SPAC once again played host to a tour closing run for Phish, with Night 1 of the three nights one for the books with the bar set high as ever. The band, who have criss-crossed the country since June, have been putting together consistently solid performances along the way, breaking out older materials and jamming on unexpected tunes. SPAC would be no exception to this rule.
The first set started in unorthodox fashion with a very rare “First Tube” opener, allowing guitarist Trey Anastasio to kick the night off with his triumphant (GRAMMY-nominated!) rock instrumental, followed by what amounted to a 20-minute rendition of “Bathtub Gin,” complete with a Trey-led jam on “There is a Mountain” by Donovan.
The middle of the first set included the second “Devotion To a Dream” of the tour, “Strawberry Letter 23,” “Lawn Boy” with ‘Chairman of the Mound’ Page McConnell serenading the SPAC lawn, plus a deep dive into ‘Hey Stranger’ appearing as the biggest surprise late in the set, with ‘Walls of the Cave” closing the set in usual grand fashion.
Set 2 would only have five songs (only!) with the first two, “Set Your Soul Free” and a deeply exploratory “Chalkdust Torture” combining for nearly 48 minutes, ripe with distinct improv sections and a must listen. When ‘Beneath a Sea of Stars, Part 1″ rolled around to give the crowd a breather, it too would delve into a unique improv of its own,
The “Piper” and “Everything’s Right” pairing to wrap up the set followed the lead of “Gin,” “Hey Stranger” and set 2 brethren, making this Phish SPAC set the most packed with jamming since June 2004. To top it off, the Rolling Stones “Loving Cup” and a furious “Run Like an Antelope” served up the same energy in the encore.
Phish return to the stage Saturday and Sunday evening at 7:30pm. Find extra tickets on CashorTrade.
Setlist via Phish.net
Set 1: First Tube, Bathtub Gin, Devotion To a Dream, The Well, Birds of a Feather, Strawberry Letter 23, Lawn Boy, The Old Home Place, Hey Stranger, Walls of the Cave
Set 2: Set Your Soul Free > Chalk Dust Torture -> Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1 -> Piper > Everything’s Right
Encore: Loving Cup > Run Like an Antelope
Following Lawn Boy, Trey introduced Page as “The Chairman of the Mound
Photo gallery by Frankie Cavone
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