Phish got back down to business on Wednesday at Philadelphia, PA’s beautiful TD Pavilion at The Mann for the band’s second of two summer nights in the City of Brotherly Love.
A “Mike’s Song” opener often portends a pre-fabricated segment to start the show—no hate on a time-tested “Mikes” > “Hydrogen” > “Groove”, to be sure, but it does telegraph the show’s direction to a greater extent than most songs. In Philly, however, Phish added a new twist to that classic cocktail: Rather than varying the “meat” in the “Mike’s Groove” sandwich, the band slipped out of “Mike’s Song” ahead of its final build-up for a funky romp through Stevie Wonder‘s “Boogie On Reggae Woman”, then veered back to close out “Mike’s” in vicious fashion before proceeding into the suite’s standard “I Am Hydrogen” > “Weekapaug Groove” conclusion. What’s old is new again. You’ve heard of “Mike’s Groove”—now, get ready for “Mike’s Boogie”.
That keen awareness of classic-yet-creative song selection continued throughout a strong first set as Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell, and Jon Fishman worked through Page-sung power-ballad “Army of One”, the rhythmically complex “Mound”, and the slithy, funky slap of “The Moma Dance”.
7/26/23 Philadelphia, PA
@rene_huemer pic.twitter.com/cvvZas817n
— Phish: From The Road (@Phish_FTR) July 27, 2023
If you’re just scanning setlists and checking song lengths on LivePhish, you may be prone to breezing over the “Prince Caspian” that came next. We’d urge you to reconsider. Clocking in at just six minutes in length, this “Caspian” floated upward toward the light upon a wave of crowd energy, buoyant McConnell piano swells, and sea-breeze Anastasio high notes. Who says all great jams need to be long? Who says all great jams need to go Type II? Within the simple foundation of the Billy Breathes sing-along on Wednesday night, Phish went there, serving up a brief but glowing reminder that the best gifts often come in small packages. Speaking of gifts, Anastasio dedicated the ensuing “Backwards Down The Number Line” to dear friend and longtime Phish lighting director Chris Kuroda in honor of his birthday. Happy happy, Toph!
Related: Chris Kuroda & Andrew Giffin: Mobilizing The Phish Lighting Operation [Interview]
With time running down on set one, Trey dispensed with the warm fuzzies of “Caspian” and “Number Line” and delved into darkness on Ghosts of the Forest standout “About to Run”, then throttled through a near-spotless “Fluffhead” to bring the evening to intermission. Powerful pills, indeed.
After launching set two with an enjoyably moody if somewhat forgettable “Set Your Soul Free”, Phish got into the improvisational meat of the performance with “Carini”. The second top-notch rendition of the silly yet snarling favorite this summer (following its “Mike’s Groove” meat stint in Alpharetta) stretched past the 22-minute mark as Phish explored dark corners, Fishman and Gordon directing the traffic. The jam patiently ballooned in intensity over its final few minutes on its way to a jaw-dropping climax that was worth the price of admission all on its own.
While the band never came to a full stop throughout the set, the main objective switched here from exploration to finesse as Phish moved through a heartfelt “Joy” (they want us to be happy, you know), a regal “Limb by Limb”, and a reliably explosive “Golgi Apparatus”.
7/26/23 Philadelphia, PA
— Phish: From The Road (@Phish_FTR) July 27, 2023
“Harry Hood” got the call to close the uniquely sentimental set and delivered on its longtime promise of hair-raising build-up and cathartic release, Anastasio in peak form. As the song finished, I caught the eye of an old tour buddy standing next to me in the pavilion. The expressions on our faces spoke volumes—about how grateful we were to be out here for yet another summer, to partake in this communal beauty and appreciation among friends old and new, to have the band we’ve loved for years once again make us feel this good. Our faces said all that, but the right words were hard to come by.
“Still works,” was all I could muster. His wide eyes and childlike grin told me he agreed.
“A Life Beyond The Dream” opened the encore, but after this performance, the rowdy, unhinged “Run Like An Antelope” that followed was what we all needed to finish shifting our souls to high gear and setting them free.
Related: So, What Do We Call Phish’s 7-Night 2023 Run At Madison Square Garden?
Now, after an excellent spell on the road, Phish and its fans will trade “cruising the land of the brave and free” for “taking the A train” as the band sets up shop at New York’s Madison Square Garden for a run of seven shows in nine days. Catch you in the concourse for set break chicken sammies.
Below, check out the full setlist from Phish’s Wednesday evening performance at The Mann in Philadelphia, PA and watch a selection of videos from the performance.
For a full list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here. Subscribe to LivePhish+ to listen to every show on the tour and browse an archive of live Phish recordings. To order your LivePhish webcasts for any of the band’s upcoming summer shows, head here.
Phish – “Golden Age” > “Limb by Limb” (Partial) – 7/26/23
Phish – “Set Your Soul Free” (Partial) > “Carini” – 7/26/23
[Videos: ANDY K]
Setlist [via Phish.net]: Phish | TD Pavilion at The Mann | Philadelphia, PA | 7/26/23
Set One: Mike’s Song > Boogie On Reggae Woman -> Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Army of One, Mound, The Moma Dance [1] > Prince Caspian > Backwards Down the Number Line, About to Run, Fluffhead
Set Two: Set Your Soul Free > Carini > Joy > Golden Age > Limb By Limb > Golgi Apparatus > Harry Hood
Encore: A Life Beyond The Dream, Run Like an Antelope,
[1] Unfinished
Fish teased I Am Hydrogen at the end of the first Mike’s Song. The Moma Dance was unfinished. Backwards Down the Number Line was played for Chris Kuroda’s birthday. Trey teased Set Your Soul Free in Carini.
The post You Can Mike Me Scream: Phish Puts A Little “Boogie” Into “Mike’s Song” At Philly Finale [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
