When Trey Anastasio thanked the crowd for coming to the first of three Phish shows in Bethel, NY, it wasn’t just typical stage banter. For many, it was a test of sheer will to make it to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on Friday, not far from the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival. Similarly to the fabled festival—which celebrates its 55th anniversary next week—this Phish run was at the mercy of mother nature, though luckily the downpour arrived before the weekend’s concerts.
The small southern New York town was caught in the path of Hurricane Debby which pelted the region earlier that day. As of showtime on Friday, the National Weather Service had reported over two and a half inches of rain in nearby North Ranch, NY over the past few days. So, when Trey said, “Welcome everybody welcome, thanks for being here,” after an exploratory “No Men in No Man’s Land” in the two-slot of set one, he meant it. Meteorological elements aside, the three-night run also arrives on the precipice of Phish’s Mondegreen festival some 230 miles away in Dover, DE, with many fans opting to skip Bethel in favor of the four-day festival.
We are driving through a legit flood to get to Phish
pic.twitter.com/hyqss0Sv3G
— JackStraw (@MadKnicksFan) August 9, 2024
The Phish faithful who turned up to New York were dutifully rewarded with a stellar Friday show with several jam highlights. After “First Tube” fired up the amphitheater, a 14-minute “No Men in No Man’s Land” was a warning shot across the bow. The always-fun “Cavern” then made way for “My Friend, My Friend”, the band’s first performance of the foreboding composition since the song’s longest-ever version from Alpine Valley Music Theatre last month—that is, longest-ever until last night.
Phish — “First Tube” [Pro-Shot] — 8/9/24
Phish unsheathed its second consecutive historic performance of “My Friend, My Friend”, clocking in at 18 minutes (edging out the previous 17-minute record-holder). This jam got its legs around the ten-minute mark when it departed the song structure as Trey and Page McConnell locked into repeating patterns on guitar and Rhodes respectively. Mike Gordon deserves credit for propelling the song with his bass groove, guiding it through a murky mid-section. Trey and Jon Fishman charged through a blissful ending with a false stop where the band all stopped playing, waited a beat, and then went back into the jam for another 30 seconds before ending it for real.
Afterward, Trey remarked, “What the hell was that? I gotta regroup after that one.” The rest of the first set didn’t reach the improvisational depths of NMINML or MFMF, but included fun versions of “Bug”, “Julius”, an echo-laden “2001”, “Taste”, and finally a roaring “Character Zero” closer.
After taking the highway through the great divide on “The Wedge”, Phish fired up a 24-minute “Tweezer” that would prove another show highlight. Gordon’s bass once again navigated a churning opening to the improv before Trey set off on some atonal explorations with the use of his beloved octave pedal. Page’s Rhodes added an atmospheric texture to the jam, with Phish keeping the intensity fairly subdued throughout. In the final five minutes, Trey turned off his array of pedals in favor of a clean tone as bluesy licks and raining triplets brought the song to a close.
Phish — “The Wedge” [Pro-Shot] — 8/9/24
Emerging live favorite “Pillow Jets” jumped off its crashing instrumental outro into delightfully distorted chaos, Phish noise rock at its absolute finest. Ascending from the bedlam, Fishman’s pounding drums gave the jam some direction, picking up tremendous steam as it flowed straight into a “Tweezer” reprise (but not a “Tweezer Reprise”). Without breaking stride, the three-minute foray into the “Tweezer” funk groove took off into “Piper”. Trey soared early on in the improv, with Fishman keeping the BPMs up through practically the entire thing—until one more reprise of “Tweezer”.
A rocking cover of The Rolling Stones‘ “Shine A Light” was just the cherry on top before a satisfying “Chalk Dust Torture” took the asset home. Returning for the encore, Phish made contact with the first “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars” since July 15th, 2023 in Alpharetta, GA, with a pairing of “Gotta Jibboo” and “More” closing out the show.
Check out some photos from last night’s show courtesy of photographer Andrew Blackstein along with some fan-shot videos. For a full list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here. Fans can follow the tour from home with nightly video webcasts via LivePhish. To order your webcasts for any of the band’s upcoming summer shows or purchase a discounted full-tour webcast package, head here. [Note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering your webcast via the links on this page helps support our work covering Phish and the world of live music as a whole. Thanks for reading!]
Phish — “2001” (Richard Strauss) — 8/9/24 — Partial Video
[Video: Blanks&Postage]
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Bethel Woods Center For The Arts | Bethel, NY | 8/9/24
Set One: First Tube, No Men In No Man’s Land, Cavern, My Friend, My Friend [1], Bug, Julius, Also Sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss) > Taste, Character Zero
Set Two: The Wedge, Tweezer, Pillow Jets -> Tweezer > Piper -> Tweezer > Shine a Light (Rolling Stones), Chalk Dust Torture
Encore: Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Gotta Jibboo > More
[1] No “Myfe” ending.
My Friend My Friend included a Fuego tease from Trey and did not contain the “Myfe” ending. Trey teased Norwegian Wood in Bug. Trey teased There is a Mountain in Tweezer. The soundcheck’s Tequila was performed as an instrumental.
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