Photo by Justin Wendt

Phish marked the halfway point on the first leg of their 2012 Summer Tour last night with a performance at Burgettstown, PA’s First Niagara Pavilion. Returning to the venue for the first time since 2009, Phish treated the crowd to a long list of fan favorites throughout the evening, including the tour’s first versions of “Scent of a Mule” (featuring Page McConnell on theremin at times) and “You Enjoy Myself.” “YEM” returned last night for the first time in 12 shows—having been last performed on December 29, 2011 during the group’s New Years run at Madison Square Garden in New York—matching the largest gap in the song’s 26 year history. During a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Torn and Frayed,” bassist Mike Gordon switched over to a vintage Fender Precision bass (which was revealed earlier in the day via the @Phish_FTR Twitter feed) for the duration of the song. Gordon talked to us about his reasons for using a Fender bass during some of last year’s encores in an interview we did with him several months back.

The Fender bass reemerged for one more song during the evening as the group kicked off the second set with “Gotta Jibboo,” before leading into a “Mike’s Groove” filled out by “Simple” and “Light” in the center. “Light” proved as yet another improvisational highlight of the tour, following the highly explorational version of “Twist” the previous night. “Seven Below” saw its 2012 debut before the set closed out with the classic lineup of “Bouncing Around the Room” into “Julius” into “Slave to the Traffic Light.” For the encore, the group once again returned for rare number—this time “The Lizards.”

Phish returns to the road tonight at the Blossom Music Center in
Cuyahoga Falls, OH.

Here’s a look at the setlist from last night.

First Niagara Pavilion
Burgettstown, PA

Set 1: Funky Bitch, Backwards Down the Number Line, Gumbo, Maze$this->footnoteID(‘1’,’‘), Torn and Frayed, The Moma Dance > Scent of a Mule$this->footnoteID(‘2’,’‘), 46 Days, You Enjoy Myself$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘)

Set 2: Gotta Jibboo > Mike’s Song > Simple > Light > Weekapaug Groove$this->footnoteID(‘4’,’‘) -> Seven Below, Bouncing Around the Room > Julius > Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: The Lizards

[1] Eleanor Rigby tease from Page and Trey.
[2] Mule duel featured Page on theremin.
[3] Scent of a Mule tease from Trey.
[4] Divided Sky tease from Trey.

Source: Phish.net