Phish Begins Two Night Stand In Grand Prairie – Setlist & The Skinny

Hot off stellar performances in Nashville and Alpharetta, Phish brought Fall Tour 2016 to the Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, Texas on Monday night for the first of two shows. The indoor venue is the smallest venue of the tour (6,350 capacity) and the penultimate stop on the run ahead of four nights in Las Vegas. Monday’s first set was a 14 song affair filled with seven tour debuts, while the second set was highlighted by a wild “I Always Wanted It This Way” and high-impact “Piper.”

Up first on Monday was a double dose of the band’s latest studio album, Big Boat, in the form of “No Men In No Man’s Land” and “Breath And Burning.” Bassist Mike Gordon then stepped into the spotlight to deliver “Poor Heart.” The run of first set staples continued with a “Wolfman’s Brother” featuring outstanding interplay between keyboardist Page McConnell and guitarist Trey Anastasio as they built to an even more ferocious peak than usual. A run of tour debuts came next as Phish unveiled “Water In The Sky,” “NICU,” “It’s Ice” and “Ocelot” for the first time this fall with a cover of Clifton Chenier’s “My Soul” in between the slow “Water In The Sky” and quick romp through “NICU.” The “It’s Ice” saw Page add clavinet to the funky breakdown, while Trey starred on the languid “Ocelot.”

Following just the 13th known rendition of the Mike Gordon-penned obscurity “Fuck Your Face,” Anastasio told the crowd it was the second greatest Phish song of all-time. He then said the band would now perform the best one as an intro to “Ass Handed,” which returned after just a one show gap. Speaking of the previous show, towards the very end of the majestic Alpharetta “Simple” drummer Jon Fishman started up “Saw It Again,” but none of his band mates followed along. Fish finally got his wish as Phish played “Saw It Again” on Monday after the drummer told the audience it’s the group’s best song in his estimation. Up next was the second live rendition of Trey’s Big Boat balled “Running Out Of Time” ahead of a “David Bowie” set closer. “Bowie” was the seventh tour debut of the set and like “Wolfman’s Brother” contained a patient build to an even more frenetic climax than usual.

Phish went with a very unconventional pick to start the second set as “Dog Faced Boy” saw action for the first time in 50 shows. The Hoist ballad had never been performed as a set opener at any point in the past. A “Seven Below” that didn’t stray too far from the song’s normal boundaries included a powerful conclusion a la the versions of “Wolfman’s” and “Bowie” earlier in the evening. While Phish had fit the complex Big Boat closing track “Petrichor” into the first set during its first three live performances, the band worked it into the second set in Grand Prairie and once again nailed their most recent opus. Fans did learn there is no difference between a first set “Petrichor” and a second set “Petrichor,” at least for now. The unusual song selections kept coming as “Maze” appeared in a second set for the first time since December 28, 2012 following 25 straight first set versions. What was usual was the intense energy Page and Trey put into their fierce “Maze” solos.

Next, “Dirt” offered a cool down for band and fans alike before McConnell led the troupe through “I Always Wanted It This Way” for just the second time ever. The synth’d out rocker was the most adventurous number of the night. Page made great use of his rig as he moved between keyboards throughout, while Anastasio mixed layered guitar work and Marimba Lumina patches, Mike dropped deep and throbbing bass notes and Fish pounded away at “Tomorrow Never Knows”-esque beats. “I Always Wanted It This Way” has fit nicely into the pantheon of Phish second set jam songs thus far. “Piper” has long fit into that pantheon and the version that followed “I Always Wanted It This Way” was no exception. Phish started the eventful “Piper” at a furious pace and didn’t relent as the foursome connected on one anthemic progression after another. Trey threw in teases of Deep Purple’s “Woman From Tokyo” during the first of many peaks. You’d be well advised to seek out both the “I Always Wanted It This Way” and “Piper.” The band then called upon “Bug” to bring the second set to a close. Phish had a few treats in store for the encore as the rarity “Buffalo Bill” was played for the first time since Magnaball and “Rock & Roll” continued the evening’s theme of Trey crushing any solo that came his way.

Phish returns to the Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on Tuesday night.

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