Phish Worcester DCU Center Setlist And The Skinny | Night One

Phish Fall Tour 2013 continued tonight with the first of two back-to-back shows at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. This evening’s performance marked the band’s 15th at the venue formerly known as The Centrum, which they first played on December 31, 1993.

The DCU Center recently underwent a $23 million renovation, but some fans’ first impression of the building on Friday night was a bad one as they faced huge bottlenecks at the venue’s doors leading to numerous complaints on social media. Phish came on later than usual, giving the audience extra time to get in, and opened with “Funky Bitch” sung by Massachusetts native Mike Gordon. Keyboardist Page McConnell had strong showings on both “Funky Bitch” and the “Wolfman’s Brother” that followed. McConnell hopped on clavinet right at the start of the “Wolfman’s” jam and stayed on it up until the peak providing a funkier than usual edge to the improvisation. Trey stopped himself in “Wilson” telling the crowd he mistakenly sang the same verse twice, though it was fitting since the “Rog” mentioned in the song was at the show. “Rog” is Roger Holloway, who is also referenced in “AC/DC Bag” and wrote The White Tape track “Aftermath” with Anastasio.

Photos by Parker Harrington:

The tour’s first “The Curtain With” and “Cities” continued a string of old school staples in which four of the show’s first five songs were debuted in 1987 or earlier. The band then jumped into material from the ’90s for standard takes on “Rift” and “Free.” Phish dug deep in to their repertoire for a cover of Jimmy Dale Gilmore’s “My Mind’s Got A Mind Of It’s Own,” which hadn’t been performed in 109 shows. The last “My Mind’s” took place at the DCU Center back on December 28, 2010. “Vultures” saw the return of the “woos” that were so prevalent this summer, while a potent “46 Days” with multiple peaks brought the set to a close.

When the band returned for the second set, a fan handed Trey a Red Sox jersey with the number “13” on the back, which he then held up to huge cheers from the crowd. “Waves” opened the second set -its last time in that slot was way back on June 20, 2009. The quartet moved through a deep space segment in “Waves” into an anthemic progression before landing on “Carini.” The instant classic “Carini” diverged into a deep in-the-pocket groove unlike any other version with plenty of staccato stabs by Page and Trey. A pair of oft-derided Phish originals came next -“Prince Caspian” and “Backwards Down The Number Line.” The beginning of “Ghost” included alternate lyrics and featured a stirring, blissed-out peak after a few minutes of dark and droning exploration. It was then time for a breather as a whistling start to the first “Dirt” of 2013 came out of the soaring “Ghost” improv and gave way to an unusually placed “Down With Disease.” The Vermonters opened “Disease” up ever so slightly, when Anastasio made the decision to start a cover of “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley.” The intense, well-played, albeit straight-forward “Sally” contained a boisterous vocal jam. “Cavern” and a “Run Like An Antelope” with even more punch than usual provided a high-impact finish to the relentless, jam-filled set. For the encore, Phish treated the crowd to the rare quadruple encore of “Contact,” “Suzy Greenberg,” “Rocky Top” and “Good Times Bad Times.” “Contact” had gone missing in 2013 until tonight as the last performance of the Junta track took place on July 7, 2012. Phish returns to the DCU Center tomorrow night.

Setlist…

[via Phish.net]

Here’s The Skinny from Phish’s return to Worcester…

• Venue Capacity / Type: 15,000 / Indoor Arena
• Previous Shows at Venue: 14 Shows – 12/31/1993, 12/28/1995, 12/29/1995, 11/28/1997, 11/29/1997, 11/30/1997, 11/27/1998, 11/28/1998, 11/29/1998, 02/26/2003, 12/27/2010, 12/28/2010, 06/07/2012 and 06/08/2012
• Number Of Songs / Length – First Set: 10 / 8:30 p.m. -9:43 p.m. (73 Minutes)
• Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set & Encore: 14 / 10:18 p.m. -12:09 p.m. (111 Minutes)
• Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 24 / 6 / 18
• Biggest Bustout: My Mind’s Got A Mind Of It’s Own -109 Shows (LTP -12/28/2010)
• Tour Debuts: Wilson, The Curtain With, Cities, MMGAMOIO, Vultures, Waves, Dirt, Sneakin’ Sally, Contact, Rocky Top, GTBT
• Average Song Vintage: 1993
• Debuts: N/A
• Weather: 39° and Clear at Showtime
• Average Song Gap: 15.7
• The Spread: Junta -1, Lawn Boy -1, Picture Of Nectar -1, Rift -1, Hoist -2, Billy Breathes -2, Story Of The Ghost -2, Round Room – 2, Joy -1, Misc. -5, Covers -6
• Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: The Curtain With 13:43 / Rocky Top 2:33
• Audio: Live Phish

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