Friday’s second of two tour-opening shows at the venue formerly known as Great Woods in Mansfield, Massachusetts saw Phish in mid-tour form. The first set featured stellar takes on songs like “Everything’s Right” and “Bathtub Gin” and dialed-in playing throughout. The second set, meanwhile included a string of flawless segues, as the band wove together covers and originals from every decade of their career, literally without skipping a beat. And the entire evening showcased a band playing with the type of focus and creativity that bode well for the next several weeks of tour.
“46 Days” is a quintessential show opener: a high-energy rocker that’s baked with a big guitar solo and lots of screaming. This version — along with versions of many songs throughout the night — was largely notable for Jon Fishman‘s expert drumming, as his refusal to play the simple, obvious beat kept even the band’s most straightforward songs interesting. Next up was “Water In The Sky,” which had been missing in action since August 4, 2021 — making it the largest bust out of the evening.
Following that was the longest jam of the evening, out of “Everything’s Right.” The jam snaked through several musical avenues, eventually laying down its roots into a straight-ahead rock jam that reached a satisfying peak. As it subsided, the band segued into “Rift.”
Next came a murderer’s row, kicked off by “Wolfman’s Brother,” which featured an upbeat major key jam with a focused, starry peak. As Fish pounded the opening beat to “Maze,” guitarist Trey Anastasio said, “It’s back!” — a reference to the return of the normal fast-paced version of the song, after the debut of the so-called “Slow Maze” in June. And back the song was indeed: an inspired organ solo by Page McConnell was followed by a frenzied guitar peak care of Trey.
Yet another first set jam song, “Bathtub Gin,” followed. The average-great run through the tune was notable for Fishman’s unusual rhythmic touches, highlighting the second and third beats of each measure. A high-energy cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock And Roll” closed the set.
Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.
The Skinny
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The Setlist | |
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The Venue | |
Xfinity Center [See upcoming shows] | |
19,900 | |
18 shows | |
The Music | |
8 songs | |
11 songs | |
19 songs | |
1998 | |
9.95 [Gap chart] | |
None | |
Water In The Sky, Rock and Roll, I Am Hydrogen | |
Water in the Sky LTP 08/04/2021 (48 Show Gap) | |
Everything’s Right 15:54 | |
I Am Hydrogen 3:14 | |
Lawn Boy – 2, Rift – 2, Hoist – 1, The Story of the Ghost – 1, Round Room – 1, Big Boat – 1, Sigma Oasis – 1, Sci-Fi Soldier – 1, Misc. – 7, Covers – 2 | |
The Rest | |
77°F and Sunny at Showtime | |
Koa 1 | |
The second frame opened with a punchy “Mike’s Song,” which hit most of its marks before a somewhat disjointed transition into “I Am Hydrogen.” The pair seemed to complete the shuffled “Mike’s Groove” that was initiated with Thursday’s “Weekapaug Groove.” Since “Weekapaug” had already been played, “Hydrogen” instead went directly into “Carini.” The band quickly veered into a hazy major key jam, with gorgeous atmospheric synth sweeps atop Mike Gordon‘s liquid bass hits. After a downshift, the band found a perfect entry point into “Blaze On.”
Before “Blaze” could stretch out, the band changed course yet again, with another stellar segue into “Golden Age.” The TV On The Radio cover was the evening’s most mellow and weird bit of improvisation, providing an excellent setting for some early tour experimentation, as the quartet seemed to dip their arms deep into a grab bag of psychedelic toys, fishing out musical building blocks that they’ll surely tinker with over the coming weeks.
They took a smooth turn into “The Howling,” which has proven to be a reliably excellent excuse to lay down some thick funk. This rendition was marked by some marvelous slap bass, over which Trey and Page finished each other’s musical sentences. Next up was “A Wave of Hope,” before a relatively by-the-numbers “Harry Hood” closed the set.
A three-song encore followed: “Bouncing Around the Room,” followed by only the second-ever encore slot “NICU,” and a lovely “Slave to the Traffic Light.”
Phish returns to the stage on Saturday night in Bangor, Maine. Livestreams are available via LivePhish.com.
Phish From The Road Photos
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Poster
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Phish Tour 2022: Mansfield Night 1 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny
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Phish Tour 2022: Noblesville Night 3 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny
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Phish Tour 2022: Noblesville Night 2 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny
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Phish Tour 2022: Noblesville Night 1 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny
