Phish Honors ‘Local Musician’ Jimi Hendrix For Night 2 In Seattle – ​​Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Phish wrapped up their 2023 Spring Tour opening run in Seattle on Saturday. The band paid tribute to Seattle’s own Jimi Hendrix in the first set and dusted off “Train Song” to kick off the encore among other highlights.

Phish got night two in Seattle underway with “Axilla (Part II).” The rocker got things off to a sizzling start and as per request Climate Pledge Arena was darkened by lighting designer Chris Kuroda as the band headed down the rabbit hole. The quartet then jumped into a sticky “The Moma Dance.” A brief but joyful jam emerged from the nautical lyrics with guitarist Trey Anastasio circling ever higher to a peak and conclusion.

Things stayed on the funky side for “Wolfman’s Brother” in the third song slot. Trey whipped up a tasty riff during the jam and toyed with some newer-sounding effects as keyboardist Page McConnell brought in some shimmering synthesizer on his Moog One. The improvisational sequence spread out into a textured soundscape over which Anastasio painted as did CK who certainly has some new toys as well. Speaking of new toys, bassist Mike Gordon, once again sporting one of his new Serek basses after debuting one of the fresh axes on Friday, turned to a crunchy bass tone with Page stepping up to his Hohner Clavinet steering the jam in a squishy direction.

Trey seemed to be hinting at some Hendrix and promptly dropped the band into the hometown guitar hero’s “Izabella.” “Gotta play one for a local musician, local musician Jimi Hendrix,” Trey said at the song’s conclusion. “Well that was fun,” Mike added. “Leaves” then spread a cooling salve on Climate Pledge following the fiery “Izabella” although Trey came in hot over the floating improv sequence.

“Reba” got the call for song number six. The beloved Lawn Boy cut really shows off the jaw-dropping percussive skills of drummer Jon Fishman on the woodblock and across the kit. CK made zigzags chase each other above the band’s head as the intricately composed segment built intensity. The vibey sequence almost called back to “Moma,” waxing funky, and swerved back into a more “Reba”-sounding mode and a blissful climax. The quartet then completed the song with whistling. Bag it. Tag it.

Next, Trey called up a raunchy tone to kick off a rambunctious “Chalk Dust Torture.” Anastasio strummed out shimmering right hand work to slide into the jam as McConnell hopped on the Hammond organ. The band stepped out of bounds and then came together into a galloping groove. The quartet continued with a frenetic affair that waxed bubbly before returning to the galloping groove which Trey steered back into “Chalk Dust” territory with some otherworldly trills to put an exclamation point on the first frame.

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

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Phish launched the second set with “Free,” a nice showcase for Mike to take a burbling run on the Serek, which is well suited for rounded tones. “Ruby Waves” then surged out of “Free.” Fish surfed the ride and shuffled the snare as Anastasio looped some right hand riffs creating a pulsating jam. The improv trickled into a shuffling cacophony with Page warbling on the Fender Rhodes electric piano and Trey toggling between effects. Anastasio then switched to a relatively cleaner but crispy tone for the opening strains of “Prince Caspian,” teaming up wavey tunes. Trey trilled out the melody and took flight over cascading piano from Page.

“Caspian” then flowed into “Piper.” Phish brought the sounds of the storm, billowing up like a big thunderhead blowing up on the horizon before settling into a blanket of mist with bubbling bass from Mike and Page sparkling on the Rhodes while Trey sent space signals with an old-school sci-fi-like effect. Fish then whipped the band into a careening canter with rocking piano from Page and Trey stretching out guitar chords like a piece of taffy.

“When The Circus Comes” emerged from the madness before things ramped back up with “Tube,” which was alluded to in the stellar official poster for Climate Pledge Arena by artist Calder Moore. The first verses gave way to a strutting groove with McConnell on the Wurlitzer electric piano and Anastasio on his clav-tone. Trey hit some funky rhythms as Page shot lasers on the Sequential Prophet-6 synth. Mike bounded on the bass and Fish flew around the kit. Trey then began tearing into the groove with some spicy licks and cued the band into the rocking section leading back into “Tube.”

“Wading In The Velvet Sea” swam out of “Tube” for a sweet short while before Fish dropped the band into “Harry Hood.” Phish slow-boiled the feel good jam with Trey shining on sustained notes and a swirling psychedelic ending with booming toms from Fish to cap the second set.

To begin the encore, Mike led the band through “Train Song,” the biggest bust out of the evening, last time played on December 7, 2019 in Charleston, South Carolina. The mellow mood of the encore continued with the pleasant sounds of “Brian And Robert” before Phish cranked it up for the crunchy Kasvot Växt number “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” to wrap their first multiple-night run in Seattle since 1995.

Phish’s 2023 Spring Tour continues with a three-night run at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California beginning on Monday, April 17. Livestreams are available via LivePhish.com.

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