Phish hit the midway point of their three-night stand at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia on Saturday. For their 20th show at the general admission venue, the foursome continued to keep their fans on their toes by opening with an unexpected “Slow Llama,” along with serving up a handful of songs that hadn’t seen action since the Baker’s Dozen and a non-stop second set.
The band came out of the gate with an unusual, slow and funky version of “Llama,” a.k.a. “Slow Llama.” Keyboardist Page McConnell utilized his clavinet, while Mike Gordon dropped bass bombs with guitarist Trey Anastasio throwing down one swampy lead after the next. “Fuego” kept the Parliament-influenced, psych-funk dance party going. Phish latched on to a hypnotic groove as they worked past the song’s main structure. McConnell hammered away at the piano and Anastasio slowly built the jam until it melted into weirdness with the familiar strains of “Runaway Jim” emerging. Page layered aquatic synthesizer sounds as Trey and Mike locked in on the longtime fan-favorite. Last night’s “Jim” favored impressive full-band jamming over the frenetic fireworks from the song’s 1990s heyday.
The Burlington-birthed act took a long pause to discuss their next move before landing on “Bug.” A concise take on the lilting rocker segued into a straightforward rendering of “Mound.” The Rift rarity had last seen action during the Baker’s Dozen and marked just the fifth take on the musically complex tune since 2013. The rarities continued as McConnell stepped up to sing lead on “Tela.” The Gamehendge song, which was revived in 2009 after sitting on the shelf for a decade-plus, was performed for just the 13th time since 1998. The quartet brought the energy back up with “46 Days” as Anastasio stuck with harder-edged, dark and fuzzy tones throughout. Trey was in full guitar god mode, while Jon Fishman channeled his inner John Bonham, building the tune to a crescendo before diving back into its chorus. “Fluffhead,” which Phish used to emphatically mark their return from hiatus in the very same building back in 2009, came next. Phish delivered a standout version of the multi-part classic that was punctuated by some fiery guitar work from Anastasio to close out the opening frame.
“First Tube” served as the start to the official midway point of the run as the instrumental provided a frenetic beginning to the second set. After Anastasio lifted his axe to the sky building feedback, he then kicked into “Tweezer” as they eventually settled into another egalitarian jam. Anastasio utilized some gruffer wah tones as Page looked to the Hammond organ. As “Tweezer” progressed Phish slowly worked through a number of beautiful movements eventually landing on some very delicate sounds. The fragile jam gave way to some deep space weirdness led by McConnell. Anastasio would eventually take charge seemingly bringing back elements of “Runaway Jim” as the jam devolved into a tender “Dirt.”
The seamless set continued with a peppy “Backwards Down The Number Line.” The nostalgia-fueled number gave way to another dose of acid-drenched funk with “No Men In No Man’s Land.” Anastasio utilized his Leslie speaker for some watery guitar tones as they stretched things towards some interstellar Pink Floyd-style sounds before returning to Earth for one final blast of the chorus. A joyous “Cavern” followed as the segue-filled stanza continued with a “Gotta Jibboo” that featured a slow and steady jam with all four members feeding off each other, which seemed to be the common thread throughout the night. Phish wasn’t done just yet as they went with the old-school pairing of “The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony” > “Suzy Greenberg” to close out the set, dusting off the former for the first time since last summer at MSG and just the fourth version since 2013. A take on The Rolling Stones’ “Shine A Light” occupied the encore slot and served as the lone cover of the night. Phish returns to the Mothership on Sunday. A webcast is available via LivePhish.com.
The Skinny
The Setlist | |
|---|---|
The Venue | |
Hampton Coliseum [See upcoming shows] | |
19 shows — 11/25/1995, 10/25/1996, 11/21/1997, 11/22/1997, 11/20/1998, 11/21/1998, 12/17/1999, 12/18/1999, 01/02/2003, 01/03/2003, 01/04/2003, 08/09/2004, 03/06/2009, 03/07/2009, 03/08/2009, 10/18/2013, 10/19/2013, 10/20/2013, 10/19/2018 | |
The Music | |
8 songs | |
10 songs | |
18 songs / | |
1997 | |
14.11 [Gap chart] | |
N/A | |
All except No Men In No Man’s Land | |
Mound & Shine A Light – 43 Shows (LTP – 7/22/2017) | |
Tweezer -18:41 | |
The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony – 1:49 | |
Junta – 1, Lawn Boy – 1, A Picture of Nectar – 3, Rift – 1, The Story of the Ghost – 1, Farmhouse – 3, Round Room – 1, Joy – 1, Fuego – 1, Big Boat – 1, Misc. – 3, Covers – 1 | |
The Rest | |
63° and partly cloudy at showtime | |
Koa 1 | |
Capacity: 13,800 | |
