Phish Tour 2022: The Mann Night 2 – Recap, Setlist & The Skinny

Phish returned to The Mann Center for the Performing Arts for another show on Wednesday night. Following Tuesday's performance, the second concert capped a satisfying two-night run at the amphitheater in Philadelphia.

Multi-night hometown runs are fantastic. I’ve had the opportunity to go to two shows in a row at The Mann, about two miles from my house. Both days we had friends over before, and saw so many friends in the lot as well. This week, the Phish community was one big beating heart (on a “Soul Planet”).

You’ve heard it was hot right? It was hot. Wow. As we were all melting, the band opened with an appropriately steamy “Steam,” and into an extended “Runaway Jim.” During this tour, they’ve wasted no time getting into extended improv, and this 11-minute version was pretty deep for a two-slot “Runaway Jim.” It didn’t cover a lot of new ground but set the table for an exploratory night.

“Tela” appeared for the first time since Summer ’21, which was a breezy and beautiful break in the heat. We could actually feel it cool down a bit as the band took us through one of the loveliest songs in the catalog. Then, they really jam “Kill Devil Falls” these days, huh? Another 11-minute song, effortlessly working through until they landed into “Theme from the Bottom.”

We also got our first “I Didn’t Know” since Summer ’21, which featured guitarist Trey Anastasio having fun with drummer Jon Fishman‘s vocal pads while Fish played the vacuum. “YEAH.” The highlight of the set, though, was a demented 15-minute “Split Open And Melt.” Lighting director Chirs Kuroda, whose work was fantastic as always, had the whole rig moving along with the dissonant and intense jam, bringing us all a little closer to the cosmos.

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

Thinking about night one and night two, although night one was a cohesive journey from start to finish, last night the jams got deeper, more quickly. In the second set, “AC/DC Bag,” “Soul Planet,” “Simple” and “Light” all highlighted full-band improv that took no time to get going. I feel like I can hear the sound of Summer ’22 evolving, which is exciting. By three minutes into “Soul Planet,” we were in creative territory again.

“Simple,” instead of giving us a blissful release, picked up where the “Melt” from the first set left off. I love that “Simple” can go in one of two directions: ecstasy or evil. This time, they chose the latter. Most of the jams of the evening stayed clear of the typical build and instead took us to funkier, spacier, jazzier spaces. It’s a great thing to get a mix of different kinds of improv, and to me shows that they are fully dedicated to pushing the sound forward.

“Light” gave us the major key uplifting jam of the night, which everyone needed, and slipped right into “Party Time.” “Lonely Trip” was the only breather of the set, before a very solid “David Bowie.” We haven’t been treated to many in-depth “Bowie” performances recently, but this one delivered.

I’m not one to try and call every song, but I really felt like “You Enjoy Myself” was coming at the end of this set or in the encore. Instead, we got a beautiful “Waste” into a rocking “Loving Cup.”

Over two nights, there were only a few slow songs. The band is coming out to give us everything they have, every night. And the balance of the fun “Tweezerfest” of night one with some serious exploration on night two makes me think that we’re in for a lot more evolution in the sound and in the tour. We got a drink, but we always want more.

Phish tour continues Friday with the first of two shows in Bethel, New York. Livestreams are available via LivePhish.com.

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