthews Band.
Those who get shut out of the weekend's festivities will have another opportunity to hear the performances. All three will be available for download through the band's Web site -- www.phish.com -- for package prices of $26.95 for MP3s and $34.95 for lossless FLAC versions.
For many fans of improvisational music, the party will only heat up when the Thomas & Mack empties out. All three nights offer late-night shows likely to appeal to jam-band devotees.
New York-based quintet moe. has already sold out three midnight concerts at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, though tickets remain for sale on Ebay and through brokers.
Also, the Las Vegas Jam Band Society is promoting two gigs: the Jennifer Hartswick Band (featuring members of Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio's touring band) with Stretch tonight at nightclub Seven, 3724 Las Vegas Blvd. South and Umphrey's McGee on Friday at The Rio's Club Rio.
Who: Phish.
Where: Thomas & Mack Center.
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Tickets: Sold out.
Opening act: None.
Personnel: Trey Anastasio (guitar, vocals), Jon Fishman (drums, vocals), Mike Gordon (bass, vocals), Page McConnell (piano, vocals).
Latest release: "Round Room" (Elektra, 2002).
Album feedback: "It's not particularly interesting ... since it lacks the spirit of their live improvisations or, say the layered ambitions of Trey Anastasio's excellent solo album of 2002." (All Music Guide, 2 1/2 stars); "Virtually everything on these seventy-eight minutes breathes with an anxious edge-of-the-seat intensity that's missing from their previous studio efforts." (Rolling Stone, 3 stars).
Essential releases: "Junta" (1989), " Lawn Boy" (1990), "A Picture of Nectar" (1992), "The Story of the Ghost" (1998), "Live Phish Vol. 2" (2001), "Live Phish Vol. 16" (2002).
What to expect: Two long sets and a short encore. If the band's 2003 Vegas shows are any indication, fans might do well to bring along a book -- last year's intermissions lasted more than 40 minutes each.
Recent set list: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Dec. 30: (Set 1) "Wilson," "Sand," "Shafty," "NICU," "Weigh," "Cities," "Strange Design," "Scent of a Mule," "Bathtub Gin," "Also Sprach Zarathustra." (Set 2) "Tube," "L.A. Woman," "Birds of a Feather," "L.A. Woman," "Makisupa Policeman," P-Funk medley, "Makisupa Policeman," "Touch Me," Down With Disease." (Encore) "Contact," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
Previous Las Vegas appearances: Dec. 6, 1996 (Aladdin); Nov. 13, 1997 (Thomas & Mack); Oct. 30-31, 1998 (T&M); Sept. 29-30, 2000 (T&M); Feb. 15-16, 2003 (T&M).
Says McConnell: "A part of what killed Jerry Garcia was the bigness of what the Dead became. He couldn't stop touring. It's the antithesis of what I want to happen. I want to create a way for us to continue to be ourselves and make new music all the time." (Rolling Stone, March, 2003).
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