Phish Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 2015 Night Two – Setlist & The Skinny

Phish returned to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver on Saturday night for their second of three annual Labor Day Weekend performances at the giant soccer stadium. This year the jam titans sold out all three shows in advance. Saturday’s show may not have raised the exceptionally high bar Phish set at prior Dick’s performances but it did feature an impressive second set that was heavy on the jams.

One of the big questions heading into the tour was whether Phish would add to their already massive repertoire. The quartet quickly answered the call by debuting seven originals over the first two nights of tour. Two of the new Trey Anastasio/Tom Marshall originals – “Blaze On” and “No Men In No Man’s Land” – stood out from the pack and saw plenty of action this summer. In Denver, the former was extended nicely on the first night of the Dick’s run while the latter served as opener on Saturday night. The short “No Men” opener gave way to another welcome addition to the rotation, the Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House rocker “Martian Monster.” A run of first set staples “NICU,” “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan” and “Bouncing Around The Room” led into a double dose of songs off the band’s most recent studio album in the form of Fuego’s “555” and “Winterqueen.” While “Winterqueen” made eight appearances in 2014, the ballad has become a bit of a rarity as it hadn’t been played since the second night of tour in Bend.

After starting the set with plenty of songs that have been in heavy rotation of late, Phish lit into just the second “Split Open And Melt” of the summer. Anastasio didn’t solo as much as he unspooled thick sheets of sound. Trey took often dissonant jabs at the Ocedoc as his band mates simmered the song’s chord progression to a rolling boil. The guitarist utilized many of the new effects he’s added to his rig this tour during a “Split” jam that would have fit in well at Magnaball’s Drive-In Set. “Limb By Limb” came next and featured a patient build and impressive interplay between Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell. The set came to a close with a study of contrasts between the delicate “Roggae” and the fist-pumping fury of “Character Zero.”

Phish pulled from their post-hiatus output to open the second set with a quick romp through “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing.” The quartet kicked off a second set with “Chalk Dust Torture” 12 times over the past two years, but on Saturday night the A Picture Of Nectar rocker filled the #2 slot in the closing stanza. When “Chalk Dust” begins a second set you can usually count on a well-jammed version of the tune and that trend extended to the #2 slot in Denver. After working over the typical “Chalk Dust” progression, Phish made a turn towards a more blissful, major-key jam space while Jon Fishman still pounded away on the skins. Anastasio strung together anthemic leads that McConnell picked up on as bassist Mike Gordon propelled synth’d-out basslines into the mix. Page gave his rig a workout on “Chalk Dust” as he moved from piano to electric piano to synth and then back to electric piano and piano over the course of 16 adventurous minutes. When the foursome returned to a dark and dirty soundscape they triggered a drawn-out and wild transition into “Twist.”

While “Twist” wasn’t long it was strong helping its case for Most Valuable Song of the summer. Before the show Phish spent their entire soundcheck working on “Mercury,” another Trey/Tom original debuted early in tour. The attention the band gave “Mercury” earlier in the day paid dividends when they nailed the complex number in front of the capacity crowd. “Light” emerged out of “Mercury” and gave the quartet a chance to dive back into the ether. Just as with “Split Open And Melt” earlier in the evening, the “Light” jam contained a sense of exploration reminiscent of Magnaball’s Drive-In Set. “Wingsuit” then offered a breather of sorts before a potent, stay-between-the-lines cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock And Roll” brought the energy right back up to end the set.

When Phish returned for the encore McConnell stepped to the mic and introduced “Sleeping Monkey” as “a song that means a lot to me.” Page feigned tearing up to which Trey responded, “can you get through this?” The keyboardist added “we can get through this together!” as “Sleeping Monkey” began. A concise “Harry Hood” and cover of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life” sent fans on their way. Tomorrow’s finale marks the end of Summer Tour 2015 and as it currently stands the band’s last confirmed show until Phish Riviera Maya begins on January 15 (though the band typically plays a New Year’s Run this year’s potential run has yet to be announced). A webcast of Sunday’s tour closer is available via LivePhish.com.

Want more Phish stats?

Visit JamBase’s The Skinny Hub

More Skinny

Phish From The Road Photos…

Poster