Phish Tour 2021 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny: The Gorge Night 3

Phish wrapped up their three-night run at the majestic The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington on Sunday. The band would deliver a cohesive closer to their Gorge run with highlights including a monster “Mr. Completely” to launch the second set along with five tour debuts.

Phish kicked things off with a tight and groovy “Cool Amber And Mercury.” Guitarist Trey Anastasio stretched out a bit, beginning with twang-tinged riffs and building into a flurry of hot licks. The Kasvot Växt cut preceded Trey counting the band into “The Moma Dance.” The Story Of The Ghost track featured killer funk with keyboardist Page McConnell on perfectly placed Clavinet. The nautical tune also saw a staccato break down before Anastasio reeled off some rapid-fire notes.

The Vermont quartet concluded “Moma” and Trey chugged out the opening strains to “Free.” After running through the first verses, Phish continued the funk on the jam with Anastasio laying down low-end work before offering soaring licks and a nice segue into the hits ahead of the final chorus. Phish then reached into its members’ solo catalogs beginning with the title track to Anastasio’s 2020 pandemic album Lonely Trip. The tune contained nice melodic work from both Page and Trey. The band then delivered a driving tour debut of “How Many People Are You,” a song originating from bassist Mike Gordon‘s solo repertoire. After Gordon led the band through the opening verses, McConnell came in hot on the organ before the quartet settled into a groove which built into some big notes from Trey and whirlwind fills from drummer Jon Fishman. Mike stepped to the mic again for the final verse and chorus. Trey would then lead a major key change on a driving jam that saw Page adding synth to the mix ahead of the song’s conclusion.

Anastasio then hit the opening chords to “Bathtub Gin.” Page did his thing on the piano as Trey led the band through the song. Phish would get into a “Gin” excursion with Trey soloing as McConnell manned his Wurlitzer electric piano. Fishman once again had some nice ride cymbal work as Anastasio reeled off some trilly notes before hitting chords and a segue into a more funkified jam which then saw Page leading a major change on the Moog. Lighting designer Chris Kuroda delivered a stunning light show as the jam built with Trey providing wailing notes at the end before the band headed back into the “Gin” chords and the slowed down ending.

“Back On The Train” followed and saw Trey smiling back at Fish as the quartet got into the countrified, funky tune, which saw Trey teasing “No Men In No Man’s Land.” A jaunty jam then ensued but didn’t go too deep ahead of “My Friend My Friend,” which featured a wild build-up and went sans “Myfe” ending. Phish then launched into a version of the Gorge appropriate “Rift.” The classic closer “Character Zero” wrapped up the first set and saw Trey getting into it with big smiles and dance moves. He utilized his swampy, clav-like tone and fit in a “L.A. Woman” tease before tearing things up over the vocal coda.

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

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The second set got underway with “Mr. Completely” from the Anastasio solo catalog. The song has been a jam vehicle for the band and the Gorge version was no different with the quartet getting right to it as Trey played with the melody and added some echo. Anastasio would continue the echo work as the band dropped into a darker section which would switch gears to a more major sequence that led into a breezy jam with both Trey and Page teasing Donovan’s “There Is A Mountain.” Kuroda would utilize a Ferris Wheel-like light pattern as Anastasio got into some almost backward-sounding riffs ahead of some crunchier work on the low end. A shimmering section would then emerge with Page lacing in Moog as the keyboardist worked both his Wurlitzer and Rhodes electric pianos. Gordo got in on the fun with a synth-like effect on his bass before Anastasio built up the jam with some ascending lines ahead of a bliss moment. Anastasio then dropped the band into “Meat.” Phish had some fun on the chorus before Mike and Trey traded some low end riffs face to face.

Next up came Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed And Painless.” Fish led the band through the beloved cover with McConnell adding some more tasty Clav work. The delightfully dark and funky jam saw Trey reprising the “Mr. Completely” riff before the band headed into the spooky “Saw It Again,” another tour debut. The descending jam saw Anastasio utilizing more swampy tones complemented by Page on both piano and synth. “Saw It Again” then segued into the first “The Mango Song” of 2021. The tune boasted cascading piano from Page along with a happy jam before McConnell and Trey joined together on the twinkling coda ahead of the bluesy conclusion.

“Everything’s Right” came next and saw the band stretching out once again, dropping into a vibey groove. Trey would swerve the band into a different direction with some rhythm work coupled with Gordon on a driving bassline. Another fitting song for the remote Gorge Amphitheatre followed in “Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1,” and a rise came from the crowd after the “We’re all here together and the weathers’ fine” lyric. As the band got into the floating jam, Trey asked Kuroda to “turn off the lights dude” as the band and audience sailed along underneath a sea of stars.

The tour first of McConnell’s “I Always Wanted It That Way” would emerge from “Sea Of Stars” and the electronic-tinged number got the Gorge moving. After Page led the band through the first verses, The Chairman Of The Boards would work on both the Moog and Wurly as Anastasio delivered some wah-washed chord work. Trey also laced the jam with “Mr. Completely” and “Crosseyed” teases before building the joyous jam up to a “white light” moment. The song, and second set, ended with a rousing return to the “Mr. Completely” melody.

Phish re-emerged to kick off the encore with the final tour debut of the evening, The Rolling Stones’ “Shine A Light,” the second Stones number the band has played at the Gorge since opening with “Torn And Frayed” on Friday. Stones drummer Charlie Watts passed away on Tuesday of last week. The classic closer “First Tube” followed. Trey, as always, looked to be having a blast on the tune and delivered his usual guitar wizardry before closing with his iconic stance, guitar held high, to put an exclamation point on the night and the Gorge run.

Phish’s next show is on Tuesday at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California for the first of two concerts that were moved from Stateline, Nevada. Livestreams can be purchased via LivePhish.com.

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