Phish Fall Tour 2019: The Met Philadelphia – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Phish played an exclusive show for SiriusXM and Pandora listeners at The Met in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Broadcast live on SiriusXM, the show was played before the band’s smallest audience since their May 23, 2000 gig at New York’s Roseland Ballroom. Those who were lucky enough to be in attendance were treated to a Tweezerfest: “Tweezer” followed an a cappella opener, then resurfaced three more times throughout the night. In between, the band wove plenty of hits and several covers into a show that was a bit light on deep jams, but had plenty of treats for the crowd.

The quartet opened in barbershop formation, nodding to their theatre-playing days with an a cappella number. “Hello My Baby” hadn’t been played in 10 years. Moving over to their instruments, the band launched into the tour’s first “Tweezer.” As the jam got cooking, they modulated to a major key, then dropped a seamless segue into “Free.” A standard rendition was followed by a version “The Moma Dance” that ended up right back in the “Tweezer” jam. After a couple more minutes of riffing came a quick turn into “Blaze On,” which enjoyed some nice guitar work from Trey Anastasio, though it didn’t stray far from the song’s structure.

Next up was “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” the band’s first take on the ZZ Top cover since 2014. The song’s dynamics — hushed sections followed by ripping guitar solos — made it an excellent choice for the small venue. The jam of the set came out of “Kill Devil Falls,” which reached a blissful peak before shifting gears for yet another “Tweezer” jam. That one landed in “Ya Mar,” which was played in typically tight fashion before “Drift While You Were Sleeping,” which closed the set, as it has each time it’s appeared in a Phish set.

“Chalk Dust Torture” opened the second set and proved to be the night’s improvisatory centerpiece. Anastasio let loose over a psychedelic chord progression, just barely keeping the jam from getting out of his control before it reached a climax. A brief dip in funky waters deposited the band back in “Tweezer,” which served as a transition into “Mike’s Song.” Mike Gordon laid down some of the night’s fattest basslines in the song, and Jon Fishman held up his end of the rhythm section with ferocious energy. Next, “Sparkle” and “Ass Handed” preceded “Weekapaug Groove,” which saw the band members sprinkle some “Ass Handed” lyrics over the beginning of the jam.

Following a breather in “Miss You” came quick runs through “Waves” and “Twist.” Next, the year’s first take on the Beatles classic “A Day in the Life” was followed by “2001,” which was first played just down the road at the Mann in 1993. This version saw Trey make excellent use of his Echoplex, before Fishman moved over to the Marimba Lumina. The set came to a roaring close with “More.” The band resurfaced for a typically lovely take on “Waste” before bringing the night to an end with “Tweezer Reprise.”

Phish returns to the stage Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. A live stream is available via LivePhish.

Want more Phish stats?

Visit JamBase’s The Skinny Hub

More Skinny

Audience-Shot Video

Chalkdust Torture Captured by super vince

A Day In The Life Captured by Rachel Molly

Waste Captured by super vince

Phish From The Road Photos

Poster