Phish Caps Stellar Spring Tour With Memorable Hollywood Bowl Finale – Night 3: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Phish wrapped up a spectacular spring tour of the West Coast on Sunday with their third of three shows at the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The visit to Hollywood wasn’t without its star power as Aaron Paul, Ryen Russillo, Kyle Gass, Paul Dano and Abbi Jacobson were among the celebrities who attended at least one night of the Hollywood Bowl run. Last night’s finale featured plenty of impressive improvisation including long and standout versions of “Cities,” “Mr. Completely” and “Wolfman’s Brother.”

The quartet began last night’s show with “Birds Of A Feather” and “Roggae,” a double dose of songs from their seventh studio album, The Story Of The Ghost. “BOAF” continued a trend of starting the concerts in L.A. with cuts featured on the 1998 LP as “Moma Dance” kicked off the action on Friday and title track “Ghost” opened on Saturday. Guitarist Trey Anastasio awkwardly sang a verse of “Birds Of A Feather” an octave higher than usual but went on to uncork a short but particularly sweet solo to conclude the tune. Anastasio was also in fine form for the “Roggae” and ensuing “Divided Sky.”

Anastasio put on a tone clinic during the 19-minute cover of Talking Heads’ “Cities” that came in the four-slot. The guitarist expertly switched between synth’d out, distorted and delayed sounds while the rhythm section of drummer Jon Fishman and bassist Mike Gordon provided a deep and groovy pocket. Keyboardist Page McConnell moved between electric piano, Clavinet and synths in providing just the right counterpoint to the riffs Trey laid down. Fish and Mike broke down the beat around the 13-minute mark as Phish realigned to engage on an ambient exploration that laid the groundwork for a build to a crowd-pleasing peak.

Trey started singing “Tube,” which brought the outstanding “Cities” to an end. Once again, the guitarist fit in the “My Pet Cat” theme early in the “Tube” jam as he has did in Mexico earlier this year and at Madison Square Garden last December. The improv was laden with industrial funk throughout and in a rarity, the band nailed the transition into the ZZ Top-esque part of “Tube.” Anastasio gave extra emphasis when he sang the lyric “on a freeway in Los Angeles” and wasted no time at the end of the song as he immediately lit into “Taste.” Not an easy song to play, the appearance of “Taste” is usually a sign the band is feeling it and Sunday’s perfectly played rendition was no exception.

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After beginning the show with a string of songs debuted in the ’80s and ’90s, Phish went with “About To Run” as the evening’s first song from the 21st Century. In a set and during a tour in which Trey Anastasio has stood out as MVP, the cut from the guitarist’s Ghosts Of The Forest project/album was a fine choice to wrap the frame and gave him another chance to shine with an authoritative solo.

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

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Phish wasted little time getting back to the jams by launching the final set of the tour with “Mr. Completely.” The foursome swiftly moved from an evil minor key to a bliss-laden major key improvisation. Anastasio landed on a beautiful pattern he would repeat with slight variations as his bandmates followed along. He then strung together one anthemic lick after another while McConnell echoed each sentiment on Wurlitzer electric piano. Multiple peaks whipped the crowd into a frenzy before the band dropped into “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing.” The guitarist again sang a few verses one octave higher than usual.

“A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing” birthed a more egalitarian jam infused with Gordon’s synth bass, chunky rhythms from Anastasio, a double time beat courtesy of Fishman and stellar Rhodes work by McConnell. Trey then took control and unleashed a flurry of potent leads. Fish settled back in on the “Mr. Completely” figure and Phish fell in line to end the song. A rare second set “Wolfman’s Brother” came next marking the Hoist track’s third appearance in the closing stanza since the Baker’s Dozen residency in 2017.

Mike Gordon starred on the first movement of the Hollywood Bowl “Wolfman’s Brother,” as he played lead bass ala Phil Lesh while Phish focused on the groove in a throwback to their cowfunk days. Anastasio eventually stepped up and utilized an octave pedal for a series of pretty melodies ahead of a move into “Ruby Waves.” The fourth jam vehicle in a row yielded more fretboard fireworks a plenty from Anastasio with Trey leading builds to a pair of ferocious climaxes before “Gotta Jibboo” emerged from near silence.

While “Gotta Jibboo” was the first song of the second set without a “Type II” excursion, Trey still weaved in plenty of angular riffs into the mix. The same held true for the pairing of “No Quarter” and “Possum” that punctuated the frame. McConnell helmed the Led Zeppelin cover, which was the song which received the loudest reaction from the crowd on Sunday, while the latter gave Mike Gordon his lone turn in the vocal spotlight at the Hollywood Bowl finale.

“Wilson” was a song rarely played by Phish in the encore slot through 2016. However, the version that got Sunday’s encore underway was the 11th of the previous 22 takes on the Gamehendge gem performed during the encore. The quartet then said goodbye to Hollywood with the beloved “Slave To The Traffic Light.” After a few months off, Phish returns to the road to begin their Summer Tour 2023 with a two-night stand at The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama on July 11 and 12.

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