The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia: Jon Fishman Leads Phish Through Wild Cover Debut At Alpharetta Finale

On Sunday night, Phish concluded their three-night stand at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia with a show that featured plenty of laughs, plenty of jams, and plenty of nods to the Peach State. In contrast to the previous two evenings, each of which spotlighted a single excursion that exceeded 25 minutes, Sunday had many exceptional improvisations that ran slightly less long.

And, in keeping with what has been a theme of the tour, Phish kept fans guessing until the very end, as the encore featured a Georgia-focused Reba McEntire-popularized cover sung by Jon Fishman, and the state’s first “You Enjoy Myself” since 2003.

The evening kicked off with a powerful trio of tunes, as an always-welcome “Buried Alive” opener was followed by a typically powerful “Wilson” and a punchy “NICU.”

Those turned out to be an appetizer for the set’s main course: a knockout version of “Bathtub Gin.” After a relaxed few minutes of improv that saw lovely interplay between guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell and bassist Mike Gordon, the band seemed to realize it had gotten dark enough for Chris Kuroda’s lights to take center stage, and they took a turn for the psychedelic. Trey and Page both shined in the trippy section that followed, before the quartet returned to the song’s closing refrain.

A standard-great “Gumbo” followed. A missed line in the call-and-response section of “Limb by Limb” gave the band a laugh, which made it all the more impressive that they managed to get back on track before the section ended. The song’s jam didn’t miss a note, as they reached an unusually brilliant and inspiring peak.

Up next was the Phish debut of “The Well,” which Trey and Fishman had first played with Dezron Douglas in June. After the song’s light, upbeat first half, it descends into a deep, dark segment reminiscent of the “Saw It Again” outro.

The Well	00:00:00

Channel	ChakaHahn (See 6 videos)
Band	Phish (See 4,307 videos)

The band then ascended from the dark well to the airy heights of “Mountains In The Mist,” and then even kept going until they were out of the atmosphere — “Halfway to the Moon,” to be exact.

Keeping the theme going, “Split Open And Melt” took them plunging below the water line. The song featured a controlled chaos, similar to many recent renditions, in which the band maintained just the faintest connection to the song’s rhythmic and harmonic foundations, while nonetheless keeping a firm grasp on the jam, playing with pure intention.

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

The Skinny

The Setlist
Set 1: Buried Alive > Wilson > NICU, Bathtub Gin, Gumbo, Limb By Limb > The Well ^[1], Mountains in the Mist, Halfway to the Moon, Split Open and Melt Set 2: Mike's Song > Carini > Weekapaug Groove, Sand > Reba, More Encore: The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia ^[2] > Hold Your Head Up ^[3], You Enjoy Myself [1] Phish debut. [2] Phish debut; Fish on guitar. [3] Fish on guitar. This show featured the Phish debuts of The Well and The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (the latter and HYHU featuring Fish on guitar). You Enjoy Myself was played for a fan who had a shirt stating Phish had not played a YEM in Georgia in 20 years.
The Venue
Name	Ameris Bank Amphitheatre [See upcoming shows]
Capacity	12,000
Previously	16 shows 7/03/2010, 7/04/2010, 6/14/2011, 6/15/2011, 7/16/2013, 7/17/2013, 8/03/2014, 10/21/2016, 10/22/2016, 8/03/2018, 8/04/2018, 8/05/2018, 7/31/2021, 8/01/2021, 7/14/2023, 7/15/2023
The Music
First Set	10 songs / 8:01 pm to 9:20 pm (79 minutes)
Second Set & Encore	9 songs / 9:54 pm to 11:31 pm (97 minutes)
Total Songs	19 songs 17 originals / 2 covers
Average Vintage	1997
Average Song Gap	14.35 [Gap chart]
Debuts	The Well, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
Tour Debuts	All but You Enjoy Myself
Biggest Bustout	Limb by Limb LTP 7/24/22 (39 Show Gap)
Longest Song	You Enjoy Myself 18:03
Shortest Song	Hold Your Head Up 2:39
The Spread	Junta - 1, Lawn Boy - 3, The Story of the Ghost - 1, Farmhouse - 1, Fuego - 1, Big Boat - 1, Misc. - 9, Covers - 2
The Rest
Weather	85° and Sunny at Showtime
Guitar	Koa 1

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Set two started off with a straightforward, rocking “Mike’s Song.” The ensuing “Carini” included a double peak: the first in a major key, the second, equally explosive, in a minor key. An upbeat “Weekapaug Groove” closed the suite.

The set’s centerpiece was an outstanding version of “Sand,” during which Trey repeated a simple riff as his bandmates built to an ecstatic climax underneath him — an absolutely stunning moment that only Phish could ever create. The quartet wound the jam into a funk groove that slipped back into the song’s ending. Next up was a rock solid “Reba,” before “More” closed the set.

Finally, the band extended the tour’s streak of excellent encores to five for five. Trey sat behind the drum kit as Fishman took the guitar and lead vocals on a playful romp through Reba McEntire’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” The tune included a Fishman guitar solo that made the “___ Shreds” YouTube videos sound like Mozart.

The song finally concluded and a haphazard take on “Hold Your Head Up” followed. Fish apologized to the audience for his truly wretched guitar playing, saying, “You can tell your grandkids that you actually paid money to see that.” Trey jokingly called the drummer “Moses Brown” and “Moses Dewitt” before calling him “the only man who can part the Red Sea with his guitar playing.”

But that wasn’t all. Trey dedicated the final song of the run to a fan whose shirt noted that it had been 20 years since “You Enjoy Myself” was last played in Georgia. (Fact check: true.) The song itself included a road bump or two in the composed section, but a very strong jam, with a screaming guitar solo and an especially growl-heavy vocal jam. Trey and Page gave Fishman one final bow to cap off the weekend.