Live Phish 04: 6/14/00, Drum Logos, Fukuoka,...

This three-disc show -- recorded at a small club in Fukuoka, Japan -- is a solid, though not exceptional, choice for release by Phish as part of their first major archival release program. Surprisingly, the band's choices included three shows from 2000, a year in which the band's creativity and energy weren't particularly high. Where the Darien Lake show (Live Phish 03) is truly wonderful, the Fukuoka show (Live Phish 04) -- recorded three months earlier -- has a consistency, but little true innovation. The centerpiece of the show is the second disc, which features a confident and beautiful jam out of "Twist," very indicative of the band's direction, before wending its way into a rendition of the James Gang's "Walk Away." Most of the material sounds sluggish, though, especially during the first set, which features a plodding cover of Talking Heads' "Cities" (consult 1997's Slip Stich and Pass for a better take) and a drained "Gumbo," which nonetheless finds its interesting territory before segueing into "Llama." On the whole, the show is unexciting, the sound of a band with little place left to go. ~ Jesse Jarnow