Phish Hampton Coliseum Setlist And The Skinny | Night Two

Tonight Phish returned to the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA for their second of three shows at the venue that kick off Fall Tour 2013. The quartet made their “Mothership” debut on November 25, 1995 and returned in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2009. Phish’s last visit in 2009 was for their “reunion shows” after a nearly five-year breakup. This evening’s performance marks the Vermonters’ 17th at the venue. The spirited affair featured an above-average first set and contained a number of strong jams in the second set.

Phish opened this evening’s show with “Bathtub Gin,” the first time the Lawn Boy classic has served in that role since the Summer Tour 1999 opener on June 30, 1999. The high-energy, straight forward “Gin” opener led into spot-on renditions of first set staples “Moma Dance” and “Tube.” After beginning the show with three rockers, the band took it down a notch with “Fast Enough For You” and a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “The Ballad of Curtis Loew.” Bassist Mike Gordon’s voice was ragged and rough through a rendition of The Mustangs’ “Ya Mar.” His band mates jumped in to help him through the cover which even included a bass solo in lieu of Trey Anastasio’s typical “Ya Mar” guitar solo.

Gordon’s vocal issues also surfaced later on “My Sweet One.” Despite the obvious hoarseness in Mike’s voice, that didn’t stop Trey from launching into “Mike’s Song.” This summer Phish had come up with a number of interesting pairings out of “Mike’s,” but on this night they offered the classic “Mike’s” > “I Am Hydrogen” > “Weekapaug Groove” sequence to end the extremely old school set. “Weekapaug” featured enthralling clavinet work from McConnell and a powerful climax fueled by Anastasio’s rapid-fire fretboard fireworks.

During setbreak, the @LivePhish Twitter feed revealed that this Wednesday night’s show at Glens Falls Civic Center, their first at the venue since Halloween ’94, will be webcast via LivePhish.com.

After foreshadowing what would come with a bit of dark noodling upon taking the stage, the group kicked in to “Ghost” to open the second set. The last time “Ghost” began a second set was way back on August 15, 2010 at Alpine Valley. Anastasio put his Whammy pedal to good use during a “Ghost” in which he delivered one beautiful, major-key riff after another as he patiently built the jam to a crowd-pleasing peak. In similar fashion to last night’s “Carini,” Phish followed the peak with an improvised arena-rock chord progression that would make The Who proud, propelling the “Ghost” into must-hear territory. A spacey segment connected the “Ghost” to “Down With Disease.” The unfinished “Disease” contained a few minutes of blissful jamming that faded into “Steam.” Trey emphasized his angular leads with screams of “ooohhhhh” as he put force behind his licks, though some technical difficulties led Anastasio to put down his axe. Chris Kuroda’s haze enveloped the stage, giving the guitarist an opportunity to jump onto the drum riser as he joined Jon Fishman for double drum action while McConnell soloed on organ and guitar tech Brian Brown fixed Trey’s rig. Even Gordon got in on the act by using a pair of drumsticks and then an electric drill to mash on his bass, his fan and his microphone stand.

Trey and his band mates had a chance to yell more “ooohhhh’s” during a pretty, unfinished “Prince Caspian” that gave way to a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman.” The focus was on Page for another clavinet workout in “Boogie On,” which had an interesting finish that saw the quartet gradually slow the tempo of the music to a stop. A trifecta of mid ’90s classics came next in “Theme From The Bottom,” “The Wedge” and “Silent In The Morning.” Page and Trey sparked an unusually dark “Harry Hood” second set closer with a fair amount of staccato jamming. When Phish returned for the encore, they treated the crowd to a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Quinn The Eskimo,” which they had busted out after an 11-year layoff at their Hampton Comes Alive performances in 1998. The quartet concludes the Hampton run tomorrow night.

Setlist…

[via Phish.net]

Here’s The Skinny from Phish’s first of three 2013 shows at the Hampton Coliseum…

• Venue Capacity / Attendance / Type: 13,800 / Forthcoming / Indoor Arena
• Previous Shows at Venue: 16 Shows – 11/25/1995, 10/25/1996, 11/21/1997, 11/22/1997, 11/20/1998, 11/21/1998, 12/17/1999, 12/18/1999, 01/02/2003, 01/03/2003, 01/04/2003, 08/09/2004, 03/06/2009, 03/07/2009, 03/08/2009 and 10/18/2013
• Number Of Songs / Length – First Set: 11 / 8:12 p.m. -9:26 p.m. (74 Minutes)
• Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set & Encore: 10 / 10:00 p.m. -11:31 p.m. (91 Minutes)
• Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 21 / 4 / 17
• Biggest Bustout: My Sweet One -21 Shows (LTP -7/21/13)
• Tour Debuts: Entire Show
• Average Song Vintage: 1992
• Debuts: N/A
• Weather: 66° and Cloudy at Showtime
• Average Song Gap: 5.86
• The Spread: Lawn Boy -2, Rift -3, Hoist -1, Billy Breathes – 2, Story of the Ghost -2, Joy – 1, Misc. -6, Covers -4
• Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: Ghost 18:39 / I Am Hydrogen 2:55
• Audio: Live Phish

Phish From The Road Photos…

Poster…