This Day in 2004: Phish Break Up (For Awhile)

14 years ago today, Phish finished up the final night of their weekend-long Coventry festival and, in turn, seemingly wrapped up their career. They hadn’t, of course, but despite their eventual reunion, the show still went down in the band’s history as a pretty monumental performance.

Over the course of two nights, Phish performed six sets, and thousands of fans turned out to see them, with even more fans provided with the opportunity to see the show simulcast to movie theaters around America and to hear the show on XM Satellite Radio. Unfortunately, the weather that weekend was terrible, with bassist Mike Gordon actually taking to the radio to tell fans that the area was in a state of disaster, making it nearly impossible for anyone else to drive to the venue. Not that this stopped the fans, of course: they still made their way there, many of them bypassing the drive by abandoned their cars and choosing to walk.

It was an emotional night, to be sure, with members of the band breaking into tears at points, which makes it a little less surprising that Phish ultimately got back together in 2009. When you’re crying at the thought of not playing with your musical brethren, then why wouldn’t you eventually get back together? And we’re darned glad that they did.