Photo by Rene Huemer

Last night, Phish opened their first of two evenings scheduled before the sprawling cascading fields of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y. The show was balanced with an exploratory first segment and a second set lush full of both instrumental and vocal harmonies, with 17 songs that debut before 2000, making it what many would consider a 1.0 set.

Phish evening kicked off a scientific pairing of “Golgi Apparatus” and “Sample in a Jar.” The Vermont-based band then moved into a cover of Clifton Chenier’s “My Soul” before breaking into “Gumbo,” which was unfinished and had a tease of “Long Tall Glasses” from keyboardist Page McConnell. Phish continued to their performance, jamming from guitarist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall’s “Saw It Again” into Josh White’s “Timber Jerry the Mule” into “Meat.” Next came a three-track run of “Lawn Boy,” a nod to a venue, into “My Friend, My Friend,” into “Guelah Papyrus,” during the run, Anastasio and Mike Gordon shared their iconic dance. The frame’s penultimate track, “Brian and Robert,” came next before they closed with “Walk Away.”

Phish returned from their short walk away from the stage with a performance of Anastasio’s “Mr. Completely.” Lighting designer extraordinaire Chris Kuroda let loose a sail of cooling color over the band during the track, which flowed into fan favorite “You Enjoy Myself.” The track highlighted the group’s vocals, and the lawn full of fans echoed back to them. As the sonic arrangement got hotter and drummer Jon Fishman added some piping air, the tune burst fittingly into “Fuego.” Gordon and Fishman’s playing melded during the track, which cooled down and settled into “Joy.”

After a brief pause, they moved into a cover of Stevie Wonder’s beloved song “Boogie On Reggae Woman,” allotting fans a moment to groove over Phish’s unique blend of funk. Phish kept things buoyant, continuing the set with a jam of “Scents and Subtle Sounds” into “Wilson” into “Possum,” and finally set closer “Cavern.”

Phish returned to the stage with a single song encore of “A Life Beyond The Dream,” which saw expert fills from Fishman and stimulating fretwork from Anastasio. Phish will return to Bethel Woods tonight.

Phish
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts – Bethel, N.Y.
July 23, 2022

Set I: Golgi Apparatus > Sample in a Jar, My Soul, Gumbo^[1] -> Saw It Again > Timber (Jerry the Mule) > Meat, Lawn Boy > My Friend, My Friend > Guelah Papyrus, Brian and Robert, Walk Away

Set II: Mr. Completely > You Enjoy Myself > Fuego > Joy, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Scents and Subtle Sounds > Wilson > Possum > Cavern

Enc,: A Life Beyond The Dream

[1] Unfinished.