Coming off a blistering weekend at Deer Creek, Phish landed for a midweek show in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a routing that brought back fond memories of Summer ’96 as the band worked their way across the country up to Plattsburgh, New York for their first-ever festival of the Clifford Ball. Twenty-five years later, tour ends a bit more south in Atlantic City, but the shows in Hershey represent a similar midpoint between two more high-key weekends. In ’96, the band crushed a criminally underrated show in Hersheypark Stadium, and based on the way the band has been playing this summer, everyone had high hopes for the band’s return to Chocolate Town, USA.
The show kicked off with the high-energy couplet of “First Tube” and “Axilla,” a pairing that was promptly followed up by the improvisational highlight of the first set in “Fuego.” The band built a slow and ominous jam from the song that lasted just long enough to satisfy before leading into “Runaway Jim.” The first set as a whole was highly enjoyable and flowed quite well with great song selection. I particularly dug the version of “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long” which featured more improv than usual and which set up a groovy, albeit brief, set-closing “Antelope.”
The second set featured two standout jams that had markedly different feels to them. The set opening “No Man’s” expanded into an impressionistic experiment in soundscapes laced with a heavy amount of effects and tonal colors. Fishman’s drumming stood out in this excursion, as his driving rhythms anchored the direction of the band while Page and Trey used wide brush strokes to create varying textures over top. The subsequent jam in “Soul Planet,” my favorite of the night, had a much more directional quality. Led by Trey’s stellar lead playing, this piece was plot-driven with a clear progression of mini-movements that brought the listener on a complete journey before concluding with a seamless segue into “NICU.” Both of these jams were ultimately successful, but represented two very different improvisational approaches.
A mid-set version of “Joy” felt like it would bisect the stanza’s improvisational jaunts, but following the ballad, Trey, instead, decided to take the show on a song-based route. Everything was certainly well-played, but there was nothing of note to write home about. Many years ago, this type of turn in the second set might have soured me on the show, but I have reached a point in my Phish-going life where I simply enjoy whatever is presented each night to the fullest. As a wise man once said, “Ain’t no time to hate, barely time to wait…”
Throughout their history, Phish has always had a penchant for crushing shows that directly precede hyped destination weekends. They also have had propensity to follow up lighter shows with far heavier affairs. So considering both of these factors, be on the lookout for a heater tomorrow!
I. First Tube, Axilla, Fuego -> Runaway Jim, Gumbo, Sample in a Jar, Steam, Sugar Shack, Llama, Death Don’t Hurt Very Long > Run Like an Antelope
II. No Men In No Man’s Land > Soul Planet -> NICU, Joy, Scent of a Mule, Golden Age > Prince Caspian > Backwards Down the Number Line, The Lizards, Character Zero
E. Rock and Roll
