Phish Explores ‘My Friend, My Friend’ On Night 1 At Alpine Valley

On Friday night, Phish returned to the Alpine Valley Music Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, for the first time since August 2022. The quartet delivered a rapturous 10-song first set, followed by an equally potent second set, yet seemed tentative about fully committing to deep, explorative jams on the first of the three-night run.

To kick off the band’s 24th show at the storied venue, Phish opened with “46 Days,” for only the third time ever. The song quickly gained momentum with Mike Gordon‘s rumbling bass and Jon Fishman‘s tight percussion, while Page McConnell provided the melodic backbone and Trey Anastasio dabbled with effects.

A first unhurried, then increasingly heated “Moma Dance” followed, a mondegreen, or misinterpreted phrase that results in a new meaning. In this instance, the phrase “moma dance” is never uttered in the song, instead it reminds us that all moments end so that others can begin anew. Notably, giving new life to the band’s history of immersive, wildly creative on-site festivals is indeed the upcoming Mondegreen, taking place in Delaware in mid-August. Tickets are still available for this 11th (not counting Curveball) sure-to-be extravaganza, promising four days and nights of Phishtory.

Next up was “The Well,” featuring a beautiful solo by Page before shifting into darker territory. Only the sixth time played, the song’s front end seemed to have a new swagger, some funky tinkering, since its last performance at Madison Square Garden in late 2023. However, the backend takes a dark and angular turn, evoking the chaotic sensation of tumbling down, down, down …

Continuing the somber theme was a monster performance of “My Friend, My Friend” from 1993’s Rift. It’s remarkable how the band can layer a tune they’ve played countless times with such subtlety and depth, making it sound fresh every time. Unpredictability is their hallmark, and the song soon went Type II, with Page and Trey venturing into exaltant, blissful territory before segueing into a tender, if unexpected, “Brian and Robert” from 1998’s The Story of the Ghost. Missing was the dark jamming – evil Phish, if you will – as well as the “Myfe” ending, however it was still the longest “My Friend, My Friend” to-date at over 17 minutes.

After quickly removing a capo from the neck of his guitar, Trey signaled the opening riffs of crowd-pleaser “Llama,” and it was an immediate call to attention after the gentle embrace of the preceding tunes. It was no “Slow Llama” – taboot taboot – and at just shy of four minutes was the shortest tune of the first set.

Following the brisk “Llama” was Talking Heads’ cover, “Cities.” Taught and crisp – Bir-ming-ham – the opening relaxed and unfurled, with Fishman remaining firmly in the pocket and Trey getting in on the action. While maintaining the structure of the classic cover, the jam had a lot of space to breathe, but regretfully ended before deeper exploration transpired.

Continuing the momentum of a strong first set was the tropical romp, “Ya Mar.” The song is a cover of calypso band, The Mustangs (who covered songwriter Cyril Ferguson), and has only ever appeared on live Phish recordings, never on a studio album. With Mike in the driver’s seat and Page co-piloting, the song traversed lush ground with Trey layering licks around Page’s fertile B3 work.

“Stash” was one of five repeats, each played a week prior at the tour opener at Xfinity Center (aka Great Woods) in Massachusetts. Other repeats were the show opener, “46 Days,” “Down With Disease” and “Ghost” later in the second set, as well as the encore, “Run Like An Antelope.” While the “Stash” was full of big sounds and aggressive jamming, as well as a well-positioned “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” tease, as one of the more commonly-played tunes, it didn’t wander into uncharted territory.

Though “Stash” may have felt like a solid set closer to the already-nine-song set, Trey charged into “Cavern” with the band following in-step, and matching his energy. Fishman appeared positively ebullient, toying with his “Orange Whip” sample, and wailing on his cymbal array.

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

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After what seemed like a short setbreak, the band wasted zero time in amping up the crowd with “Axilla Part II,” if only to call out birthday boy, Lighting Designer, and Master of Shining Things In Faces, Chris Kuroda. A quick “Happy Birthday” tease and they were out.

What followed was a striking “Down With Disease,” the third repeat of the tour. And as a thousand barefoot children danced on the (terrifically steep) lawn, the band embarked on a patient, focused journey. Released on 1994’s Hoist, Trey ever-so-briefly winked at “Weekapaug Groove” before leading the group into a sweet groove. The direction of the jam felt particularly organic, with the band focusing on complementing one another.

Rather than ripping the “Disease” jam wide open – or even finishing it – Phish transitioned into “Mercury.” Page’s steady, building chords were complemented by Fish’s shuffling beats. As the song progressed through its various movements, Trey and Mike’s contributions blended seamlessly, creating a unified and greater whole. “Mercury” is one of the band’s more ambitious pieces in the last decade, and it would have been interesting to see where the jam went but it was truncated in favor of a very, very brief “Taste.”

“Taste” gave way to the opening notes of “Ghost,” which had the same unhurried, patient vibe as the rest of the more significant jams. Nothing was rushed, nobody’s in a hurry to arrive, everyone’s taking their time to enjoy the ride. Really nice stuff. But that’s not to say that the destination wasn’t reached; under Kuroda’s high-beams they went decidedly Type II and with “Disease” vibes and plenty of sass, before abruptly going back into the main “Ghost” riff.

Next up was the textured “Limb By Limb,” the first time played since exactly a year ago at The Mann in Philadelphia. The “Limb By Limb” was a fairly straightforward version, but left the door open for the always-stunning “The Horse” > “Silent In the Morning,” which hadn’t been played in almost two years to the day. The band’s apparent desire to keep things on a steady, fairly measured course tonight was a perfect scene for the Rift pairing.

Few things spark joy like Phish covering Led Zeppelin, and the set-closing “Good Times Bad Times” was no exception. Trey channeled Jimmy Page, Mike nailed John Paul Jones’ basslines, Page took on the role of the fifth Zeppelin and Fish’s drumming would have made Bonham proud.

The encore featured the feel-good “Contact,” complete with a funk breakdown from Mike and Trey over Page’s keys. Mike then took a verse and delivered a small bass solo, leading to a full audience-participation arm-waving finale. Closing out the night was a frantic “Run Like An Antelope,” which also saw Trey teasing the Allman Brothers Band classic from “Stash.”

A strong show with a varied setlist, the band showed their range tonight. No tune was over 20 minutes, yet there were some rarities, a couple covers and a whole lot of precision and thought without going to extremes. Again, I’m reminded why, sweet babe, we ain’t ever gonna part.

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Phish Summer Tour 2024 continues Saturday night at Alpine Valley. Watch livestreams of Phish’s entire 2024 Summer Tour via LivePhish.com.

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