Phish Summer Tour 2019: Bonnaroo Sunday – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Phish headlined Sunday’s lineup at Bonnaroo. Unlike the band’s previous two visits to the annual festival held in Manchester, Tennessee, there were no special guests sitting-in with the band, who instead delivered a setlist made up of favorites from throughout their career, weaving together classics and newer numbers across two sets.

Guitarist Trey Anastasio called upon one of those newer numbers, “Set Your Soul Free,” to open the band’s performance Sunday. The feel-good rocker was followed by the fellow newer uplifter, “Blaze On,” that saw Anastasio take charge of a jam that delivered a relatively quick payoff.

“You guys got some energy left?,” Anastasio asked the audience, adding, “Cause we do!” The guitarist then told the crowd they were about to hear, “A message song so you can catch your breath.” The message became “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long” from last Halloween’s Kasvot Växt set. Bassist Mike Gordon stood on drummer Jon Fishman’s riser during “DDHVL” that saw Trey edging toward the lip of the stage to engage the crowd, something he repeated often on Sunday night. A concise and well-executed offering of the longtime favorite “Reba” came next, with more strutting around the stage by Trey in the “Free” that followed.

Next, “Sand” paved the way to a peppy portion of improvisation, featuring funky fills from keyboardist Page McConnell and Trey pushing the jam rapidly forward to a tension-filled peak. The foursome then worked up “Wolfman’s Brother,” which saw Page taking the melodic lead during a bit of improv that was solidified by Mike’s groovy groundwork. The final song of the set was a thumping romp through “Cavern.”

Phish’s final set at Bonnaroo 2019 kicked off with “Mike’s Song.” The well-traveled “Fluffhead” then came to Bonnaroo out of “Mike’s.” After working through the multi-part classic, Phish transitioned into “Twist,” soon opening up into blissful improvisation steered by Trey’s rhythmic soloing and Page’s kaleidoscope of textures and tones. Out of “Twist,” the quartet pulled off a seamless segue into “Weekapaug Groove” that was embellished by Mike’s synth-effects and “wooing” from Fish. After a couple of minutes, they left “Weekapaug” and slid into “No Men In Man’s Land” before slipping back into “Weekapaug.” Still not stopping, they then dropped back into “Twist” for a few measures.

The back half of the set was injected with “Fuego,” which produced a short jam that stayed within the confines of the song as Trey lit into a solo that hit another climatic peak. Another tight segment of improvisation grew out of the subsequent “Ghost,” as each member contributed to a cohesive progression of restrained jamming. Eventually, Trey set a melodic line that the group coalesced around, as Fish pushed the tempo and Mike pounding deep notes. The set-closing “Bathtub Gin” was another bridge to jamming and again the band stayed within the structure of the song, bursting into a rocking final few minutes of the set. The opening chants of “Wilson” signaled the start of the encore, which was capped by the high-energy instrumental “First Tube,” bringing an end to the band’s cover-free headlining performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6UIUk4pRdw

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