Phish Concludes 2018 Run At The Gorge – Recap, Setlist & The Skinny

On Sunday night, Phish closed out their first-ever three-night run at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. After four tour-opening shows that varied dramatically in pacing, quantity of improvisation, and fan reception, Sunday seemed poised to break the tie, so to speak, and set the tone for the next stretch of the tour. By that standard, it was a huge success: following a first set with excellent song selection and improvisation, the band unfurled a second set that featured exceptional unity and flow.

Phish took the stage and immediately put the crowd at ease, with a near-flawless rendition of “The Curtain With.” The fifth-ever run through “The Birds” was followed, with a knowing laugh from Trey Anastasio, by “Birds Of A Feather.” The two songs have never appeared in the same show, though “Birds Of A Feather” has often been dotted with “They attack!” samples borrowed from its Chilling, Thrilling sibling. “Waiting All Night” provided a breather before “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan,” which was more colorful than usual, thanks to Trey’s liberal use of his effects pedals.

“Reba” mellowed the mood further. The intricate fugue was virtually spotless, and followed by a lovely jam that perfectly matched the final traces of pink above the horizon. But the set’s improvisatory highlight was still to come — out of “Wombat,” of all songs. What initially seemed like a smooth, dirty outro jam kept going further out, moving from Pink Floyd-esque space to angular funk-rock. “Tela” came next from Anastasio’s Gamehendge saga before “Walls Of The Cave” brought the set crashing to a close.

If Saturday night’s ballad-heavy second set was one path to a mellow evening, Sunday’s final frame offered another. “Crosseyed & Painless” — usually known for blazing funk jams — slinked into an eerie shuffle for a few minutes before dissolving to ambience. But what followed was no paint-by-numbers space jam: buoyed by Page McConnell’s atmospheric synthesizers, the quartet took its time with what turned into one of the more focused, purposeful ambient jams in recent memory. “Twist,” too, was dark and airy, as Trey leaned on his pedalboard, allowing for some interplay between Page and Mike Gordon. A short “Waves” and “Miss You” capped off the set’s mellow first half.

“Fluffhead” began the next segment. Despite some stumbling during the song’s complex instrumental section, the song closed satisfyingly, before “Split Open and Melt” brought its trademark evil ooze. But just as the jam seemed ready to peter out, it took a turn into yet more ambience. As Trey’s fingers whispered the return to the “Melt” refrain, he interlaced “Crosseyed” teases into the riff. Jon Fishman joined in on vocals, as the set came to a close with a makeshift mash-up of the two songs. “Wilson” put an exclamation point on the evening, and it made five consecutive shows without a repeated song to open the tour.

Phish returns to the stage on Tuesday night in San Francisco.

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[Tela | Captured by Gregory Marcus]