With both Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon coming fresh off solo runs within the past two weeks, this was as well primed a Phish as fans could expect for a tour opener these days. Those warm fingers would pay off right from the get-go, breaking in Huntsville’s new Orion Amphitheater with a blistering fervor, and shrugging off any of the askew juju that arises from Phish starting its summer in one of the most conservative states in the nation. Because apparently, Phish just opens tours in Alabama now. It’s a thing.
Trey came out confidently on “Blaze On”, confident enough to not care that the band also opened spring tour in Seattle with it. But there did seem to be more of an assuredness in his tone—less pedal fidgeting and knob redialing than one would normally expect to see from him during the first few songs of a tour.
After flashing the devil horns and gushing about how pumped he was for tour to start, Anastasio turned to Page McConnell for the sampled intro to “Martian Monster”. There was an immediate mountain of space and a degree of comfort in the band’s interplay that suggested 40 years of playing with each other is really paying off.
“Moma Dance” felt particularly strong with Gordo back on his five-string bass after rocking the four-string for the spring tour. You know a “Moma” is going well when Jon Fishman starts hollering from behind his drum kit mid-jam, and the stoke level was high on this one.
“Halley’s Comet” found McConnell pulling some harmonic rephrasing on his vocal lines, with far greater success than Anastasio has had in his attempted rearrangements in recent years. There would be no extended jam on Halley’s but it did drop flawlessly into “46 Days”—a move that has happened enough times to make this transition come off as nothing less than perfect. The tepid, overall crowd reaction to Trey’s blister-fest though, suggested that this was not your average Phish crowd. Perhaps that inspired the quick meat and potatoes romps through “Back on the Train”, and “555” that followed.
The first set would close with the one-two punch of “You Enjoy Myself” and “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”, a pairing I would have wrongly wagered had to have happened before. It’s unclear whether “Santos”‘s cries of space smells were pushed on by the nearby NASA center, or just because “YEM” ran out of oomph before Trey could get all of his first set ya-yas out. Either way, it was about as punchy of a first set as Phish has played all year.
A crackling ambient jam bled into “2001” to start the second set, and for a tune that was once ubiquitous with opening second acts, this is actually only the sixth time it has happened this century, per Phish.net. Fish messed around on his Marimba Lumina for the intro, and it didn’t really add much, but hopefully granted an extra crumb of self-worth to whomever on the crew has to set up a giant piece of equipment every night only in hopes that “Mercury” gets played. The second half of “2001” had a variety of dynamic interplay that made the simplicity of the song feel especially thick and set up the subsequent sonic paths that would emerge for the rest of the show.
“2001” rolled into “Down With Disease”, which felt back to its normal strength after losing a little gusto in its last appearance at Hollywood Bowl when Mike was without that low B string on his new four-string bass. Once “DWD” really found its legs, it became an absolute clinic of polyrhythmic thunder precision. This was thick Phish—heads down, ears up, sonic humidity.
In case you were wondering if Fishman still has his sample pad going, a lip smack, saw wobble, and good ole’ moo were in full effect throughout the set. In fact, the strategically placed moo right before Trey came in with the “Twist” vocals was one of his best placements yet. As usual, this was another rock-solid “Twist” and was followed by a rock-solid “Maze”. It has felt like Phish has been searching for the perfect second set spot for “Maze” these past couple years, and this one seemed to gel with the set’s flow as well as anything could have at that point.
“Lonely Trip” took the late second set ballad spot, and it worked beautifully. Trey is doing that one a great service by making sure it’s not overplayed, and it makes its little groove feel all the more welcome each time it pops up. Then came the new one: “Oblivion”.
First off, this debut of the Trey/Tom Marshall composition was ripping but it still showed a ton of potential. As compared to a lot of new Anastasio originals, “Oblivion” isn’t overly wordy, it doesn’t have any sunny soul lyrics, and it opens up into a rumbling dark pocket. I’m sold. Let’s bring some of that darkness back into the catalog. It will be interesting to see how frequently this one pops up throughout the summer, because if given the right chance it could go the distance. After that, it felt like “Chalkdust Torture” was going to act as a quick closer, but then some weightiness got tacked onto the end. It was an ideal topper to an overall great flowing set. And then that encore…
Phish – “Oblivion” – 7/11/23
The first “Meatstick” in nearly a full year. Then “Makisupa Policeman” appeared after its longest gap in 30 years (LTP 10/26/21). There was no keyword though, which always takes away a little of the magic, but then the third “Fuck Your Face” of the post-pandemic era. Clearly in a great mood, Trey then busted out the eight “Icculus” of the century with more references to rocket science and the nearby NASA base. “Character Zero” would then round things out, just as it did after the “Icculus” encore at Sunday Dick’s last year, but who’s counting?
Phish wraps a two-night run at the Orion Amphitheater tonight, July 12th. For a full list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here. To order your LivePhish webcast for any of the band’s upcoming summer shows, head here. Check out a collection of fan-shot videos of last night’s show from Mike Wallace below along with images by photographer Keith Griner.
Phish – “Martian Monster” – 7/11/23
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Orion Amphitheater | Huntsville, AL | Tuesday 07/11/223
SET 1: Blaze On, Martian Monster, The Moma Dance, Halley’s Comet > 46 Days, Back on the Train, 555, You Enjoy Myself > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
SET 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra[1] > Down with Disease[2] > Twist > Maze, Lonely Trip, Oblivion[3], Chalk Dust Torture
ENCORE: Meatstick > Makisupa Policeman, Fuck Your Face, Icculus, Character Zero
[1] Fish on Marimba Lumina in intro.
[2] Unfinished.
[3] Phish debut.
This show featured the Phish debut of Oblivion. The intro to Also Sprach Zarathustra featured Fish on Marimba Lumina. DWD was unfinished. Mike teased Moby Dick in Chalk Dust Torture.
The post Phish Launches Summer Tour In Alabama With “Oblivion” Debut & Bust-Out Heavy Encore [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
