Phish Worcester DCU Center Setlist And The Skinny | Night Two

By Scott Bernstein Oct 26, 2013 • 4:50 pm PDT

Phish Worcester DCU Center Setlist And The Skinny | Night Two
FULL BREAK DOWN OF 2013 WORCESTER PHISH FINALE

After a scorching start to a pair of back-to-back shows at the DCU Center last night, Phish concludes their visit to Worcester, MA tonight. This evening’s performance marks the band’s 16th at the venue formerly known as The Centrum, which they first played on December 31, 1993.

[Photo by Parker Harrington]

Phish opened with “Party Time,” a song we mentioned had “Gone Missing” in 2013, as tonight was the first version since New Year’s Eve. Another tour debut, “Punch You In The Eye,” followed. The band went the bluesy route next with a fiery “Back On The Train” and a cover of Clifton Chenier’s “My Soul.” After a slow start to the “Bathtub Gin” jam, drummer Jon Fishman picked up the pace leading to a furious finish highlighted by guitarist Trey Anastasio’s flurry of jaw-dropping riffs. Page McConnell took a turn in the spotlight for a cover of Blues Image’s ’70s one-hit-wonder “Ride Captain Ride,” which Phish last played on December 30, 2012.

As the set moved along, the Vermonters patiently built the “Stash” jam to a full rolling boil with outstanding interplay between McConnell and Anastasio in particular. “Simple” showed off the prettier side of Phish’s improvisational prowess as opposed to the evil “Stash.” Both “Gin” and “Stash” saw the band build jams to climaxes, but “Simple” went in the opposite direction as the improv started off at a fast pace and delicately faded to near silence when Fishman cued “David Bowie.” Peak lovers fear not, both the adventurous “David Bowie” and crowd-pleasing “Character Zero” that brought the first set to a close had big rock finishes.

When Phish returned for the second set, Page gave the crowd a score update for the third game of the World Series which features the local Red Sox going up against the St. Louis Cardinals. The audience went wild after it was revealed the Boston team had tied the Cardinals leading to a raucous start of “Drowned.” Following a few minutes of deep-space exploration, the band continued a theme of the tour’s jamming by landing on a classic rock-sounding chord progression and working it over until Anastasio decided it was time to take the lead. Trey took the jam in a more blissful direction as bassist Mike Gordon laid down a bubbly, envelope-filtered bass line to anchor the groove. The next segment of the soaring improv had hints of Jimmy Cliff’s “Sitting Here In Limbo” before the guitarist kicked in to “Light.” Just as the “Light” in Rochester focused on a funk-infused groove, tonight’s version was in a similar vein. Instead of morphing the jam into “Golden Age” as they did on Tuesday night, the band patiently rode the crest of the groove for a while. Thirty minutes into the set the “Light” dissolved and “Sand,” just the third song of the set, began. A tight and frisky “Sand” gave way to “Theme From The Bottom.” The tour’s second “Mike’s Song” segued into a impeccably-executed cover “No Quarter” and a euphoric “Weekapaug Groove,” marking the second time Phish had played that sequence (it was also performed at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on September 1, 2012).

The quartet continues to go with unorthodox encore selections as tonight “Boogie On Reggae Woman” got the call along with “Possum.” In an interesting twist, Jon Fishman gave the drumming seat over to Kenwood Dennard for “Boogie On” and “Possum.” Fish appeared at the end of “Boogie On” to introduce Dennard, who he referred to as “one of my favorite drummers.” Dennard, an associate professor of music at Boston’s Berklee College Of Music, has a storied resume including performances with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Gil Evans, Dizzy Gillespie and Wayne Shorter.

[Possum w/ Kenwood Dennard]

Setlist…

[via Phish.net]

Click here to view the full breakdowns of every show Phish has played in 2013 including setlists, recaps and our statistical rundowns.

Here’s The Skinny from Phish’s Worcester Finale…

  • Venue Capacity / Attendence / Type: 15,000 / Indoor Arena
  • Previous Shows at Venue: 15 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, 06/08/2012 and 10/25/2013
  • Number Of Songs / Length – First Set: 10 / 8:23 p.m. -9:48 p.m. (85 Minutes)
  • Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set & Encore: 9 / 10:25 p.m. -11:53 p.m. (88 Minutes)
  • Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 19 / 5 / 14
  • Biggest Bustout: Ride Captain Ride -33 Shows (LTP -12/30/2012)
  • Tour Debuts: Party Time, Punch You In The Eye, My Soul, Ride Captain Ride, Simple, Drowned, No Quarter
  • Average Song Vintage: 1994
  • Debuts: N/A
  • Weather: 43°F and Fair at Showtime
  • Average Song Gap: 11.53
  • The Spread: Junta -1, Lawn Boy -1, Picture Of Nectar -1, Billy Breathes -2, Farmhouse -2, Joy -1, Misc. -6, Covers – 5
  • Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: Drowned 20:00 / Ride Captain Ride 5:06
  • Audio: Live Phish

Phish From The Road Photos and Videos…

Poster…

 

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