Phish Tour 2021 – Setlist, Recap & The Skinny: The Gorge Night 2

Saturday night marked the second night of Phish‘s three at the famed Gorge in Washington State. Throughout the night, Phish alternated between expansive jams that highlighted the majesty of the surroundings, and perfectly placed moments of quiet, reflecting the intimacy that such an isolated venue provides. The blissful jam out of the opening “Carini” and the magnificent “Scents And Subtle Sounds” were highlights, but so were “Swept Away / Steep” and “Mountains in the Mist.” Like so many great Phish shows, this one had both range and depth.

If there’s a better way to spend a sunset than with a “Carini” at the Gorge, it’s with a bliss jam out of “Carini” at the Gorge. And that’s how Phish opened Saturday night, with “Carini”‘s initial darkness yielding to a shimmering peak before a lovely outro jam, all in a flawless 14 minutes that somehow also included an audience tortilla war. A typically frenetic “Maze” was followed by “46 Days.” Jon Fishman led the band out of the boundaries of “46 Days” and into deep space during a brief but excellent Type II jam.

“Esther” had been out of action since the 2017 Baker’s Dozen run, but resurfaced and was played quite well despite the time off. A romp through “555” was followed by another Junta song, “Divided Sky,” a song whose juxtaposition of celestial enormity and quiet intimacy fits the isolated expansiveness of The Gorge. The intimate vibe continued in the “Swept Away / Steep” that followed. As appropriate as the lyrics of “Steep” are (“rivers that erode,” “hillsides steep,” “canyons”), this was the song’s first appearance at The Gorge.

Trey Anastasio forgot some lyrics, then giggled through “Boogie On Reggae Woman,” at one point asking the crowd to sing along. The jam featured Trey’s Mu-tron pedal, with his guitar interjecting between Mike Gordon’s bass stabs and Page McConnell’s clavinet punches. A rocking “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” closed out the set.

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

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“Sand” opened the second set with a bang. But after a few minutes of funky jamming, the band shifted to a major key, for some fascinating, energetic yet restrained full-band exploration. The jam eventually combusted, and “Down With Disease” emerged from its smoke. The “Disease” jam covered some incredible territory in just over 10 minutes, with Fishman playing like an eight-limbed beast as Trey found an inspired melodic theme.

“Prince Caspian” flirted with an extended jam before the band embraced the quiet with “Mountains In The Mist.” The two halves of “Scents And Subtle Sounds” were reunited, after the intro was played the night after the song’s second part in Atlantic City two weeks earlier. The band was locked in the moment they started improvising, twisting and winding their way to a groovy psychedelic shuffle, with Fishman once again seeming to fuel his bandmates with his endless creativity and energy. It’s rare that Phish finds such an inspired peak with so little noodling, but they did here. This is a must-hear “Scents.”

The set once again pivoted from patient, dialed-in improvisation to a wide-open slower second set anthem: “Bug.” Following a full set that all seemed to hover in its own existential plane, “Possum” brought the crowd rocking back to earth. And there they stayed for a three-song encore: “Bittersweet Motel” and “Heavy Things,” both of which last appeared in 2019, followed by “About To Run.”

Phish concludes this year’s run at The Gorge again tonight. Livestreams can be purchased via LivePhish.com.

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