Phish, Red Rocks, 8/2/09. Photo by Emily Weissleder

Phish kicked off its first full fall tour in nine years last night at Detroit, MI’s Cobo Arena. The quartet had not performed in Michigan in close to a decade last night and had not returned to Detroit proper since 1992. The show’s first set focused mostly on the group’s rock-based staples—“AC/DC Bag,” “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan,” “Sample in a Jar” and “Kill Devil Falls”—but did feature a few rarer songs like “Foam,” “It’s Ice” and “Poor Heart.” In addition, the group played the first electric “Mountains in the Mist” since reuniting (the song’s “on the road again” lyrics felt appropriate given the tour opener setting).

Phish’s second set also included a number of live staples, ranging from a set-opening “Runaway Jim” to a run from “Down with Disease” into “Free,” the ballad “Waste,” a classic Mike’s Groove segment and a set-closing “Cavern.” The lone encore of “Character Zero” closed the night. The group will perform at Cincinnati, OH’s U.S. Bank Arena this Friday.