Phish began their two-night stand at Columbia, Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion on Saturday night, approaching the end of east coast tour before heading to Watkins Glen, New York for their highly anticipated summer festival, Curveball. Following Friday night’s second set shenanigans in Raleigh, NC, the band used their first night at MPP to deliver a standard setlist, highlighted by a five-song second set, and an unexpected four-song encore.
Phish kicked Saturday night off with an 8+ minute “Blaze On”, getting the crowd hyped for the “Party Time” that followed. A trio of tour debuts showed up next. Big Boat‘s “Breath and Burning” was laid back and breezy with Trey Anastasio riding the whammy pedal for most of the jam. Joy‘s “Sugar Shack” wasn’t perfectly executed, with Trey flubbing most of the early composed part. A dark and stormy “Home” was highlighted by Page McConnell‘s piano and organ juxtaposed with Trey’s guitar shredding–marking the fifth live version of the song and putting it on the map as a potential jam vehicle for “Evil Phish”. An oddly placed first-set “Joy” came next, providing a breather before an 11-minute “Stash” that entered atonal Latin groove territory–driven by Mike Gordon and his octave pedal.
Out of “Stash”, the band transitioned into the Little Feat-esque foundation of “46 Days”. Always welcome late in any set, the improvisation section started with Page on the wurly, switching between keyboards until finally landing on the piano–locking in a jam also defined by Trey Anastasio, who utilized the delay to create smokey solos and leaned on his signature sustain near its peak. By the end of the winning “46 Days”, Phish had found their stride in what felt like a relatively mellow first set.
The second set began with a less-than-standard “Sand”, quickly redeemed by “Mercury”–an unrecorded song performed only 11 times since its debut at Bend, Oregon’s Les Schwab Amphitheater in July of 2015. The song provided a chance for the band to explore new sonic ranges, with a strong balance between its catchy chorus and funky improvisational dreamland–clocking in at 17 blissful minutes. The chords of “Ghost” revealed themselves in a spacey transition, making room for the set’s greatest highlight. The smooth operation provided space for each member of the band to shine individually, with monstrous solos coming from Trey and Page while the rhythm section was power-driven by Gordon and Jon Fishman. This “Ghost” was on track to be one of the best jams of the summer, with classic 2018 Trey shining until he aborted the mission rather abruptly to bring the song back to its main riff, slowing it down into a muddy close.
An anthemic “Fuego” came next with a rocky start, keeping it short and sweet before making way for a set-ending “Slave To the Traffic Light”. If there’s ever a tune where patience pays off, it’s Slave. And as always, the tune delivered on its promise of a euphoric close. All in all, the five-song second set was good, not great.
After a short break, the band returned for a slow and steady “20 Years Later”–providing one last opportunity for the band to go deep and dark before moving into a psychedelic, effects-heavy, extended “Martian Monster”–marking the first time it appeared in an encore slot. Unexpectedly, the band continued with another tour debut of “Rocky Top”, followed by a surprising and raging “Golgi Apparatus” with huge precision to close the rare four-song encore. Indeed, this is what keeps the interested fans coming back for more.
A full soundboard recording of tonight’s performance is available to stream via LivePhish.
Phish has one more night at Merriweather Post Pavilion before they head to Watkins Glen, New York for their 11th music festival, Curveball.
Setlist: Phish | Merriweather Post Pavilion | Columbia, MD | 8/11/2018
SET 1: Blaze On > Party Time, Breath and Burning, Sugar Shack, Home, Joy, Stash, 46 Days
SET 2: Sand > Mercury > Ghost > Fuego > Slave to the Traffic Light
ENCORE: Twenty Years Later > Martian Monster > Rocky Top > Golgi Apparatus
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