‘Peaches’ For The Peach State: Phish Goes Old School On Night 1 In Alpharetta

Tuesday saw Phish returing to one of their favorite haunts, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia just north of Atlanta. The first set could have easily been performed in 1993. Of the 11 songs played, only two were debuted after 1992 and only one in the 21st century. The average vintage for the first set was 1991.

The second set continued the late-summer tour trend of laser-focused jamming including standout renditions of “Oblivion” and “Fuego.” An Evolve track made its encore debut alongside another classic to close the show.

Phish kicked off night one in Alpharetta with the frenetic “Buried Alive” followed by a punchy “AC/DC Bag,” which led into an early first set “Slave to the Traffic Light.” Guitarist Trey Anastasio found the peak with flanged out warblings ahead of the song’s conclusion.

Drummer Jon Fishman then rolled the band into their beloved cover of Frank Zappa‘s “Peaches en Regalia” for the Peach State audience. “Peaches” marked the biggest bust out of the evening, last time played at the Mondegreen Festival on August 16, 2024 for a 52 show gap.

“Tube” was next on the agenda with Anastasio leading the group through the tune before keyboardist Page McConnell ushered the band into the funk section with percolating clavinet. Mike Gordon took his bassline for a walk as Trey worked on heavy auto-wah.

As the jam progressed, Page moved to the Wurlitzer electric piano and Trey cleaned his tone up a bit. Gordon grabbed on to some gravelly notes and dropped the band into a major sequence as Anastasio began to circle upward with McConnell following him on the Wurli. Trey then soared into the bluesy riff to head back into “Tube.”

Next, Mike and Fish swapped their lines on “555” before Trey added some flighty notes to a quick instrumental before Mike brought the song home. The Fuego cut marked the first song up to that point not debuted in 1990 or before.

“My Soul,” premiered in 1997, came next. Page had a bit of boogie-woogie piano in store for his solo on the Clifton Chenier number before Trey authored a powerful ride which saw more flange waves. “Reba” swung into Ameris Bank Amphitheatre next. Phish executed one of their most technically difficult songs like a band who’s been playing it since 1989.

Fishman playing intricate woodblock melodies while keeping the rhythm with his hi-hat foot is always impressive. “Reba” is reminiscent of the way a cat moves: sometimes slinking, sometimes bounding, sometimes prowling, sometimes losing its shit and zooming around, sometimes smoothly strutting as in the improvisational section toward the end, in which Trey toyed ever so subtly with the main “Peaches” motif ahead of trilled out bliss.

“Maze” came next. The Rift track is a great showcase for Page’s Hammond organ skills, utilizing a hollowed-out, growling tone and egged on by Anastasio. Trey then took the lead through the labyrinth. Then, another Rift cut, albeit a less played one, “Horn,” slid into the shed. “The Squirming Coil,” complete with a gorgeous Page piano solo, brought the first set to a close.

After the 1.0 fest in the first set, Phish kicked off the second frame with a track, “Oblivion,” off their most recent studio album, 2024’s Evolve. McConnell electrified the rendition with his Moog One and kept a droning current pulsing through the opening of the improv. As the jam descended downward, Trey toggled back to the flange and on to the howling auto-wah with Mike going high up on the Serek as the band switched seamlessly into a major jam.

Anastasio and McConnell linked up on spiraling riffs before the instrumental picked up momentum behind right hand work from Trey. He then draped tasty riffage over the droning lattice work which echoed back into “Oblivion.” Next, right back to the classics with “David Bowie.” Phish tore through the song unveiled in 1986 with moxy. A slight variation on the familiar motif emerged in the early part of the improv as Fish laid down a galloping groove punctuated by cymbal splashes before Trey lit into the rolling, repeating riff.

Speaking of lit, “Fuego” flamed in as the third song of the second set. Trey toyed with the melody as the band waxed post “Fuego” and melted into a jam that was both optimistic and slightly unsettling but finally spread out into a decidedly blissful space before Trey bent the instrumental back to a howling affair.

A long sustained note from Trey brought the band into “Leaves.” The song saw Trey taking Alpharetta on a dance through the canopy as well as a step back to “Fuego.” Leaves of fire, kissed by Page’s Fender Rhodes.

The quartet then jumped into the Allen Toussaint-penned “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley.” Mike and Page drove the funk through bass and clav respectively before Trey dropped the band into Sci-Fi Soldier standout “The Howling,” in which Page threw “The Dogs” samples, followed by a thorough funk groove that turned skyward and soared with raucous abandon as Trey brought back “The Howling,” literally. “The Howling” gave way to a pair of joyous numbers “Backwards Down the Number Line” and “Drift While You’re Sleeping” to close the second set.

“Monsters” eased the band into the encore, although “eased” might not be the right word. Anastasio lit into an appropriately wailing solo on the tortured tune making its first encore appearance. Returning to the golden oldies theme, the show came to a close with a boisterous “Run Like an Antelope.”

Phish is set for round tow at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre tonight, Wednesday, September 17.

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