Phish Dusts Off ‘Icculus’ At DICK’S Finale: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Phish brought the 2022 Summer Tour to a close on Sunday with the final show of their 11th annual Labor Day Weekend Dick’s run in Commerce City, Colorado.

Just after 8:00pm, the band came on stage and lit up the crowd with a raging “First Tube” opener. A driving “Bathtub Gin” was tapped next as the first out-of-the-box jamming of the night showed up. A playful “Undermind,” Ghosts of the Forest cut “Drift While You’re Sleeping” and a truncated “Halley’s Comet” took over the next segment of the first set, keeping the flow going and extending the fun and party Sunday Show vibe.

The ensuing “Everything’s Right,” while only clocking in at 11 minutes, was one of the finest jams of the night – a slow, gorgeous jam akin to the April 21, 2022 “Tweezer” or July 2, 1997 “Stash” developed with guitarist Trey Anastasio utilizing some crystal-clear sustain to weave melodies into a peak. Keyboardist Page McConnell’s contributions to this jam were also exceptional, first on synths and then moving to piano.

“More” and a well-executed “Fluffhead” took the Colorado crowd into the final setbreak of the weekend on a high note.

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

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“Set Your Soul Free” opened the second frame, covering an immense amount of ground in its 17 minutes. One of the year’s most consistent jam vehicles, “SYSF” seemed purposeful from the get-go, almost hinting at themes of “Weekapaug Groove” and “Hold Your Head Up” atop a soft bed of Page’s Wurlitzer. Another strong major-key theme developed before Trey took the lead and gradually led the improv to a darker place. A sparse and ambient groove emerged, dominated by Trey and Page’s synth tones and a strong bedrock of Mike Gordon‘s bass textures. Landing somewhere in between major and minor, Phish transitioned into “Fuego.”

Yet another relatively compact jam, the title track from the band’s 2014 LP wasted no time in departing the song into Type-II territory. Trey began looping synth tones as Page filled the space with beautiful Rhodes playing. A major modulation around 10.5 minutes gave way to another incredible two-chord bliss jam. For this one, Trey utilized heavy delay to craft a soundscape over Jon Fishman‘s steady drumbeat. “A Life Beyond the Dream” offered the lone breather of the set before “Crosseyed and Painless” roared in. Raging atop Fish’s unrelenting drumming, Trey led a smooth transition to major mode (almost throwing in a “Little Drummer Boy” tease on the way) without losing a lick of energy from the jam. Continuing to charge forward, “Crosseyed” peaked exceptionally well and then crashed into the hi-hat intro to “David Bowie.”

One of the hallmarks of the post-pandemic Phish era (4.0, if you will) are unpredictable songs getting the jam treatment. While “Bowie” was one of Phish’s most reliable vehicles until 2004, it has remained dormant for most of the last 13 years — its 2022 resurgence has been an incredible gift. Packing yet another strong Type II excursion into only 11 minutes, Page led the charge to major key on this one to give us a final dose of strong jamming before “Loving Cup” closed out the final set of the run.

A beautiful “Divided Sky” began the encore before Trey took a minute to shout out Phish’s longtime stage manager Paul “PI” Ingwersen whose retirement began after last night’s show. Talking about what he might do in retirement, the band slowly struck up “Icculus.” The first outing of the song since the July 14, 2019 Alpine Valley show, this song was an absolute treat as the crowd went wild for the old-school Phish shtick.

Speculation also began about a possible spelling of “DICKS” in the encore, and hopes were only fueled when Phish ripped into “Character Zero” next. The band faked us out once again (whether on purpose or not is unclear) and ended the show and their eleventh Dick’s run with a bang.

What to say about Phish in 2022?

Despite some less-than-ideal setlist calls here and there, the absolute strength of the improvisation on a nightly basis, the FUN the band is so visibly having, and the complete out-of-left-field jam choices (who EVER would have predicted that “Sample in a Jar” would become a regular jam vehicle?) helped the band deliver an incredible tour that will be looked back on for years to come. From the Bangor “Down With Disease” and its expansive 30-minute runtime to the short but extended Bethel “Gumbo,” each note played has their intent for our delight all over it.

We are truly so lucky to have our band about to enter its 40th year and still be performing at such an incredibly high level on a nightly basis.

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