That Far Gone: Phish Sucks Up Vacuum Solos At Penultimate Las Vegas Sphere Show

After delivering two full sets for the penultimate show of their nine-night Las Vegas Sphere residency, Phish returned to the stage inside the technologically enhanced venue on Friday to deliver the evening’s encore.

Jon Fishman momentarily reapproached his drum kit but quickly abandoned the instrument as guitarist Trey Anastasio kicked off the a cappella start of “I Didn’t Know.” Fish was then summoned to front of the stage to take a vacuum cleaner solo.

“Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome a 500-foot-tall man… We gave you the conjurers of thunder, now welcome the thunder from down under, Jon Fishman!,” Trey said referencing “Pillow Jets” from earlier in the show

Fish was projected on the massive Sphere video screen while taking his “I Didn’t Know” vacuum solo. After the song, Trey rattled off several of Fish’s nicknames, “Moses Brown, Moses Heaps, Moses DeWitt!”

Kaleidoscopic video of the band wrapped around the venue for the subsequent “Saw It Again,” which again saw Fish “playing” his vacuum cleaner. Trey shouted “thunder from down under” and other nicknames before putting down his guitar to take over drumming so Fish could move down stage to employ the vacuum once again.

The previous nicknames were called out by Trey at the end of “Saw It Again,” and he added “sucking for you! We saw him again!” The second-to-last show of this year’s Phish Sphere residency came to rocking conclusion with keyboardist Page McConnell taking charge of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock And Roll,” which was paired with psychedelic spacial visuals.

The vacuum-infused finale followed two sets that saw the band continue their streak of no-repeats across this year’s Sphere residency. Two songs in the first set emerged after 100 show absences, with “Mound” (113 shows) getting paired with the animation of David Welker’s Rift artwork and “Tela” (100 shows) — along with “McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters” — showcasing Gamehendge illustrations.

Prior to the start of the concert, transformative scenes from inside The Barn, the band’s Vermont recording facility, once again provided the visual template before “Sample In A Jar” opened the show. Bassist Mike Gordon’s funky introduction to Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman” came next as digital pillars formed and shifted around the band.

“Heavy Things” was aptly accompanied by a wall of colors falling down from atop the dome. The Sphere-ready “Bouncing Around The Room” was augmented with live images of the band cycling around the massive screen.

Digitized framed posters of past Phish shows opened the path into Rift-world through the aforementioned “Mound” break out. The thoughtful “Mountains In The Mist” was backed by creepy spider-web draped forestry and arrival of a giant eight-legged creature.

“Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan” romped along as the four musicians were projected in large scale prism form. Once the subsequent adventures in Gamehendge – “Tela” and “McGrupp” – were complete, another bust out, “Wingsuit” flew into a setlist for the first time in 79 shows. An atmospheric outer-space visualization worked well with the “Wingsuit” selection

The lyrically sparse but musically dense “David Bowie” was the last song of Friday’s first set. Cascading colorful arrays flanked Phish as they dug into the complexities of the longtime live staple. Trey’s articulate playing during “Bowie” stood out, with hints at “Meatstick” entering the melodic fold. The spectrally colorful visual elements intensified in tandem with the climatic “Bowie” conclusion.

A night scene resembling the iconic Farmhouse outhouse artwork kept the screen warm during set break. Gamehendge was called upon again – at least audibly – with the choice of “Wilson” for the second set opener slot. Mirroring live representations of Phish towered over the band playing below.

A contrasting desert landscape was shown as “Seven Below” began to unfold and transitioned into metallic industrial components. A patient, methodic jam matriculated through pointed interplay and the video went into marble madness mode and cycled back to the ominous arid landscape.

Both “Plasma” and Lighting Designer Chris Kuroda emerged out of “Seven Below,” the former providing sound and the latter taking over control of a virtual lighting rig. There was a similar restrained approach to the initial improvisation coming out of “Plasma” and it oozed forward as if taking direction from the song’s title.

A settled upon motif brought a new direction midway through the “Plasma” jam, steering into a more focused musical territory. The band came to almost complete silence landing the jam in an ambient soundscape.

The lengthiest improvisational sequence of the show came from the ensuing burst into “Crosseyed And Painless.” Kuroda maintained his visual presence while the fast-tempo push out of “Crosseyed” propelled into the high-octane playing coming from the stage.

Phish strapped into “Pillow Jets” as they entered the back half of the set. Lyrically conjuring thunder, a virtual iridescent outdoor scene enveloped around the band. A gorgeous sunscape into moon shine next lit up the Sphere for Trey to lead his bandmate through the tender “Shade.”

An expansive 15-minute “Sand” locked in the second set with the bizarre dentist visit animation again providing a mouthful of anatomical visuals. “Sand” stayed true to earlier excursions in the performance, its improvised components materializing through a steadily built discovery process.

The above described vacuum cleaner encore shenanigans sealed show eight of Phish’s nine-night Sphere Run.

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Phish wraps their Sphere residency with a final concert on Saturday, May 2. Livestreams of all nine Phish Sphere shows are available to purchase through nugs and LivePhish.

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