Phish The Gorge Setlist And The Skinny | Night Two
By Team JamBase Jul 27, 2013 • 8:00 pm PDT
This evening, Phish returned to the Gorge Ampitheatre in George, WA for a show that brought a two-night stand at the scenic venue to a close. Last night’s performance was an instant classic with all the elements that makes a Phish show great. Tonight, the quartet delivered a scorching first set that included the debut of a new original and a tribute to a musical legend we just lost. The second set was all about the improv as Phish offered one high-intensity jam vehicle after another.
The beautiful view at The Gorge was disrupted by smoke pouring out of a nearby wildfire all night, leaving a surreal scene behind the stage. Phish emerged at 8:10 p.m. and opened with “Architect” off guitarist Trey Anastasio’s 2012 solo album Traveler. The jam giants debuted their version of the Anastasio/Dude Of Life-penned tune back on July 6, 2013 at SPAC and played it again a week later at Merriweather Post Pavilion. “Golgi Apparatus” had been notably missing from Phish setlists this tour, but returned tonight in the #2 slot. Next up was the tour debut of “The Curtain With,” which was last played on June 28, 2012 at Deer Creek. Repertoire staples “Kill Devil Falls” and “The Moma Dance” smoked, fitting considering what was billowing from a nearby mountain. Both keyboardist Page McConnell and Anastasio then built their “Maze” solos to frenetic peaks. Speaking of McConnell, he seems to take the lead on a song a night during the first sets this tour -“Beauty Of A Broken Heart” served as tonight’s selection. Phish broke up a string of seven originals with a well-played cover of “Roses Are Free” by Ween. From there, bassist Mike Gordon led the way on a debut of a song he wrote with Scott Murawski called “Say Something,” a funky number that had a Little Feat-meets-Emotional Rescue era Stones feel to it. The song’s jam/solo has plenty of nooks and crannies for Phish to explore in the future. “Ocelot,” which continues to impress, was the latest entry into the “6 Club” as one of the songs the band has played six times this tour (three in the last five shows). Fans wondered how Phish would tip their hats towards J.J. Cale, who passed away last night, and the answer came with a cover of perhaps his best-known song – “After Midnight.” The Vermonters famously debuted “After Midnight” at Big Cypress on December 31, 1999 and tonight’s fiery set-closer marked their first take on Cale’s song since a May 31, 2011 show at PNC Bank Arts Center.
The band returned to the stage at 10:08 with another “Down With Disease” second set opener, the fifth time this tour it’s kicked off Set Two. Drummer Jon Fishman kept the jam rolling at a steady tempo through the ten-minute mark, while his band mates floated different musical ideas at each other, never quite settling in on any one in particular. The quartet eventually landed on the main riff of the title track from 2004’s Undermind LP and smoothly segued into the tune. McConnell hopped on electric piano for a funky solo before Anastasio turned on a phaser-like effect giving his guitar a thick tone for his brief first solo. Trey went with a more traditional tone for a buttery second solo and space jam that together made for one of the improvisational highlights of the nights. Fishman utilized his Marimba Lumina during the delightfully spacey segment that gave way to “Light.” Once again Phish used “Light” as a platform to dive off the deep end into the darkness, though after a few impressive minutes of jamming Trey pulled the plug in favor of the tour’s first “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley.” “Sally” contained a raucous vocal jam, mesmerizing clav work from Page and an orgasmic guitar solo that peaked multiple times. After the solo, more spacey improv dissolved into “Also Sprach Zarathrustra.” Expecting a breather? Perhaps a ballad? Not this time, as Page lit into the intro of Round Room gem “Walls Of A Cave” following the tight and nasty “2001.” All four members went at “Walls” with a relentless intensity, which made for an outstanding version of the post-hiatus song. More delicious end-of-song spaciness led into “Fluffhead.” The energy never let up at any point of the closing stanza and following an extra spicy “Fluff’s Arrival,” Trey thanked everyone as if the set was ending. However it was an end-of-set fake out as the guitarist then started “Run Like An Antelope.” In keeping with the show’s theme, the set-closing “Antelope” was a bombastic affair with jaw-dropping riffage from Anastasio, who remarked “what a beautiful place to play music” The Gorge is before leaving the stage. Twenty songs into the evening “Show Of Life” was the show’s first ballad to begin an encore that also featured a potent take on Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times.” Phish has two days off before a two-night stand in Lake Tahoe kicks off on Tuesday.
Setlist…
[via Phish.net]
Here’s The Skinny from Phish’s first of two shows at The Gorge…
- Venue Capacity / Attendance / Type: 20,000 / 17,000 (estimate) / Outdoor Amphitheatre
- Previous Shows at Venue: 13 Shows – 08/02/1997, 08/03/1997, 07/16/1998, 07/17/1998, 09/10/1999, 09/11/1999, 07/12/2003, 07/13/2003, 08/07/2009, 08/08/2009, 08/05/2011, 08/06/2011 and 07/26/2013
- Number Of Songs / Length – First Set: 11 / 8:10 p.m. -9:38 p.m. (88 Minutes)
- Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set & Encore: 10 / 10:08 p.m. -11:50 p.m. (102 Minutes)
- Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 21 / 4 / 17
- Biggest Bustout: After Midnight -87 Shows (LTP – 05/31/2011)
- Tour Debuts: Golgi Apparatus, The Curtain With, Say Something, After Midnight, Sneakin’ Sally
- Average Song Vintage: 1999
- Debuts: Say Something (Gordon/Murawski)
- Weather: 82° and Sunny at ticket time
- Average Song Gap: 13.2
- The Spread: Junta -2, Lawn Boy -1, Rift -1, Hoist -1, The Story of The Ghost -1, Round Room -1, Undermind -1, Joy -3, Misc. -5, Covers -5
- Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: Fluffhead 14:06 / Beauty Of A Broken Heart 4:59
- Audio: Live Phish
Phish From The Road Photos…
Poster…
Coins…
