Phish Debuts Another New Song On 2nd Night Of Summer Tour 2023

Phish performed the second show of a two-night Summer Tour 2023 opening run at The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama on Wednesday. Much like the previous performance – which was their first at the recently opened venue – the band played a new song for the first time, dropped into memorable jams and ended the evening with an outstanding encore.

Taking The Orion stage on Wednesday, Phish found themselves in a somewhat unusual position of having to follow an exceedingly above-average tour opener the night before. Over the course of the two sets that followed, the foursome delivered a worthy follow-up, making for a potent start to the summer.

The first set began with “Plasma” marking its lone instance in opening a show. The group quickly got to work as guitarist Trey Anastasio led the development of a choppy, punchy jam. Before venturing too far, Trey steered the group toward a climatic resolution before reintroducing the “Plasma” theme to seal the ending of the opener.

“Sigma Oasis,” the title track to the band’s 2020 studio album, filled the number two slot. Totaling 16 minutes by its end, “Sigma Oasis” ushered in the first big jam of the night as the band surveyed one texture to the next like someone sampling all of the beers at Huntsville’s Straight To Ale Brewery.

The melodic and flowing jam shifted as drummer Jon Fishman employed a jittery, syncopated pattern and keyboardist Page McConnell layered in chunky synth sounds. Constantly shifting shapes, Fish simplified his beat as they entered a spacey and restrained section. Trey started stacking runs, bolstered by Page’s vibrant piano, arriving at a triumphant peak, bringing a sense of accomplishment that reached the space they set out to find.

As the jam wound down into a dissonant resolution, “Wolfman’s Brother” emerged. Keeping with the trend established over the course of the previous 25 minutes, Phish launched into a compact jam propelled by Trey’s repetitive groove. Bassist Mike Gordon’s low end punched through in contrast to Page’s dotting, single-note Wurlitzer accents. Accelerating to an energetic conclusion, Trey led a charge back to the “Wolfman’s” theme to wrap up the fun excursion.

The fifth appearance of “Evolve” came next. The song from Trey’s pandemic-influenced 2020 solo album, Lonely Trip, served to showcase Page’s impressive piano playing. The ninth appearance of “Mull” came next. The song from Mike’s 2023 solo album, Flying Games, recently performed by the bassist’s solo band with Page sitting-in, expanded into a cool Type I jam featuring Mike, Trey and Page grooving on the “Mull” melody.

Fish then kicked into the calming rhythm of “Bouncing Around The Room” for an uplifting run through the now-classic tune. Two more essentials from Phish’s early repertoire filled out the rest of the first set with “Stash” and “David Bowie” coming back-to-back. “Stash” contained an improvised section notable for its brightness, unlike many recent offerings that have steered toward more sinister tones.

Closing out the set, longtime standby “David Bowie” brewed a chill and atmospheric vibe. With his warm tones and assertive playing, Mike unassumingly influenced the overall approach, weaving from one segment to the next, right up to the frantic ending.

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

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Phish rode “A Wave Of Hope” at the onset of the second set. Proving its muster as a second set opener, the Lonely Trip track was the gateway to an intensely focused jam. In contrast to some of the first set improvisation, this was laser-sharp in focus, linear in progression and patient in build. Trey tastefully painted with broad strokes with Page hanging out on Wurlitzer, Mike bounding underneath and Fish steadily holding everyone together.

Frequent jam juggernaut “Fuego” kept the second set rolling and clocked the longest jam of the night. Loose and grungy, Trey started the jam strumming chords while exploring the next direction to take the band. After Mike and Fish locked into a captivating groove, Trey’s tone shifted to a high-pitched, almost toy-like timbre as he introduced a floating melody. Using a talkback microphone to relay instructions, Trey initiated a significant shift in direction and tone, enhanced by Page’s swarming synth swells.

The jam’s second act was painted with a different aural palette, morphing into an upbeat, peppy charge forward. Trey took time finding a progression he could latch onto, cycling through it, and laying out the path forward for the others to follow. Echoing effects made his guitar reverberate as a third act of the jam was hinted at but instead subtle remnants of “Fuego” materialized ahead of a segue into “Piper.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69YBbIYm4c8

Instead of a truly seamless transition into “Piper,” the band collectively reset before fully moving forward with the song. A deep, multi-faceted jam grew out of “Piper,” gathering momentum throughout the energetic, exploratory journey.

One of several new songs recently debuted at Denver’s Mission Ballroom by the Trey Anastasio Trio (Trey, Fish and Trey Anastasio Band bassist Dezron Douglas), “Ether Edge” made its first appearance in a Phish setlist on Wednesday, joining “Oblivion” which was debuted on opening night. The new original sounds like it could have been part of the guitarist’s Ghosts Of The Forest project both in tone and substance. With lyrical mentions of the moon and stars, the dreamy new song’s Rocket City debut seemed all the more fitting.

Once again hitting on the space theme given Huntsville’s rich history with space exploration and NASA, the celestial “Mercury” trailed the new song debut. A bright, effervescent improvised sequence formed as Trey raked his guitar with jangly strumming and Page offered matching textural lines. Stable and balanced, the jam naturally progressed into an easy-to-groove-along-to, blissful summertime vibe, the band acting as a conduit for the audience to receive.

Fish and Trey conspired to segue into the final song of the set, “Free.” Mike’s recently acquired Serek bass was thrust into the spotlight as the others gave him space to rip through one funky line after another. Following his showcase, Mike and the full band collectively moved forward with a bluesy and funky jam that propelled them to the end of the set.

Huntsville’s connection to NASA and other significant scientific programs means the area is home to many well-educated individuals. Signifying that connection, Wednesday’s encore started with “Alumni Blues.” Trey altered the lyrics to “Alumni” to mention PhDs and note that he “got a regular old degree.” A typically blistering “Letter To Jimmy Page” and a return to “Alumni” made for another memorable encore following Tuesday’s five-song finale.

Not done yet, “Run Like An Antelope” was chosen as the final song of the night. Fish triggered samples at the start of “Antelope” but then got serious over the ensuing several minutes of focused drumming. The well-executed “Antelope” was an apt ending to an impressive two-show start to the tour.

Phish opens a three-night run near Atlanta tomorrow, Friday, July 14. Watch livestreams of Friday’s show and the rest of Summer Tour 2023 via LivePhish.com.

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