Phish Tour 2021 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny: Hershey Night 2

Phish treated fans to a sweet treat of a show on Wednesday with their second night at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In a situation similar to the first night, fans had to take cover in their cars for quite some time preshow due to massive storms that were rolling through the area. After about an hour of intense downpouring, the storm was gone and showtime was on the horizon.

The band took the stage and appropriately opened the show with a cover of Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing,” a perfect way to get a dance party started. Keeping those funky vibes going, “Wombat” came next, this version got dark and dirty while Trey Anastasio threw in some “You Sexy Thing” teases, as well as playfully sung “You sexy Wombat!” The band was obviously already having a great time, as Trey exclaimed, “The land of chocolate!” after “Wombat,” in case anyone still hadn’t caught on to the joke.

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On a more serious note, “Free” followed, featuring some heavy Mike Gordon-driven jamming. “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing” started off dark but found its way to a lighter peak, as the sun slowly set behind the stage, casting colors off the clouds. What would easily become the star of the first set, “Halley’s Comet,” then appeared, delighting fans of the song but provoking some bittersweet feelings from others who constantly wish they would just jam it out. Luckily, those others were surprised and delighted with this version of “Halley’s” which was given the VIP treatment and taken out for a walk, breaking the 15-minute mark as the band pushed through multiple moments where the jam easily could’ve ended and instead, kept driving together to reach new heights.

After that scorcher, Phish’s debut of “Lonely Trip,” the eponymous track from Trey’s 2020 quarantine album, was the ideal cool-down tune. This beautiful landing pad was perfectly placed and offered fans some time to catch their breath before “Gotta Jibboo” got folks grooving again. The band immediately settled into a nice pocket with Trey starting out slow but eventually picking it up, in sync with Jon Fishman, to drive and build to a solid peak, even sticking the landing together. The force of funk continued as “Meat” joined the party, bringing some more sultry, slankiness to the show. A few “You Sexy Thing” teases found their way into existence before the band dropped back into “Meat.” And finally, another star of the set, “Maze” appeared, in perfect position, ready to pick things up again and get folks feeling rowdy. This super high energy ripper found Page McConnell and Trey working together to build up to a massive peak, followed by further silliness and the guitarist addressing the crowd with “You sexy things!” before leaving the stage. An above average first set, indeed!

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

The crowd anxiously awaited the band’s return to the stage and the anticipation was palpable as the lights finally went down again and the band dropped into “Theme From The Bottom,” opening the second set for the first time since November 19, 1995. While not exactly a kickstarter for a set, this “Theme” had a nice build and paved the way for the must-hear highlight of this show — “Birds Of A Feather.”

Phish wasted no time getting this one off to a hot and heated start, with fast-paced aggressive jamming happening right out of the gates. After some relentless intensity, the transition to the pretty Type II jam evoked awe at both the synchronicity and versatility of these men. After a short trip to the lofty, blissful space, the band drove deeper, getting darker and dirtier until reaching a massive peak and coming back in with the lyrics, much to the crowd’s delight.

Roars rang through the audience as the quartet brought the tune to a close before landing on a perfectly placed “Bug.” This gorgeous, delicate breather was a welcome cool-down after that wildly intense “Birds” jam and even got pretty intense on its own by the end. From the silence emerged “Light,” another fantastic choice to keep things flowing within the set. The “Light” jam got into Type II territory pretty quickly, eventually landing into a nice boppy dance groove that then evolved into “Party Time.” (Yes, they actually played it.) Jubilation erupted throughout the crowd and laughs and smiles were shared as more “You Sexy Thing” teases and quotes were sprinkled throughout this ditty.

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The band was then back to business, lighting into a spectacular version of “Ruby Waves,” definitely reminiscent of the Alpine Valley version. Right off the bat, Trey kicked this jam off with some dark, aggressive sounds as Fishman pushed and pushed, driving the beat harder and faster. And then again, so seamlessly, the band transitioned from darkness to light, lifting off into the ether, before crashing back down again. Still not done yet, Phish treated the audience to one last ripper, “Chalk Dust Torture,” to end the set. The theme of night seemed to be fast-paced, aggressive jamming which continued throughout this song, peaking in a way reminiscent of a rollercoaster. Closing out the set with further silliness, Trey couldn’t help himself from addressing the crowd one more time: “Thank you! You sexy things, you!” before exiting the stage.

Showcasing the night’s third example of perfectly placed ballads, the tour’s first “Show Of Life” served as the evening’s encore and let fans take a moment to reflect on this struggle and strife as the band took some time to thank us all. After delivering a hot concert like that, the band had to give fans one last chance to dance and sing together and “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” was the perfect choice for this show closer. The energy created between the band and fans last night was out of this world and a great sign for what’s to come.

Phish now heads to Atlantic City to start a three-night stand on the beach this Friday. Livestreams can be purchased through LivePhish.com and audio will be broadcast on SiriusXM’s Phish Radio.

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Phish From The Road Photos

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSc43anHauX/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSdGUupnOE_/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSdHTB1nf3K/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSdKks6HaKd/

Poster

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSZhFNHLqD3/

Source: JamBase.com