Written & posted to phish.net forum on the 10th anniversary of 10.7.00.

I flew to Cali from the Toronto area for these 'final' shows. It was a pretty bittersweet time really. It was cool to see
Bobby Weir come out for the encore the first night at Shoreline.

[Running joke amongst me and my friends is how much I love Bobby's cowboy tunes (I actually DO), so to get a surprise sit in with him on "El Paso" on top of the Chalkdust > West LA Fadeaway, well, I still haven't lived that down. Especially since I was at VA Beach in 98 for the Terrapin Station. They all hate me in the loving kind of way]

Anyways, a little about that 'last' Phish show on 10.7.00.

We had great seats, about 10th row, Page side. It was an excellent show ... nothing groundbreaking per se, but start to finish, they just nailed it. It's important enough in phistory that if anyone hasn't heard it, you should check it out, IMHO. [The previous night 10.6.00 had a little more exploration.] I'm not gonna review the show song by song, they didn't 'waste' any tunes if you know what I mean. When they came out for the encore, we all knew what was coming, and that YEM was special.

You gotta remember, we thought these were at the time,
the 'last Phish shows'. A story I felt was worth sharing today was about what you can't hear on the live phish sbd recording. Download an audience copy and try and picture this:

The band stayed out a bit longer than normal and took an emotional bow. Then Paul played The Beatles' "Let it Be" played over the PA. Most didn't leave. We stuck around in appreciation of what we thought could be/was the end of a remarkable career. We stood and cheered. And maybe shed the odd tear. There were lots of hugs in the crowd I can tell you that. There was this moment where the crew who had started tear down realized that nobody was leaving and alot of them turned around and faced the crowd that they too deserved (for probably a dozen or so I'm guessing on this number) had been with the band for 10 yrs or maybe more. And Kuroda had these little quotes all lit up on the inside/underneath of the distinctive shaped white pavilion of shoreline, "All You Need is Love".

Having been at Big Cypress less than a year earlier, with The Beatles, 'Here Comes the Sun' playing at the conclusion of that life changing experience, well, that was even extra emotional for me when 'Let it Be' came on. On another personal note, the first show I saw after the hiatus was Woosta, where they opened with YEM. So I saw two YEMs in a row, two and a half yrs apart. I was pretty excited

Anyways, hard to believe it has been 10 yrs. If you're looking to spin a show today, try that one today.

A very thankful fan that the boys are back,
Jeremy Brennan
aka trentphisher, Thunder or Guy Forget,
depending on if I met you tapetrading, on tour or online

This is STILL the last show I saw Phish play (although I might go see 8-15-2012 in Long Beach). I had a HUGE tasty spliff rolled up, and I wrote the letters YEM on it. I was determined to only smoke it if they played that tune. As the show progressed, and the YEM failed to materialize, my friends kept asking me to light it up (or leave them alone). I stuck to my guns. They ended set two, and no YEM. I guess I wasn't going to smoke this monster J after all.

Then...the encore. They fucking came through!
It was only fitting Phish play their greatest original composition to end what was "supposed" to be the final show.

It took the entire build-up to the funk to smoke the beast. I don't think I've been that high since. This YEM jam is fantastic! What a way to end it. There was a special energy during the YEM, especially from Fishman, who was playing as if he were never going to play again!

Just listened to this show again today and I thought I would write a review. I'm surprised nobody else has said anything yet. This show raged (up until Bowie, that is), but it had a weird, weird vibe to it. I had never felt anything like it at a Phish show. I guess because we all knew that an indefinite hiatus was coming, but there was real tension in the crowd. Happy tension, but still...
Anyway, the show started off blazing with First Tube>Mike's Groove, before settling into some old favorites. Fee, Gin, and Glide were all nice choices and they were played very well. The Gin had an especially nice jam. However, they chose to close the set with My Soul, my least favorite cover, and that kinda killed my buzz. Especially since I was in the bathroom when Trey called break.
Set two started like just any other set 2, as if they weren't going away for a while. Twist>2001>Tweezer gave us about 45 minutes of nice jamming. The Tweezer especially ended on a particularly ominous sounding riff that Mike came up with. Velvet Sea and Meatstick was a nice mid-set touch. Many people were thinking about Cypress at that point (I wasn't there, but I got the reference). Japanese lyrics and the Meatstick Dance proved that Phish will never stop being fun. But then it all started to fall apart with Bowie. They all flubbed the composed parts; it's hard to tell who flubbed first, but they all lost it. Tweeprise rocked as a set closer.
The YEM encore started off way too sloppy with ugly flubbed parts, but then settled into a lovely version.
This show was so weird: it had such a "Goodbye" feel to it, yet Phish just played a very typical show. Trey never said a single word, except mumbling something about setbreak. I guess that was a good thing since it never really was meant to be "goodbye", just "see ya."

Attended! What a range of emotions at this show. Not knowing when/if I would see the band again was tough. Over the last 7 years I had seen them as much as I could, 49 shows. Over the past two years, I had graduated from college and was finally able to have the means to really travel and spend the money need to see many shows and now they are going on “hiatus.” One thing that rubbed me the wrong way was that no one uttered a word from the stage all night. Couldn’t they have at least said thanks? I know I will get flamed for that, but I just thought that was strange. Anyway…

SET 1: First Tube: I remember thinking, wow – maybe they have the gumption to seriously throw down tonight? >

Mike's Song: Apparently, they ARE going to throw down tonight! I thought this version really rocked and listening to it last night again confirms that >

I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Fee: This section seemed pretty tame.

Bathtub Gin, Glide, My Soul: Awesome three song run to take us into setbreak. Really old school with the exception of My Soul.

First set summary: I was loving that first set. But and I will never forget this; it was really hard to get TOO excited about anything because once you did you found yourself realizing that you just did not know if/when you were going to see Phish again. It was just so odd. Such a mix of emotions. I thought that was a great first set though, not too much exploration, but they threw down a greatest hits set which seemed appropriate for the last show.

SET 2: Twist > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Tweezer. This was the HEAT. Twist was fine but 2001 was nuts. Total groove monster and Tweezer was smoking hot. Awesome way to start the set!

Wading in the Velvet Sea, Meatstick: Sort of a nod to Big Cypress? But with way different energy… >

David Bowie, Tweezer Reprise: Wow. It’s almost over. Waves of sadness through two of my favorites.

ENCORE: You Enjoy Myself – Everyone knew it was incoming and boom, there it was. Sloppy but the jam was decent. They took a long bow – and that was it. Cheering on the crew to the strains of Let it Be – I will never forget that as long as I live. No one wanted to leave. The lot after the show was like a funeral, I kid you not. I packed up right away and got the hell out. The next morning I left bright and early. The drive home to Denver was unbelievably depressing and I was solo which made it even worse. Still, I am glad I did the run. But never had such highs (Vegas) and such lows to contend with over the course of over those ten days. Strange times indeed.

I just re-listened to this run again. Sure can't believe it's about to be exactly 20 years since this night. I caught the whole run starting in Vegas, missing the Guy Forget show, like an idiot. The whole run, the closer it got to this night, you had this feeling with every song, that this might be the last one ever. It was sad, but exciting, and it added this extra-ness to everything. By the time it got to Shoreline, things got more serious, as every song was definitely the last one for a long time, if not forever.

About that, I was pretty confident that the band was clear that they were taking a hiatus, which implied an end to the hiatus. So I didn't think this was the end, most likely, but we also had no idea how long that hiatus would be. Years? Many years? And of course, you just never know. So it got serious, even for optimists like me. It got most heartbreaking and sweet in the Cities and the Simple from night one, which are just beautiful and so sad. Night one I probably listen to more.

I was up on the lawn with maybe ten friends, rollicking pretty hard on all sorts of supplements, as you did in 2000. The memory is clear, though, it was an emotional night. You can hear in the audience tapes, which I also recommend, that with each song, the crowd gets excited, like always, and then deflates as we all realize, oh shit, this is maybe the last ever [song]. It was rough, and hard to have a good time. Not horrendous, though, like Coventry, which was just terrible. This night was bittersweet and beautiful. It just seemed so strange that they would break up when they were clearly at the height of their powers. That's the thing, it was sad, but man, they could rage so hard during this time. It did feel strange that Trey didn't say anything at the end. The crowd ovation to the crew was something special, even from up on the lawn.

I'd say it's important to listen to if you're interested in the history, but the earlier parts of this week have a lot less emotional baggage, and will knock your teeth out, 2000 style.

So here we are. The last show of 1.0 Phish. If there was any time for a blowout show, this was it. Looking at the setlist, it certainly looks good on paper. Almost like they were “playing the hits,” but at the same time fairly typical for 2000.

First Tube opens up the show in standard rocking fashion. By this point they could play this song in their sleep. The peak flows with such ease one might forget the gravitas of the moment. A classic Mike’s Groove is an obvious choice for the last show. Mike’s Song starts off weirdly subdued but eventually works its way to a fine peak. Nothing special for this last versions of a storied song. Perhaps it’s appropriate. Hydrogen is played well and leads us into the final Weekapaug. Mike’s solo is kinda flat; not much energy to it. The rest of the song follows suit. Not bad, per se, but not great. Fee is great choice for a throwback song. The first track off their first album deserves a place at the last show. While it’s no Jones Beach, this one is played well. Gin gives the first real jam of the night. This one is right in line with the rocking upbeat Gins of 2000 and is overall quite nice. Glide, another oldie, is a great send off for the fans. “We’re glad, glad, glad that you’re alive.” Of course compared to Phish’s other “last show” this version is played without any real flubs. My Soul closes the 2nd to last set of Phish.

A solid set for sure, but not adventurous in the slightest. The energy is kind of sad and tired. That said, it’s still a fun set with no complaints from me.

Set 2 begins with a pretty great 3 song sequence. Twist is fairly average but it has some good guitar work from Trey. The spacey outro then slowly morphs into 2001 as Fish starts up the beat. This 2001 has heavy danceability. One last funky dance party is what we all needed. Trey and Mike really drive the rhythm home here. Tweezer descends from the clouds of 2001. As the final version for Uncle Ebenezer, it’s pretty good with Trey developing a cool theme and the rest of the band supporting. The one ballad for the night is Trey’s favorite Wading in the Velvet Sea. It’s heartfelt and touching. Meatstick, the patron saint of ’99, gets one last performance. It’s joyous and silly, just as it should be. Bowie comes in a bit shaky in the composed section, but they make up for it with a “standard good” jam. Tweeprise closes the last set of Phish in great, high-energy, fashion. As the final encore, YEM is an obvious choice. It’s as funky and dancey as ever and the vocal jam has a nice finality to it.

And there it is. The last show. Surprisingly, not a word from the band was spoken. Not even a “thank you” after YEM. I suppose they felt there was nothing to say. They’ll be back one day, why say goodbye?

This show's historical significance probably overshadows a truly outstanding Bathtub Gin. If, like me, you enjoy the Gins of 98-00, this one demands re-visiting if it's been a while. Locks into an understated groove quickly and delivers a distinctly 2000-era peak. Easily one of my most listened to Gins and probably one of my most listened to jams period. Then again, I'm a sucker for late 1.0-era Phish.