Phish Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Denver 2017 Night Three – Setlist & The Skinny

Phish completed a summer tour that ranks among the best in the band’s 34-year history on Sunday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Coming into Dick’s Phish had recently played a 13-show residency in New York City in which they didn’t repeat a song. The quartet focused on heavy rotation favorites all weekend long in Colorado along with songs they had debuted earlier this summer. Phish went the all-original route until they finally worked “2001” into the mix towards the end of the final set of the summer. Sunday’s show was highlighted by standout versions of jam vehicles “Down With Disease,” “Light” and “Piper” as now for the first time since January there are no confirmed concerts from the band ahead of us.

While Phish had stuck to songs previously played this summer throughout the first two shows of the weekend, the band wasted little time in treating the capacity crowd to the first debut of the Dick’s run by opening with “Buffalo Bill.” The short, reggae-flavored obscurity had only been performed 17 times prior dating back to its debut on November 21, 1992. Fans gave “Moma Dance” a bigger reaction than usual after the all-time version delivered at Madison Square Garden in July. However, the Dick’s “Moma” didn’t stray from its normal boundaries. A tight and succinct “Birds Of A Feather” came next along with a spot-on rendition of the Mike Gordon-sung “Sugar Shack.” Page McConnell then led the second ever Phish version of “Most Events Are Planned,” a song from the keyboardist’s Vida Blue days. “Most Events Aren’t Planned” is a nice fit in the Phish repertoire as once again it featured a fierce jam with a fast and funky beat laid down by drummer Jon Fishman, soaring leads from guitarist Trey Anastasio, a propulsive bass line from Gordon and barrelhouse piano work from McConnell.

[Phish – Most Events Aren’t Planned | Captured by TheKamherst]

The first set continued on with a scorching “Back On The Train” that contained one inventive melody after another from Trey. Phish then trotted out “Leaves,” a tender Anastasio/Marshall ballad debuted at the first show of the summer. The Vermonters picked up the pace with heavy rotation staples “The Wedge” and “46 Days.” Anastasio utilized a particularly dirty, heavily overdriven tone for the duration of the “46 Days” jam. McConnell alternated between organ, electric piano and Moog Voyager as he and Trey would take turns leading the improvisation. After a few adventurous minutes, the band moved towards more typical “46 Days” terrain to build to a nice peak complete with Trey and Page singing along. The frenetic energy from the end of “46 Days” found its way into the “Bathtub Gin.” Mike was the star of the Dick’s “Bathtub” as he set a furious pace to which his band mates fell in line. Gordon drove throughout the “Gin,” which was so fast-paced the climax was barely noticeable.

Phish kicked off the final set of the summer by trotting out “Down With Disease.” After Trey lit up the fretboard, the band made a turn for a more spacey soundscape. Sunday’s “Disease” saw the quartet explore multiple exciting jam spaces with each member making stellar contributions to the adventurous improv. At times the jam was rocking, other times ambient and at some points downright evil. “Light” eventually emerged out of the interplanetary 21-minute “Down With Disease.” While “Disease” never hit upon any blissful moments, Phish quickly settled on a blissful soundscape they explored during “Light.” At points Trey fixated on a melody that seemed like a variation of “Norweigan Wood.” The second movement of the “Light” jam was a more rocking affair. Fish masterfully kept switching between beats and tempos, while Anastasio shredded on top of any variation thrown at him. Thirty-six minutes into the set the band started up just the third song of the closing stanza, Trey’s “Rise/Come Together.” Anastasio debuted the optimistic rocker with TAB in April, while Phish played the tune twice previously this summer.

“Piper” filled the clean-up spot in the second frame and as usual, the band quickly moved beyond its normal boundaries. McConnell opened the “Piper” jam with a Clavinet solo before Anastasio stepped to the forefront. Trey showed off the high-octane shredding that has been a hallmark of the Dick’s ’17 run both during exploratory jams and more standard solos. Phish concluded “Piper” by pulling off a Trey-led transition into “Meatstick.” A quick romp through “Meatstick” gave way to “Also Sprach Zarathrustra,” aka “2001.” The guitarist used the opportunity to play with his newest toy, the Kaossilator. “2001” was the lone cover of the run and was followed by a standard romp through “Possum” filled with tension and release theatrics and fun “Suzy Greenberg” to end the set.

One of the big surprises when it came to songs that didn’t get played during the Baker’s Dozen run was the absence of “Waste.” The beautiful Billy Breathes ballad finally made an appearance in the encore slot on Sunday night. Phish then gave the sold-out audience one last chance to get their ya yas out with “First Tube” to close out the show and tour.

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