Phish Plays Spectacular 41-Minute ‘Simple’ On Night 2 At Alpine Valley

While Phish‘s first set at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin last night was well played, it hinted at a “Saturday Night Special,” the type of show heavy on the total number of songs and light on jams. The second set was a completely different story as the closing frame of the band’s second of three shows at the Midwest venue was highlighted by an outrageous 41-minute version of “Simple” that was as strong as it was long.

The band came out of the gates with the first show-opening “Sample In A Jar” since July 2018. Phish kept “Sample” within the lines despite a trend of exploratory versions that began at the famed “Jam Filled” Baker’s Dozen show and included a pair Type II renditions in 2023. Phish did take the subsequent “Halley’s Comet” for a bit of a ride while never breaking from the form of the song. Guitarist Trey Anastasio worked over a Santana-esque riff, as the rhythm section of drummer Jon Fishman and bassist Mike Gordon played with extreme vigor.

The quartet went with the concise and intense approach on the “Birds Of A Feather” that followed and then delivered the introspective Farmhouse (2000) bonus track “Mountains In The Mist.” A fairly tight “Foam” featuring particularly impressive contributions from keyboardist Page McConnell continued a run of 1.0 songs to start before Phish dug into the cover well for takes on David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” and Clifton Chenier’s “My Soul.”

The ensuing “The Lizards” provived a trip to Gamehendge and was the first played in a first set in nearly two years. A set heavy on old school classics then ended with a straightforward “David Bowie” that saw Anastasio tease “Birds Of A Feather.” The closer gave fans the first Phish set to include a David Bowie cover and the original named after the iconic rocker since October 21, 1996.

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

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Phish kicked off the second set with “Sigma Oasis,” the title track to their 2020 studio album. The eight-show gap since the last play, not counting the Tiny Desk Concert, was the longest the quartet had gone without performing the song since its debut in 2019. While it appeared “Sigma Oasis” would have the first Type II jam of the night, Trey wasted little time before throwing in the “Simple” lick and his bandmates quickly followed behind and launched into the Gordon-penned tune.

Page hopped on his Wurlitzer electric piano as the band modulated to a minor key out of “Simple” and vamped on a warped blues progression. The four musicians locked in on a phrase early in the jam they used as a platform to make a move back into major territory. Fish laid down a bombastic beat that provided a contrast to the pretty melodies Trey, Page and Mike traded off. The drummer did not relent and the resulting improv had a feel akin to The Allman Brothers Band’s “Mountain Jam” as “Simple” passed the 15-minute mark. Phish pushed forward into more rock-heavy territory with Fish still hitting the gas for another majestic movement while Page slid from synth to B3 and Trey fired off one anthemic lick after another. A short peak dissolved into a more spacey excursion that still grooved thanks to Jon Fishman.

Fish eventually broke down the beat to a reggaefied pattern with Trey throwing in beautiful melodies and Page back on Wurlitzer to echo Anastasio’s lines. But Phish wasn’t done yet and Anastasio had more fretboard fireworks to unleash at the 35-minute mark leading to a massive climax that drew a pop from the well-satiated crowd and a return to finish the longest and best “Simple” of all-time.

“The Howling,” the first Sci-Fi Soldier song of the tour, kept the energy up and audience engaged with huge howls coming from the Midwest massive. Then, nearly three hours into the show, Phish finally played a song from the album they’re behind, Evolve. “A Wave Of Hope” was used as a launching point for another memorable jam after the version in Mansfield last weekend was sans full-band improvisation. While the southern-tinged exploration didn’t score high on the quantity scale it packed a lot of punch into a few minutes with all four members making impressive contributions. Phish then landed on the beloved ballad “Lifeboy” and tacked on a groovelicious “Sand” and crowd-pleasing “Golgi Apparatus” for good measure.

Another surprise awaited as Phish treated fans to just the third “Esther” encore in the song’s 36-year history. The band then tore into “Character Zero” to close the show.

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

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