After a 420 mile drive (on the nose) from Augusta to Utica and a hearty Denny’s breakfast, last night’s full-on review will have to wait a bit. In short, Phish dropped a standout second set centered around an experimental “Light” in a gymnasium taken right out of the 1980s. Amidst a burly “Fuck Your Mike’s Groove,” Phish took “Light” into original realms, building on the revised jam format unveiled in Broomfield – improvising out of the main build into percussive and futuristic funkscapes rather than reprising the lyrics and leading the piece into ambient psychedelia. Stellar versions of “Bathtub Gin” and “Harry Hood” also highlighted the show, but the most spectacular part may have come in the encore of all places! Usually an afterthought, Phish came out and dropped a absolutely sublime and exploratory “Reba” that showcased the band’s most cohesive improv of the evening. Stopping in a brief “Manteca” tease out of a surreal sequence, the jaw-dropping highlight of the night came last – and that is a rarity. More to come in the day off – gotta catch a nap before this evening…
I: Chalk Dust Torture, Back on the Train, Torn and Frayed, Bathtub Gin, Gumbo, The Divided Sky, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Nellie Kane, 46 Days, Possum
II: Fuck Your Face > Mike’s Song* > Light > Twenty Years Later > Fast Enough for You, Weekapaug Groove, Halley’s Comet > Free, Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus, A Day in the Life
E: Reba**, Backwards Down the Number Line
* w/ “Fuck Your Face” quotes at the beginning and end of the jam, ** w/ “Manteca” quote
