Phish Kicks Off Fall Tour 2016 In North Charleston – Setlist & The Skinny

On Friday night Phish kicked off a 13-show Fall Tour with the first of two performances at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina. Friday’s concert marked the band’s fifth at the venue as they made their North Charleston Coliseum debut on November 18, 1995, returned the following fall and then again for a two-night stand during Fall Tour 2010. The first set featured three Phish debuts, while the second set included a number of adventurous jams.

One week prior to the tour opener Phish released their 13th studio album, Big Boat. The quartet began Friday’s show with the Phish debut of “Petrichor,” the final track on the LP. Guitarist Trey Anastasio composed “Petrichor” over the course of a two-year period beginning in November of 2012 and played the complex composition with symphonies during a three-show orchestral tour in September of 2014. Phish nailed their first live version of “Petrichor” and slightly extended the final segment of the song. Next up was a tight “Ghost” that was highlighted by keyboardist Page McConnell’s work on electric and grand piano. The band didn’t take “Ghost” too far outside of the box in similar fashion to most first set versions.

McConnell welcomed fans to the show following “Heavy Things” and then led the foursome on the live debut of “Home,” one of three songs he contributed to Big Boat. Page dedicated the tune to his mother and told the crowd it was nice to be back in the area, where his parents currently reside. Phish displayed the jam potential of “Home” with a fierce bit of improv featuring soaring leads from Anastasio. Trey also shined on the typically potent “Bathtub Gin” that came after first set staple “Poor Heart.” Bassist Mike Gordon then had a turn in the spotlight on “555” before the Rift classic “Horn.” From there, Phish offered their third live debut of the set as Anastasio’s “More” saw action for the first time. Trey threw plenty of rapid fire riffs into his “More” solo to bring the first set of tour to a close.

Phish began the second set with “No Men In No Man’s Land,” the first song of the evening off Big Boat they had previously performed. The powerful, straight forward “No Men” led into “Down With Disease.” Trey had some struggles with the lyrics, but quickly laughed them off. “Disease” took a particularly dark turn as the foursome broke through the song’s normal boundaries. Drummer Jon Fishman pounded out a strong groove as Anastasio dropped thick, angular leads and McConnell switched between clavinet and piano ahead of a spot-on transition into “Cities.” The Talking Heads cover hadn’t made an appearance in the second set since December 31, 2014. One of the hallmarks of Summer Tour was Trey putting down his guitar during jams to bang out beats on the Marimba Lumina. It appears the trend will continue as Anastasio played Marimba Lumina during the “Cities” jam.

When the guitarist returned to his usual spot the band started up “Roggae,” which Phish built to a lovely crescendo. “Twenty Years Later” came next and was followed by “Light.” After jamming on the usual chord progression for a while, Fish led a turn towards a more funky jam space. Anastasio used the opportunity to insert a few “No Men” teases. The improv took on a samba feel as Trey laid down a series of beautiful melodies to make “Light” a winner. All four members connected to slickly segue into “Free.” Before Friday’s performance, the last 16 versions of the Billy Breathes rocker took place in the first set.

The second set continued on with a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman” that saw Anastasio focus on rhythmic work. Fishman kicked into “Harry Hood” as “Boogie On” ended. “Harry Hood,” the first original of the night that didn’t appear on a studio album, featured gorgeous and unusual riffing from Trey to bring the second set to a close in a blissful way. Phish encored with the slow burning Fuego track “Winterqueen” and quick romps through “Tube” and “Rocky Top.”

Tomorrow Phish returns to the North Charleston Coliseum.

Setlist

Set One: Petrichor*, Ghost, Heavy Things, Home**, Poor Heart, Bathtub Gin, 555, Horn, More**

Set Two: No Men In No Man’s Land > Down With Disease -> Cities*** > Roggae, Twenty Years Later > Light -> Free, Boogie On Reggae Woman > Harry Hood

Encore: Winterqueen, Tube, Rocky Top

• * – First Time Played by Phish
• ** – First Time Played
• *** – Trey on Marimba Lumina

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