[UPDATED] Had To Have That: Phish At Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Night 2 – Recap, Setlist & The Skinny

Tuesday night Phish returned to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for the second of three consecutive shows at the prominent San Francisco venue. Like Monday’s opener, the foursome again showcased their improvisational skills while also dotting both sets with rarely played originals and covers.

Frequent opener “Chalk Dust Torture” for the first time since August 2014 returned to its familiar role of setting a Phish show off to a rocking start. Following the brisk beginning, the thumping pulse of “Free” was initiated by drummer Jon Fishman and bassist Mike Gordon while guitarist Trey Anastasio eventually tore into the song’s climactic conclusion. Anastasio then led the quartet through a compact rendition of the recently added original “Breath And Burning.” Keyboardist Page McConnell dropped the first notes of “Theme From The Bottom” and the band took off behind Anastasio’s authoritative solos and Fishman’s continuous fills.

Next came a punchy cover of Talking Heads’ “Cities” that soon cut to the anxious hi-hat intro of “Maze” which saw McConnell’s electrifying organ soloing drive the original to a feisty peak. The first “Wombat” to make it into a Phish setlist since November 2, 2014 was welcomed backed with a roar from the audience for the funky Fuego tune. Anastasio and McConnell took the subsequent “Split Open And Melt” down a tension-filled path before circling back to the song’s structured conclusion. A jaunt through the second “Sparkle” of the summer was followed by the tour’s second performance of the sharply executed “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing.” The band offered their a cappella arrangement of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” to bring the set to a close with their third performance of the cover debuted last month at Wrigley Field.

[Wombat | Captured by Jim Croy]]

The reliable second set opener “Down With Disease” dutifully paved the way to an initially high-energy jump into improvisation that soon took a turn to an ethereally patient jam. After several minutes the jam intensified behind Trey’s screeching riffs and the rhythm section’s punctuating response to the guitarist’s incrementally increasing tension. “Fuego” also quickly acted as a springboard to a bit of jamming, which made a pass through a quiet segment led by Page’s nimble piano playing ahead of a short return to upbeat rocking. The set progressed with McConnell setting a Clavinet groove on “Ghost” which opened up into another deep-pocket dance-jam behind Gordon’s synthy bass tones and Fish’s steady beat. Trey then steered the jam into blissfully vibrant MuTron-infused territory that charged forward to an absolutely soaring apex.

“Scents and Subtle Sounds” (sans-intro) made its first appearance since last summer’s Magnaball festival and soon ushered in “Light.” The common vehicle to improvisation stayed true to form as the foursome dove back into a multifaceted jam that explored a few different motifs as they pressed further away from anything resembling “Light” until the familiar lyrics and rhythm of “Manteca” crept in. “Manteca” was the evening’s biggest bust out as it had last been played on June 16, 2012 in Atlantic City – a span of 165 shows. A drawn out solo by Page brought about a bust out cover of Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” which had been shelved since August of last year and featured Anastasio’s sizzling guitar solo. The ninth rendition of the Zeppelin classic was followed by a successful performance of longtime multipart favorite “Fluffhead” that acted as the set two closer. The tender “Bug” and the uplifting instrumental “First Tube” brought the second night at BGCA to a rousing close.

Phish’s three-night stand in San Francisco concludes Wednesday.

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