Outstanding 41-Minute ‘Tweezer’ Highlights Phish’s Return To St. Louis

Phish opened up a two-night run at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis on Tuesday. This was one of those “a tale of two sets” shows. After a lackluster first frame, the band executed a well arranged second set with an adroit, 41-minute “Tweezer” as its crown jewel. It was always lurking, just beneath the surface.

Phish launched the concert at the 10,600 person capacity indoor arena with a tune from keyboardist Page McConnell, the instrumental “Car Trucks Buses.” Off to a rolling start, the quartet moved on to “Gotta Jibboo.” Guitarist Trey Anastasio dialed up the whale noises ahead of a buoyant instrumental sequence with under the sea vibes, which for a moment seemed would take a quick turn back into “Jibboo” until Trey put an edge on things, opting to take a slightly more scenic route back into the Farmhouse cut.

“NICU” slid into Chaifetz Arena next. Though he nailed the verse, Trey flubbed the lyrics on the chorus, singing the “tomorrow’s verse” line twice with a chuckle. A somewhat shaky “NICU” behind them, Phish sashayed into “Ocelot.”

Trey and bassist Mike Gordon linked up on some descending lines leading into the instrumental segment which was energized by inventive drumming from Jon Fishman, accented by fills that went from booming toms to nifty snare work. Anastasio sealed the jam with soaring licks. Phish then jumped into the title track of their new album, Evolve.

“Thanks everybody,” Trey said after “Evolve.” “Thanks for having us back. We’re so happy to be here.”

“Theme From the Bottom” bubbled up next. The highlight of the first set, a solid groove emerged from the song structure of Billy Breathes staple over which Trey draped some pretty guitar lines awash in Fender Rhodes from Page.

Trey cycled through some doubled effects before dropping into a squishy tone with McConnell moving to clavinet. Anastasio then took flight as the band surged behind him, Page on piano. Trey brought the pot to a boil with chromatic runs as McConnell shifted to organ. Phish then shapeshifted into a darker, funkier sequence which the band swerved expertly out of into the “Theme” ending.

“Vultures” swooped into St. Louis in the seventh song slot. The frenetic number was followed by the Josh White and Sam Gary oldie “Timber (Jerry the Mule),” quickly descending into a burble of a jam which Trey put an exclamation point on with hot licks. “Everything’s Right” popped up next.

Trey worked the wah to slip into the improv, laced with hi-hat that wouldn’t quit from Fish. Then, a major sequence bloomed briefly, buoyed by Page’s piano, and fell back into a minor key, Anastasio conjuring edgy riffage from the Languedoc to wrap the first frame.

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

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Phish launched the second set with “I Never Needed You Like This Before,” a standout of Trey’s Lonely Trip solo material and a slick set opener. Anastasio had some wild stuff in store for the banger.

The opening strains of “Tweezer” then rolled through the arena, and as this time of year warrants, Phish delivered a historic rendition. Timing in at 41:10, the St. Louis ‘24 “Tweezer” was the fifth longest “Tweezer” of all time. It follows 1995’s Mud Island and Finger Lakes versions, the Fall ‘94 Bozeman behemoth and the ‘23 spring edition at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley coming in just ahead of the “Tahoe Tweezer” and just a day shy of the 11-year anniversary of that famed outing, as per Phish.net. The St. Louis ‘24 “Tweezer” nabbed the eight spot as the longest jam in Phish history from the recent masterpiece that was “Simple” at Alpine Valley.

Last night’s exploration got underway with some classic “Tweezer” funk, warbling with wahed-out synth from Page. Next, a swirly affair took on “Harry Hood”-like qualities with Gordon bubbling on the bass. Fish switched up the vibe with some Latin rhythms, working the cymbals and tom. Trey then went mad on some autowah descents filtered through effects and loops. Page moved to the Moog One and his Wurlitzer electric piano. Fish continued the Latin-esque jam with a sleek beat on hi-hat and snare.

A demented lurch then devolved into Moog textures and a vibey jam with something sinister lurking underneath it, which soon roared out of Trey in howling blasts before heading back underground, building the tension once again as Trey switched to a stacked effect amid crunchy space Moog before the band went bonkers.

Full-blown descent into madness with Trey pulling some otherworldly sounds from his guitar only to whip out a triumphant coda, Page kicking things up a notch when he switched to piano. Phish then proceeded to blow the roof off Chaifetz, Anastasio absolutely scorching before boisterously dropping back into “Tweezer.”

The band enjoyed a well-deserved ovation before cooling things down with “Ether Edge.” Phish continued to unfurl groovy soundscapes on the Evolve cut which morphed into “Piper.” The tune contained chirpy communication between the quartet and a fluttering landing for the worm on a “The Joker” tease from Mike off all things.

Gordo then led the band through “Meat” complete with some Trey and Mike quality time and some shenanigans from Fish. “Blaze On” sauntered into the arena next. Giving Leo his second moment in the spotlight. “Blaze On” got smoky and billowed up like a thunderhead to seal the second set.

That thing that was lurking came back on “Saw It Again” to kick off the encore, although it’s not as scary, but very entertaining, when Trey giggles through the whole verse. The hottest three minutes in rock ‘n’ roll, “Tweezer Reprise,” wrapped up night one in St. Louis.

Phish plays Chaifetz Arena again tonight. Watch livestreams of Phish’s entire 2024 Summer Tour via LivePhish.com.

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