In a show book-ended with two more “Tweezer Reprises,” the band dropped a very Phishy affair in upstate New York last night to opening SPAC’s two-night stand. With a first set of early classics and a diverse second half composed of multiple segments, each carrying distinctly different vibes, Phish patched together an impressive evening of music. Suffering from a tad bit of choppiness, the second stanza did manage to maintain a flow from beginning to end, filled with this summer’s locked and loaded jamming, the band’s most promising debut this year, and one of the more exploratory jams of the summer.

Sparking the show like a Phillies Blunt, Phish came out in comedic and invigorated form with the third version of “Tweezer Reprise” in a row- “Threeprise!” After capping Hartford with the now-legendary double -”Reprise” encore, the band couldn’t get enough blasting into the freezer for a third consecutive time. Surfing a tsunami of energy from Hartford, the band crashed into a second-song “Chalk Dust,” maintaining the initial intensity. The first set quickly adopted an old-school theme with a series of classic early-90s pieces; each musical link in the first set chain carried its own weight, with the improvisational highlight coming in the late-set “Bathtub Gin.” While not in the same league as the Virginia version, this one nonetheless carries thick groove of its own. Additionally, the bust out of “Yamar” brought a quintessential summer vibe to the set, providing the stage for some percussive full-band interplay.

Call it the whale, call it what you will, Trey’s new style and tone – on full display in “Bathtub Gin” – and just about every other jam of the evening, has taken over his playing. And I must say, I am in love with the whale. Offering a new twist on Trey’s ideas, his pitch bending, sustained notes provide a more laid-back feel to his leads, bringing a completely new guitar element to the mixture. Often beginning in the background with gentle whispers, this minimalist approach not only provides the band with a new sound to build around, it allows Mike to step up as the bold, bass-wielding co-leader of every jam. The combination of these two elements have certainly carved out a new summer sound, but more on the 2010 sound come an off-day. Right now, let’s get to the second set.

As Phish continues their re-evolution, the next logical step will be regaining comfort pushing their music into exploratory realms once again. Even in some of the summer’s most eventful sets, Phish has remained anchored to their song structures, sculpting full-on, energetic jams whose creativity come from the band’s natural chops rather than leading their music outwards. With last night’s “Rock and Roll,” Phish took his a step in the right direction. As the band left the song for the “Saratoga Jam,” their music became more open-ended and psychedelic than it has since Hershey’s “Drowned,” and they took this jam even further. With Mike at the center, the band passed through a slower groove of beauty into an exploration of faster textures, pushing their music without falling prey to typical cliches. Providing the most rewarding part of the evening, the second set opener took us for the most adventurous journey of tour. The multi-dimensional piece could have withstood another few minutes of exploration of straight psychedelia, yet still concluded organically.

Ending in a tasteful pass into “Free,” Trey and Mike seemed like they were about to take the song for the elusive ride through a crunchy dungeon that we’ve all been waiting for. Leaving the bass solo behind, they set up a groove before making that damned chord change signifying the ending just as the piece set its course set for darker realms. Following this opening sequence, Phish dropped a meaningless “Number Line” in the middle of the second set with no improvisation. Playing the contained radio single for the Saturday night crowd, Phish deflated the set’s initial peak rather quickly, but when the band started up a slow, unknown groove, things got very interesting.

Only after the show did we learn the title of Page’s “Halfway to the Moon,” but for the time we became engulfed by the sinister molasses of Phish’s most promising new song. With a particularly foreboding groove and tar-thick, “Moma”-esque bass patterns, this piece foreshadowed nothing but greatness in its world premiere. With an evil, yet funky launchpad, look out when this one opens a second set later this summer; the potential seems off the charts.

But when Trey decides things are over, things are over. And such was the case as the band sat on the brink of something greater when he hacked into the growing piece with “Prince Caspian.” For a band that communicates so well while improvising, Trey could alert his band mates to his intentions when he wants to change a song; but in an all-to-characteristic move, Big Red lopped off another exploration without notice. Though Phish played a solid “Caspian,” the sudden change jerked the set’s momentum like a 747 hitting a large pocket of turbulence, and the lull continued through “Joy.” But everything shifted back into high gear for the show’s conclusion.

Getting visibly excited throughout the into to “Bowie,” Trey flashed the double-heavy metal horns before dropping into the most scintillating version we’ve heard since their return. One-upping Chicago’s first-set closer with heavy grooves and series of blissful peaks, this version got the show back to a torrid level of intensity, while reminding is what is possible from a song that lied dormant for quite some time. The phenomenal version presented itself as the set-ender, but Phish went on to punctuate the frame with their newest cathartic closer, “Show of Life.” Infused with an enhanced energy, the anthem’s growing potential for transcendence continued to unfold in the song’s second incarnation.

One had the sense that a final “Reprise” might have been coming as the band remained onstage during Page’s “Coil” solo, and after a boisterous stop in “Character Zero,” that is exactly what went down – the fourth “Tweezer Reprise” in two nights! This final helping of musical gusto carried everyone into a beautiful New York night with nowhere to drive, as Sunday night’s weekend closer loomed large. As the tour approaches its halfway point, things are only getting better. Stay tuned – same bat time, same bat channel.

I: Tweezer Reprise, Chalk Dust Torture, Funky Bitch, Runaway Jim, Ya Mar, Sample in a Jar, Axilla > Fluffhead, Bathtub Gin, Suzy Greenberg

II: Rock and Roll > Free, Backwards Down the Number Line, Halfway to the Moon* > Prince Caspian, Joy, David Bowie, Show of Life

E: The Squirming Coil, Character Zero, Tweezer Reprise

*Debut

Phish capped off two nights at Hartford, Connecticut on Friday with a completely fluid two-set show that, boasted, arguably, the standout set of the summer thus far. Putting an fierce exclamation point on the first half of the weekend, the band played with extreme cohesion and vigor, as Trey led Phish through a non-stop, guitar-led tale of wonder after setbreak. Featuring stretched out, creative annihilation’s of old favorites, without getting too experimental, the band came, they saw, and they conquered. Though Phish left off a big set-closer, they more than compensated with an unprecedented double-”Tweezer Reprise” encore that just about blew the roof off the Comcast Theatre.

The masterful set launched off “Halley’s Comet” into a dense version of “Light,” showcasing the piece for the first time since tour’s opening night. Remaining more contained than than the past few versions we’ve heard, the band built off the peak into a textured realm, engaging in a unique interchange that morphed into a series of tightly-wound percussive grooves. Settling into a short ambient passage, Trey dotted a sparse melody amidst the jam’s final stages. When Page sustained his final effect, Trey tastefully played the intro to “Billy Breathes,” in a stark juxtaposition to the previous night’s entry into “Horse > Silent.” The gentle composition, provided a musical pillow for “Light,” before the house nearly shook to the ground with the second “Tweezer” of summer.

From note one Trey took control of this monstrosity, directing grooves like a cosmic traffic cop. While Fishman kept a driving beat going throughout this rhythmic safari, Trey and Mike stepped up, indulging in an extended session of liquid crack. Trey immediately took a rhythmic approach to things, locking into a signature pattern. Gordon backed him with brontosaurus bass lines that sprung off the stage like the smoke monster, devouring all in its path. The unstoppable river of crunchy grooves felt being hooked to an IV of soulful refreshment. Setting sail into the subsequent section, Trey pulled up with a supremely, pimped-out lick, settling the scene to sew together more subtle bending leads in his new, “impressionistic” tone. Building into an addictive, rolling pattern, Trey continued pushing forward in an unrelenting version that became a galleria for his and Mike’s collective genius. If you like to dance, this one is for you. Check it – now!

Coming out of the highly-illegal musical territory, it took Phish a couple minutes to properly cool off after such a blazing affair. When a final ambient bulge slid quietly into ‘Theme From the Bottom,” the palpable energy from “Tweezer” overflowed directly into the summer anthem, forming another blistering version of a song with quality full-band cooperation. Phish then book-ended the gargantuan portion of the set with a sprawling and ethereal “Harry Hood.” Featuring incredibly patient interplay between Mike and Trey, again showcasing his new tone and playing style, the two players took co-lead in this sacred dance. Using a more gradual build than Blossom’s intense burst of glory, this version’s beauty came in its slower, haunting quality.

After a classically placed, penultimate “Velvet Sea,” Phish surprised everyone by coming out with “Stealing Time” as the second-set closer. It seems like the band is grooming this song to be a modern-age “Character Zero,” as the blues-rocker has now punctuated a first and second set this tour. Settling into a section of distorted grooves, not all that dissimilar from its older relative, Phish ended with a bang, again giving a fresh feel to their setlist. But the evening’s most bombastic moments were still to come.

Amidst the peak of a raucous “Tweezer Reprise” encore, Trey – juiced with enthusiasm – called out that the band played “Tweezer” in Hershey without a “Reprise,” so they would now play it again! Taking it from the top, Phish cannonballed into, possibly, the most face-melting “Tweezer Reprise” ever played. While Trey got on his knees, jumped off of amps, and stomped in circles, the band brought the song to into virtual lunacy. Regardless of what this sounds like on tape, the experience can simply not be replicated. You Tube this clip ASAP, you won’t believe your eyes; a magnificent end to a stellar second half of Phish.

The opening set got going in earnest when an impressive, technically sound version of “Rift” gave way to the rubber grooves of “Wolfman’s Brother.” A song that has nestled into its ten-minute, first-set role this era, this version got the venue bumping for the first time of the night. An otherwise old-school set was broken up by Trey’s new pop-love song written for his wife, called “Summer of ’89.” Trust me, I love Big Red’s ballads more than the next guy, but on this one I’ve got to say, “Really, Trey?” Making “Jennifer Dances” look like an alien encounter in a dark alley, this debut should bring message board flaming to new heights. Ironically, the final section moves into some interesting improvisation, but I’ll see how this one develops before saying any more. A throw-down “Possum,” brought the crowd way up for a drop into “Moma,” but the sparkling oasis of the first set came at the end in “Reba.” Using his minimalist strokes, Trey’s new technique of laying way back in jams allowed Mike to step up as co-band leader, a situation where two heads are most certainly better than one. These understated grooves became the foundation for Phish’s delicate journey to the top, in another display of an increasingly patient band.

Hartford’s second night showed what a difference a day can make. 24 hours after their only inconsistent night of Summer 2010, Phish came back with a first-rate show that featured, in my opinion, the defining set of the six-show tour. As we sail into the second half of the weekend and into the woods of upstate New York, SPAC will likely bring more special evenings, but will Phish top such a powerful endeavor? They’ve been known to…

Answers are only hours away.

I: Fee, Rift, Wolfman’s Brother, Summer of ’89*, Foam, Possum, The Moma Dance, Julius, Reba, Cavern

II: Halley’s Comet > Light > Billy Breathes, Tweezer > Theme From the Bottom, Harry Hood, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan

E: Sleeping Monkey, Tweezer Reprise, Tweezer Reprise

*debut

In a summer marked with consistency, Phish dropped their first spotty effort of 2010 last night at Hartford’s Comcast Theatre. Though the Northeast’s opening night featured a half-hour of the summer’s best Phish music, the show also saw the band stumble more than a few times in a choppy affair that boasted little to no flow at all. On the brighter side, the band did pull it together in spurts, in both sets, creating some highlights that will definitely be spun all summer long.

Beginning with the meat and potatoes, Phish absolutely destroyed “Disease > Sand,” a sequence that stands out among the tightest adventures of tour. Pulling their collective chops together to start the second set, the band followed a “Party Time” opener with a sizzling, multi-faceted highlight reel that could be excerpted as the essential chunk of the evening. Moving out of a passionate foundation of “Disease,” the band entered a series of super-charged percussive grooves that took on a life of their own. The band that bumbled through more than a couple compositions in the first set, all of a sudden, was on fire in a sub-conscious rhythmic crusade. Heavily flirting with “Crosseyed” textures, the band took the express train in forming one of the most powerful pieces of music of 2010. This several-tiered trek provided some of the most impressive work from Trey we’ve seen this tour, not to mention the sublime interplay undertaken by the entire band. Their improv seemed to gain energy with each and every change, as the crowd inhaled the seething vitality. A blistering work of art, “Disease” provided the outright jam of the night, and reaching a point where the band easily could have steered back to the ending, Phish tastefully melted the jam into a haunting segue into “Sand.”

Trey attacked like a piranha throughout “Sand,” pulling out just about every weapon in his arsenal. Moving between dirty, uncompressed notes; subtle, rhythm licks; silky, swanky grooves, and walls of sonic dissonance, the song became a showcase of guitar acrobatics one might expect to see at a Trey show. But Big Ern decided to straight-up let loose, leading an addictive piece of improv that, combined with the band’s foundation of fury, made for a stellar second half of the second-set gem.

Then, in a flagrant moment of TreyDHD, The Bad Lieutenant decided “Sand” should immediately cease, proceeding to castrate the addictive groove by relentlessly playing “The Horse” amidst the dinosaur rhythm. In one of the more awkward on-stage moments in memory, this “segue” will forever be remembered as “Forced > Silent.” And, interestingly, once this moment went down, so did the set’s entire momentum. Choosing songs seemingly at random, the band played “Guyute,” and “Farmhouse” before closing the set with a “Weekapaug”-heavy “Mike’s Groove” that paled in comparison to Blossom’s first-set smoker that set the bar for this summer.

The most intriguing segment of the final half of the set, interestingly enough, came in the extended “Farmhouse.” While not moving far from the song, Phish wove a serene soundscape that transcended any normal version, providing the most out-of-the-ordinary take on any song after “Sand.” (Though “Weekapaug” did bring some heat of its own.)

The opening set’s high point came in a unique “Stash,” where Page led much of the way before Trey crept from behind the scenes to peak the piece in menacing style. Taking this far beyond an average first-set jam for this tour, Phish let things hang out early last night as they went deep on the show’s fourth song. Additionally, as the band came to the end of a standard “Walk Away,” Page upped the musical ante on his organ, coaxing the band to add an extension into the normally short piece. And when Trey got the opportunity, boy did he ever take liberty, massacring a guitar solo as if he were a comic book hero. This segment is truly one for the books; a must-hear-now type situation. But other than a flowing “Ocelot” and a decent “Alaska” (if you like that sort of thing), the set didn’t offer much in terms of precision or excitement. This was the first set of tour that just didn’t really work for me, but throughout a tour, some sets are bound to fall flat.

Though unsteady overall, the few earnest high points of last night were as high as any we’ve seen thus far. But as we move onto Friday night, one would imagine this show will be far in the rear view mirror by Sunday, as an erratic kick-start to the weekend.

I: Punch You In the Eye, Ocelot, Dinner and a Movie, Stash, Esther, Walk Away, The Divided Sky, When the Circus Comes, Sugar Shack, Alaska,Golgi Apparatus

II: Party Time, Down with Disease > Sand > The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Guyute, Farmhouse, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove

E: Shine a Light

If you had told me before last night’s show that Phish wouldn’t play a song longer than ten minutes in the second set, I wouldn’t have believed you. Having featured open jamming in each of their first night of tour one would only expect the band to follow suit. If you had then told me that I would loved the show regardless of the glaring lack of exploration, I probably would have chuckled. But that is exactly what happened last night on the waterfront in Portsmouth, Virgina. Phish played an incredibly high-energy show from note one, but rather than a second set of flowing improvisation, the show resembled an intimate summertime recital for those at nTelos Pavilion. With a complete general admission seating policy, and a huge orchestra pit in front of the stage, security allowed anyone to go anywhere without restriction, creating a free-for-all party atmosphere for the notably undersized audience.

With the passion and intensity that Phish is playing right now, they can pull off a purely song-based show and still provide a phenomenal time for all – a clear step forward from last year when these type of shows often fell flat. While the quantity of jamming clearly places this show behind the other three in terms of listening intrigue, the live experience ranked right up there with all of them. With a first set that was equally, if not slightly more exciting than the second, the show never dragged, while often times approaching implosion with the combined energy bouncing around the tiny venue.

Coming onstage on the coolest evening of tour, Trey immediately noticed a large “Tube” cut-out sign held by a fan in the middle of the floor. As soon as the crowd saw the sign catch Trey’s eye, everyone launched into collective “Tuuuuuuuube” chant. And the band was more than happy to oblige, altering their original plans for ballistic opener. Extending beyond most ’09 versions, the fast-paced dance jam quickly got the show bumping, and set up the likely planned opener, “Kill Devil Falls.” Then, dropping a bombshell, Phish gracefully entered a third-song “Slave.” Completely switching up the setlist with the earliest placement of the song since 1995 (10.14.95), the band built a patient version that shimmered in the daytime sun. Trey, Mike, and Page pirouetted their ideas around each others, narrating a triumphant tale as the show had barely begun.

But the no-brainer highlight of the first set – and the show – came late in the frame with the summer’s first “Bathtub Gin.” As Mike stood clearly out front leading the charge, the band slowly built an infectious pattern around his bulbous leads. Taking off like a thoroughbred hitting stride, the band came together in an explosion of groove, with Trey speckling searing phrases atop the ride. Taking his fluid leads to another level, Red took over the second part of the jam, carrying the band and audience to the straight to the mountaintop. In the only open jam of the night, the band hit a game-winner that will no doubt land on highlight reels of the first four shows of tour. Featuring a smoking, “My Friend, My Friend,” and a uneventful Tom Waits debut cover, “Cold Water,” Phish, again, kept things fresh last night, having still not repeated a song this summer.

If the theme of the first three second sets of summer have been craftsmanship and exploration, last night’s second half was defined by the level of energy Phish maintained throughout the frame. Beginning in promising fashion, a bombastic “Wilson” led off for “Seven Below,” a song that created more than a few interesting jams last year. It seemed a given that the band would use the song as a launchpad, however, the theme of the night, apparently, wasn’t experimentation. Instead, Phish blasted through a tight structured jam before dropping into “46 Days.” As the Phish left this song for a psychedelic swamp, it seemed that it would be the cosmic trampoline of the evening. But as the jam crawled through the bog to its deepest point, potentially on the brink of “2001,” Trey came in with a fairy tale melody that signaled the beginning of “Idea,” Mike’s newest contribution to the band.

An impressive song that boasts two separate jams, along with catchy verses that carry a distinctly Gordeaux/Green Sparrow vibe, “Idea” seems primed to be a vehicle for rhythmic escapades. The opening jam features a deep groove with Trey ripping licks over top- a sound similar to “Mr. Completely” with much bigger bass lines. The infectious groove saw Trey throw out several multi-note, licks proficiently darting up and down the fretboard. Following the second verse, Phish dropped into a jam underlined by more earnest funk. Page hopped on the clav, Trey began throwing down rhythm chops, Mike put on his envelope filter, and Fishman added a shimmering beat in what became a virtual Phish disco. Look out for this segment to bulge into some serious dance sessions this summer.

And speaking of dance sessions, Phish followed up “Idea” by breaking into a mid-set “2001.” Keeping things tight and to the point, the band spring-boarded into “Simple,” a seemingly odd combination that, if nothing else, kept the energy coursing through the pavilion. The “Simple” jam is a defining passage of summertime ever since Trey left his heart in the sublime solo at The Great Went. Thus this piece set the lite, summer vibe for the rest of the show which included “Joy,” “Taste” and “Theme” before closing with a randomly placed “A Day In the Life,” a song that usually follows much heavier music. The standout piece in this final segment came in a succinct, yet, poignant “Taste.”

Capping a show defined by vitality with “First Tube” seemed incredibly appropriate, and the encore may have brought the evening to its highest peak. Trey used the song’s final plateau as a platform for an emotional monologue, carrying the peak beyond its former walls of dissonance into blistering leads. Closing the song with his famed Jedi act of raising his guitar to the gods, Earnest kept the audience enthralled until the very last drop.

After Wednesday off, Phish enters their home turf of New England where things will everything take on a whole new magnitude. With the first four under their belt, things are only gonna’ getting crazier from here. See you in Hartford!

I: Tube, Kill Devil Falls, Slave to the Traffic Light, Lawn Boy, Poor Heart, AC/DC Bag, The Moma Dance, My Friend My Friend, Cold Water*, Bathtub Gin, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan

II: Wilson, Seven Below, 46 Days > Idea, Also Sprach Zarathustra > Simple > Joy, Taste, Theme from the Bottom, A Day in the Life

E: Heavy Things, First Tube

*debut, Tom Waits