Photo by Rene Huemer

Phish continued their summer tour this past weekend with a two-night stand at Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Md. The weekend featured the return of “Taste,” after 55 shows, an almost 20-minute “Tweezer,” and the tour debut of fan favorite “Meatstick.”

Phish kicked off the weekend on Saturday, July 30, with “Sand” before dusting off “If I Could” for the song’s first performance of the tour. The band then kicked the energy up a notch with “Buried Alive,” which segued into “Set Your Soul Free” and a fast, shreddy “Llama.” Phish then moved into “Halfway to the Moon” and took the song into a short but sweet “Shafty.” To close out the set, Phish performed “Strawberry Letter 23,” which melted right into Gamehendge classic “The Lizards.”

The second set began with a high-octane “First Tube,” which went into an exploratory jammed-out “Fuego,” a jam some have considered a tour highlight. Phish kept the segues going, launching right into “Sigma Oasis” and transitioning into “Prince Caspian,” then “Waves,” and bringing the suite into “Meatstick,” much to the audience’s delight. “Meatstick” then melded together with a performance of “Simple,” which the band transformed into “The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony” before closing out the seamless set with “Suzy Greenberg.” Phish returned to the stage for an encore of “Alumni Blues,” transitioning into “Letter to Jimmy Page” and going back into “Alumni Blues.” Phish brought “Alumni Blues” into “Character Zero” to close out the night.

The second night of the Merriweather Post Pavillion stand kept the energy going, kicking off with a 14-minute “Wave of Hope.” Phish then launched into the bluesy “Dogs Stole Things” before kicking off “AC/DC Bag,” which featured a short jam. Up next was the ever-fun “Sparkle” – a short performance before the band performed “Back on the Train.” Phish then brought out “Mull,” a relatively new song that saw its debut last August. The band then performed “Foam,” a complex, composed number, and closed the set with a monster 14-minute jam of “Ghost.”

The second set began with “Halley’s Comet.” The jam was short-lived as the band found its way to “Tweezer,” which they brought for an almost 20-minute walk. Full of sonic exploration, the jam gradually transformed into “Wingsuit” before Phish brought it back home to “Tweezer” – playing the iconic riff and jumping into a tension-filled “Birds of a Feather.” Up next was a gleeful performance of “Joy,” which the band brought into “Taste,” a 55-show bust-out – the longest gap of the song in Phish history. Phish then took “Taste” into the melodic and spacey “What’s the Use?,” but kicked the energy up a notch with a funky dance party in the form of “The Howling.” “The Howling” found its way to “Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S” to close out the set. As an encore, Phish performed “Show of Life” and “Loving Cup,” which they brought into “Tweezer Reprise,” a high-energy end to the jam-filled weekend.

Phish will continue their summer tour on Tuesday, Aug. 2, at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Tickets to their upcoming shows can still be purchased here.

Phish
Merriweather Post Pavillion – Columbia, Md.
July 30, 2022

Set I: Sand, If I Could, Buried Alive > Set Your Soul Free > Llama, Halfway to the Moon > Shafty, Strawberry Letter 23 > The Lizards

Set II: First Tube > Fuego > Sigma Oasis > Prince Caspian > Waves > Meatstick > Simple > The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg

Enc.: Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues > Character Zero

Phish
Merriweather Post Pavillion – Columbia, Md.
July 31, 2022

Set I: Wave of Hope, Dogs Stole Things, AC/DC Bag, Sparkle, Back on the Train, Mull, Foam, Ghost

Set II: Halley’s Comet > Tweezer > Wingsuit > Tweezer > Birds of a Feather, Joy > Taste > What’s the Use? > The Howling > Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S
Enc.: Show of Life, Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise