Phish Summer Tour 2019: Camden Night 2 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Phish returned to BB&T Pavilion for the second of their three summer tour concerts taking place at the Camden, New Jersey venue. Saturday’s first set relied heavily on the band’s classic catalog of songs, while the second set included two Ghosts Of The Forest songs — one a Phish debut, along with two Kasvot Växt songs, two others that rarely show up in the second set and a rare “You Enjoy Myself” encore.

The third “Mike’s Song” of the summer tour opened Saturday’s first set and was followed by the often paired “I Am Hydrogen,” the latter having not been played since Phish visited the same venue last summer. A lively “Weekapaug Groove” closed the classic trifecta. The opening “Mike’s Groove” provided guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman ample opportunities to get fully warmed up as they darted through “Mike’s,” dropped beautifully into the instrumental “Hydrogen” and ripped through “Weekapaug.” The classic start to the set continued with the multifaceted “Divided Sky.”

Turning toward their newer material, “Everything’s Right” found the foursome settling into a deep groove that developed into a focused jam behind Mike’s melodic playing and Page’s array of synth sounds. The first “Guelah Papyrus” of the year came next, complete with its usual choreographed dance moves performed by Trey and Mike. “Sparkle” then made its first setlist of 2019. A gorgeous “Roggae” followed as Trey filled the warm summer air with a breezy solo that swirled around to a forceful climax. The first half closed with “46 Days,” one of only two songs played in the set that debuted in 2003 or after. The closer opened up into a pulsating, choppy jam as Fish maintained a commanding rhythm and Trey employed a dirty tone. The improv took a turn toward blissfulness when Trey switched to a bright tone and spearheaded a transition to a vibrant, tension-filled conclusion.

“Blaze On” was selected to start the second set and Page led the ensuing improvisation while Trey played rhythm. The guitarist eventually morphed his playing into the opening of “NICU” and the others onstage joined in the segue. The rare second half “NICU” was followed by the sole cover of the evening, TV On The Radio’s “Golden Age.” The jam out of the cover again found Page taking the reins while Trey took on a rhythmic role and Mike and Fish laid out a funky foundation.

Phish continued to explore the possibilities of “Ruby Waves,” one of Trey’s songs that was part of the Ghosts Of The Forest tour. Saturday’s edition saw concentrated interplay between the four musicians as they followed each other through the sections of the dynamically constructed jam. The improv got dark and sinister ahead of a segue into the Kasvot Växt tune “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long,” which elicited an emphatic “come on!” shout out of Trey. “Rift,” another song rarely seen in second sets, was unexpectedly played next.

Then came the Phish debut of the Ghosts Of The Forest song “Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1” (though when GOTF performed the song it typically was broken up into “Beneath a Sea of Stars Parts 1 & 2” and “Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 3 (blue)”). The new addition to the band’s catalog started off soft and reflective and gradually grew into a swell of intense feedback (aided in this case by Mike’s power drill). Page’s piano work was especially on point throughout the debut. Things calmed for a few minutes with “Waiting All Night,” another tour debut that made Saturday’s setlist. “Ghost” enlivened the venue, this version packing a powerful punch within the somewhat abbreviated jam. A transition from “Ghost” to the Kasvot Växt rocker “Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” led to the end of the set.

“You Enjoy Myself,” one of the band’s oldest and most played songs, kicked off the encore, marking just the 18th time the classic has been played as an encore. Page triggered Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House samples during “YEM,” which also had its typical trampoline routine and super funky breakdown leading into the vocal jam conclusion. Not done yet, the quartet assembled as the front of the stage laughing their way through the humorously biographical acapella finale, “Grind.”

Phish returns to the stage in Camden on Sunday night. A live stream is available via LivePhish.

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