Phish Tour 2021 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny: Santa Barbara Bowl

Phish continued their Fall Tour 2021 at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, California on Tuesday night. The Vermont quartet got right down to business delivering the longest song of the evening as the first set opener to go along with a wild second set and a four-song encore.

.article-summary-wrap {
margin-top:25px;
}

.panel-article .list-posts > li {
border-style: dotted;
}
.panel-article .list-posts > li:last-of-type {
border-bottom-width:0;
}
.panel-article .list-posts .excerpt {
margin: 3px 0 0;
}
.panel-article .list-posts .btn-sm {
margin-top: 10px;
padding: 3px 10px;
}

Phish kicked things off by taking “Pebbles and Marbles” deep. The nearly 20-minute jam saw guitarist Trey Anastasio looping a pulsating note before reeling off some licks with keyboardist Page McConnell sprinkling in piano before the jam morphed into a major key over a snare-laden shuffling beat from drummer Jon Fishman. Trey whipped up some echoing lines with a low-end octave effect while Page dusted the crowd with Fender Rhodes electric piano before hopping on the synth. Bassist Mike Gordon utilized some effects of his own with a squishy tone. The jam would then head into the mellow moods of “Makisupa Policeman.”

“Woke up this morning, Page was playing in my ear,” Trey sang before Page took a dirty line on the Hohner Clavinet. “Woke up yesterday morning, got out of my bed I heard the beautiful sound of Mike’s bass ringing in my head,” Trey continued. Mike then reeled off an equally nasty bass run. Trey and Mike then had an amusing back and forth with Trey saying, “Hello, how are you? I hope you have a good time.” To which Mike replied, “Good, thanks.” Trey then brought the crowd in on the conversion, to which they joyously responded.

Next, Anastasio jumped right into “Sample In A Jar,” which flowed into the Phish debut of “The Silver Light.” Anastasio ran the band through the first few verses of the Lonely Trip cut before McConnell came cascading in on piano. Phish then took a bit of a ride on “Halley’s Comet.” Anastasio cycled through the transposed guitar runs before dropping into his dirty, auto-wah tone as the band coalesced into a minor groove with Page working the Moog synthesizer and the Wurlitzer as the quartet headed into a major key jam. Trey banged out some chords with Fish surging in with him in an “Oye Como Va” tease with McConnell delivering the iconic organ line with a hollowed-out, gritty tone. Page then linked up with Trey in some soaring runs before they both dropped back into the rhythmic section.

The “Halley’s” jam melted into the rarely played “Mountains In The Mist” followed by the third presentation of Gordon’s “Mull,” which Phish debuted on August 3 in Nashville. Trey provided some rocking licks and also hit the melody up, he then mixed both to taste with Page following on piano. Anastasio took the jam in a new direction with his industrial tone and Page joined him in the future on the Moog. Trey then swerved into the rock riff of “Set Your Soul Free.”

The guitarist came hot out of the chorus and kept things at a simmer, rising to a boil before a change in direction driven by the Clav-like tone as the jam spiraled into a soundscape that went from pulsating to droning and saw Anastasio laying bricks once again and Page working the Moog. Trey then surged back into the riff, with a bit of a foible coming into the chorus before they got it locked in and brought it home to close out the nearly seamless first set.

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

Phish launched the second set with “Blaze On.” As he’s done elsewhere, Trey referenced the locale with a “dancing in the bowl” line. The jam began with McConnell on more gritty organ and riffage from Anastasio before Page quickly got on the Wurly. Trey then served up some chirpy licks with McConnell intertwining on electric piano before hopping on the Clavinet. Fish showcased some nice hi-hat work as the funk jam began to unravel and Mike hit some booming notes.

Anastasio then strummed out the opening strains of “Beneath A Seas Of Stars Part 1.” Phish slipped the surly bonds of time as lighting designer Chris Kuroda blacked out the bowl. Trey and Page shimmered over tumbling fills from Fish and bounding basslines from Gordon. Trey reeled off licks that were both buoyant and biting and Page dropped some jazzy chords and cascading piano runs. Phish converged in a cacophony of sound as Trey revved up an over-driven bottom end tone while McConnell hopped on the Moog. Gordon had some fun with some sliding notes as the jam found its way into more cacophonous joy out of which emerged “46 Days.”

The rocker got the blood flowing a bit more after the viscosity of “Sea Of Stars.” Trey leaned into the soloing coming out of the chorus, going from rocking riffs to spookier shades. The guitarist then served up some feedback trills with Moog from Page before a bursting note ahead of another descent into weirdness. Trey worked his industrial tone and other wizardry as Fish and Mike held down some semblance of time, however strange. Anastasio found his way back to the riff with Fish on ride cymbal to signal the end of the jam and back into “46 Days.”

Trey then surged into “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley.” Anastasio lit into some twangy licks as the band settled into a killer groove with Gordon playing a bassline that sounded a lot like that of “Thriller.” Mike then dropped some dangerously funky stuff on the bowl with Anastasio and Page on Clav following suit. Next, Trey unexpectedly transitioned into “Weekapaug Groove,” quoted “Sally” and returned to the “hello, how are you” bit which he unleashed upon the crowd once again, to enthusiastic responses. “Weekapaug” went minor quickly. Trey and Page danced over Fish’s steady shuffle and Mike’s climbing basslines. McConnell then delved into his washed-out Rhodes and Anastasio hit a substantial sustained note ahead of a return to “Weekapaug.”

Next, Anastasio found his way into a “Piper” tease and brought “Sally” into the affair and wished them both “a good time” before launching into “About To Run.” The guitarist got right to wailing with Page working both decks of the Hammond organ as Anastasio soared, finally making the Languedoc cry and sing into the chorus and a shreddy ending. A nice juxtaposition with the Ghosts of the Forest rocker came next in the form of “If I Could,” which featured some sweet harmonies from Trey, Mike and Page.

“Sigma Oasis” popped up after “If I Could.” Mike did some fantastic bubbly bass work and Page hit the Moog on the “take to the air” and “take to the sky” lines. Trey then tore into the rocking rendition of the title track to the band’s 2020 album with a sustained note and then bliss ahead of some Jedi tricks. Anastasio threw in one final “we hope you had a good time” for good measure to close out the wild second set.

Phish delivered the 2021 debut of “Fuck Your Face” to kick off the encore. Mike led the band through the gritty, old-school rocker with Anastasio screaming away. The quartet then dropped into “Meatstick.” Trey hit the melody, then came the dance. Anastasio and McConnell would then meld Yamaha synth and guitar ahead of the opening strains of “The Lizards.” Trey led the band through the streets of Prussia and beyond. Page shined, delivering his sparkling solo before rimshots and bass delivered Trey into the iconic line of “The Lizards.” The incredible four-song encore would come to a gorgeous close with “A Life Beyond The Dream.”

Phish Fall Tour 2021 continues on Thursday with the first show of a four-night Halloween run in Las Vegas. Livestreams are available via LivePhish.com.

Phish From The Road Photos

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgzFxarYR-/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVg9-DELgC6/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVg-FyNrEQ0/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVhBt-trQOk/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVhDEz0LWQj/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVhDeVhLOEC/

Poster

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgNOv5FasB/

Source: JamBase.com