Phish Tour Resumes In Nashville – Setlist & Recap

Phish tour continued on Tuesday at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville after a solid pair of shows in Albany and an outstanding three-night run in Hampton. Tuesday’s first set featured rare song choices and a must-hear second set filled to the brim with outstanding improvisation, which made for another stellar evening in Music City.

The Ascend Amphitheater is vastly different than any other site where the band is playing during Fall Tour 2018 as it’s outdoors and half the size of the next biggest venue. While Phish may not have a long and storied history of past performances at the Ascend Amphitheater as they do at Hampton Coliseum and Albany’s Times Union Center, each of their first three shows at the venue was memorable. The band made their debut in the room on August 4, 2015 on an evening best remembered for the return of the second jam in “Mike’s Song”, hosted a guest appearance from Bob Weir on October 18, 2016 and delivered one of the best sets of Fall ’16 the next night. Also of note, Phish was the second artist to play Ascend Amphitheater following two shows from Eric Church on July 30 and 31, 2015.

Phish treated the capacity crowd in Nashville to just the fourth-ever “Tweezer Reprise” opener and first since June 19, 2010 at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, New York. The anthem came nearly three days after the quartet dropped a standout “Tweezer” during the second set in Hampton on Saturday night and went on to conclude the run at the Mothership without the accompanying “Reprise.” Next came straightforward versions of “Party Time” and “Free.” Bassist Mike Gordon then led his mates through a cover of The Dillards’ “The Old Home Place,” which was last played on December 30, 2016 – a span of 56 shows. Gordon received a shout out from keyboardist Page McConnell who urged the audience to “give it up” for the bassist during “Lawn Boy.” McConnell went on to dedicate “Lawn Boy” to the people on the lawn at the only open-air stop of the tour.

Nearly 20 years ago Phish donned a musical costume of The Velvet Underground’s Loaded on October 31, 1998 in Las Vegas. “Rock & Roll” was the only song from the 10-track LP to find a home in the band’s repertoire, so it’s always a treat when one of the other tunes from Loaded sees action. “Cool It Down” got the call in Nashville, making its return after 229 shows. The second biggest bust out of the year wasn’t executed perfectly yet was welcomed with open arms. Phish nailed the “Theme From The Bottom” that followed. Gordon then had his second turn in the spotlight on lead vocals for a cover of Son Seals’ “Funky Bitch.” While the four-piece kept within the lines throughout the first set, the frame ended with a trio of songs featuring extra zest from guitarist Trey Anastasio. Trey showed off a variety of dirty and distinctive tones as Phish made their way through a run of “Kill Devil Falls,” “Wolfman’s Brother” and “Character Zero.”

In a move that brought back memories of Phish’s aforementioned debut at Ascend Amphitheater, the band kicked off the second set on Tuesday with “Mike’s Song.” It’s rare for the first “Mike’s Song” jam to include blissful improvisation, yet Anastasio led a move to a beautiful territory where the quartet hit paydirt. After a few glorious minutes of bliss jamming, the guitarist struck a dark chord to signal a transition to a minor key. His band mates quickly fell in line for a segment far removed from a typical “Mike’s Song.” The must-hear and harmonically adventurous “Mike’s” featured yet another shift in keys and was left unfinished ahead of spot-on segue into “Ghost.” Phish took time finding an avenue to pursue in “Ghost,” but once they settled in the quartet unleashed a screaming egalitarian jam that contained more jaw-dropping improvisation. Drummer Jon Fishman played with the energy and power of a musician half his age and effortlessly varied tempos throughout the epic “Ghost” in providing a dance party for the faithful. All told, the otherworldly “Mike’s Song” > “Ghost” sequence spanned 30 minutes and easily stands among the best segments of the year.

“Everything’s Right” was a fitting song choice to follow such a memorable start to the set. Phish wasted little time before jumping into the third deliciously weird jam of the closing stanza. Mike held down the bottom end, Fish provided a deep groove, Page added layers of Rhodes and Trey worked in angular leads as fog flooded the stage. If the “Mike’s” and “Ghost” were noteworthy for how much ground Phish covered, “Everything’s Right” was intriguing for how far the band could dig into one chord sequence. “Set Your Soul Free” eventually emerged out of “Everything’s Right,” which made for a pairing of jam vehicles originally performed by the Trey Anastasio Band ahead of their recent adaption to the Phish repertoire. McConnell starred on the multi-faceted “Set Your Soul Free” jam thanks to the pretty harmonies he’d float from the various instruments in his rig. Fifty-five minutes into the instant classic set, Phish finally took a breather by covering Los Lobos’ “When The Circus Comes.”

The six-song second set came to a conclusion with “Weekapaug Groove.” Anastasio employed a chunky tone and focused on rhythms as Page wailed away on piano. Even when Trey finally lit into a solo to bring “Weekapaug” to a triumphant peak, McConnell was still going wild. Anastasio threw in distinct teases of Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone From The Sun” for good measure. Phish capped the evening with a “Loving Cup” encore and returns to Ascend Amphitheater on Wednesday. A free webcast is available on YouTube.

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