photo by Rene Huemer (via Phish From the Road on Twitter)

On Friday night, Phish began their second three-night run of Summer 2019 at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI. The show followed suit with the rest of the tour, including interesting song placements, smooth transitions and focused, efficient jamming.

The band kicked off the show in style with a raging version of “Sand,” which produced multiple spirited peaks in a jam that whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The excitement continued when guitarist Trey Anastasio dropped into “Tweezer,” a song often saved for early in the second set (although there have been some excellent first-set versions in 3.0, including earlier this tour in Charlotte and on December 30, 2017, at New York’s Madison Square Garden). This version, at only about 11 minutes, still managed to weave through multiple sections, including a stunning blissful segment. As the jam began to melt away, Anastasio signaled a transition into “Free,” which the band nailed. Though a relatively standard version, the song featured some impressive bass fills from Mike Gordon.

Next came the Kasvot Växt tune “Turtle in the Clouds,” complete with choreography, followed by a well-place “Set Your Soul Free.” The “SYSF” jam was similar to the opening “Sand,” with vicious, bluesy playing from Anastasio. “Lawn Boy” came next, followed by the second “Camel Walk” of the tour. “Theme from the Bottom” featured an uplifting D-mixolydian jam led by Anastasio, and “Rift” was well-placed, with the band navigating the difficult composition fairly well. “Wolfman’s Brother” then brought the set to an energetic close.

Set two began with “No Men in No Man’s Land,” and the subsequent jam was akin to the first-set “Tweezer;” it was not particularly long, but it still featured some impressive communication between band members, settling into multiple distinct segments. As the jam fizzled, Anastasio began “Prince Caspian” and, while the crowd was likely hoping for a jammed-out version à la Magnaball, the band kept it standard before dropping into “Everything’s Right.” At just over 12 minutes, this version featured a quality improvised section, as it often does. A cover of Ween’s “Roses Are Free,” came next, making its first appearance of the summer. The audience relished the chance to sing along with the song, cheering at the end of each phrase. Alas, this version did not contain the much-sought-after “Roses” jam (which has only occurred in earnest three times), but the song delivered an incredible second-set moment nonetheless.

Phish kept the momentum going by dropping into “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” followed by “The Wedge.” An impressive sequence of “Light” > “Plasma” > “Light” followed, with the band executing a surprising segue between “Light” and “Plasma” to begin, later transitioning back into “Light,” albeit in a slightly choppier fashion. The transitions continued, however, as “Light” moved smoothly into “46 Days,” which featured some powerful playing by Anastasio, including a note that seemed to sustain forever. “The Squirming Coil” then wrapped up a very fun set of music. Phish have really been experimenting with encores this tour, and this one was no different. It began with the group’s third performance of the Anastasio-penned “A Life Beyond the Dream,” a song which was featured in his Ghosts of the Forest tour. Next came “Tube,” which has been an encore before, but not particularly often. Finally, the band wrapped up the show with the a capella tune “Grind.”

Check out the setlist below as it appears in our Box Scores section, along with fan-shot video from the evening and pro-shot clips of each set opener via LivePhish’s webcast. Phish return to the Alpine Valley Music Theatre stag tonight for round two of three.

Phish
Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, WI

Set I: Sand, Tweezer > Free, Turtle in the Clouds, Set Your Soul Free, Lawn Boy, Camel Walk, Theme From the Bottom > Rift, Wolfman’s Brother

Set II: No Men In No Man’s Land > Prince Caspian > Everything’s Right > Roses Are Free > Also Sprach Zarathustra > The Wedge > Light > Plasma > Light > 46 Days, The Squirming Coil

Enc: A Life Beyond The Dream, Tube, Grind

Source: phish.net