Phish Flies Into Bethel Run On ‘Pillow Jets’ Of Otherworldly Sound

Phish launched a three-night run at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York on Friday. The first frame featured a set of sundry songs with only one not debuted in the 1990s. A wild second set highlighted by “Pillow Jets” followed ahead of a mixed bag three-song encore.

Phish kicked off night one in Bethel with a bit of script flipping in the form of a “First Tube” opener, with guitarist Trey Anastasio exhibiting an extra bite before jumping right into the major jam. Following the Jedi theatrics, the band sauntered into Big Boat boogie “No Men In No Man’s Land.”

Trey swam into some swampy riffage as the band dipped into the instrumental. Anastasio then began to circle as keyboardist Page McConnell switched to warm Wurlitzer electric piano in a fickle sequence that finally settled into a shimmering soundscape with McConnell and Anastasio linking up on a pretty melodic hook.

Trey toggled into a minor space as drummer Jon Fishman kept a lock-steady beat and bassist Mike Gordon began to growl. The band surged and Trey brought things to a boil and conclusion.

“Welcome everybody, welcome. Thanks for being here man,” Trey said before crashing into “Cavern,” which gave way to “My Friend, My Friend.” The quartet has been pulling some stellar improv out of the Rift cut of late, recently turning in the longest version (17:21) at Alpine Valley night one. The Bethel “MFMF” surpassed that rendition in length at 18:30.

Trey conjured wicked feedback from the Languedoc on a demented build up into the coda which then descended into more madness with Mike on some absolutely filthy bass amid smoking stuff from Trey and wild fills from Fish.

The improv then skittered into a push and pull groove. Anastasio dialed up a steel drum-sounding tone before getting into toothier stuff and a “Fuego” tease. Page skated underneath on the Wurly with the jam waxing jazzy.

Some shenanigans from Trey brought “My Friend” to a screeching halt. The band then hopped back into the groove and nailed the impromptu ending the second time.

“What the hell was that?” Trey said following “MFMF.” “I gotta regroup after that one. That was weird. We’re gonna be here for three days. Why not?”

“Bug” scurried in the footsteps of the eventful “My Friend, My Friend.” The Farmhouse track saw Trey toying with “Norwegian Wood” ahead of its conclusion. “Julius” rolled into Bethel next. The rocker boasted barroom piano from Page and a scorcher from Anastasio.

Trey feedback and a Fish drum roll dropped the band into a first set “2001.” The first jam was a more smooth funk affair while the second was an angsty exploration with Anastasio flipping through a number of inventive riffs and tones.

Trey then unfurled the opening strains of “Taste,” which had a couple unsteady moments. Phish kept it with Billy Breathes for the set one closer, “Character Zero,” Anastasio cooking up another torcher to put an exclamation point on the frame.

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

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“The Wedge” bobbed through Bethel to launch the second set. “Tweezer” then rolled out of a solid rendering of “The Wedge.” The jam started in a vibey space with Gordon hammering on the Serek before dropping plodding low end accents. Page worked through brooding to flowery runs on the Wurly.

Trey then hung up on a riff that went from crunchy to bubbly to sinister alien speak before pulling the jam into a bluesier direction. The band then lit into a groove laced with Moog One synthesizer from McConnell.

Next, the improv blossomed into a major space with some nifty right hand work and blooming runs from Anastasio. The sequence evolved into a sweet, extended Allman Brothers’ “Mountain Jam” tease with Page hooking up in harmony ahead of a triumphant lift off.

“Pillow Jets” floated out of “Tweezer,” the first and only song of the evening from Phish’s new album Evolve. But the quartet made it count. Page and Trey conjured some serious thunder with Fish and Gordon following suit, anchoring shreddy stuff from Anastasio in an otherworldly jam. The band then swerved into a galloping groove which saw Trey putting together another multi-FX smoke show. Fish wrangled the band back into “Tweezer” and on into a thumpy throw-down with Page working the Fender Rhodes electric piano.

Trey then steered the group into “Piper,” out of which developed another break-neck section. The band slid into a vibey sequence over a flying but gossamer beat from Fish which Anastasio found his way out of with a flame-thrower and back into “Tweezer” territory.

The Rolling Stones’ “Shine a Light” beamed out of the tempest that was “TweezerJets” and “Piper.” “Chalk Dust Torture” jumped into the ring next to deliver another pummeling that began with a frenetic escapade that mellowed but kept its swagger and even included a “Yankee Doodle” tease from Trey. Why not? The “CDT” jam ended with a triumphant victory lap to seal the second set.

The wildness continued to kick off the encore with punk rocker “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars.” The band then bounced into “Gotta Jibboo” for the first time in an encore since June 17, 2012. “More” brought night one in Bethel to a close. No “Tweezer Reprise” this time folks.

Phish returns to Bethel Woods tonight (August 10). Livestreams for the entire Summer Tour 2024 are available via LivePhish.com.

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