Last night, Wednesday, July 12, Phish returned to the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala., to celebrate the joys of summer tour and the community they’ve fostered. For the second evening of their 23 date celebration, and closing performance of their two-night stint in Alabama, the Vermont-bred band treated fans to yet another debut along with an encore with some early, less frequently played songs including “Alumni Blues” and its companion piece “Letter to Jimmy Page.” 

Like the evening before, Phish continued to celebrate their 40 years together with surprises as Trey Anastasio stepped out and ripped into “Plasma” marking the first tine the band has ever opened a show with the the song. Anastasio’s pedal work shined on the pristine jam, and not long after, the band flowed into “Sigma Oasis” lush with improvisation. Page McConnell then took a deep breath before diving in and dishing out the resonate intro of “Wolfman’s Brother,” which was followed by “Evolve.” Next, Mike Gordon took the reins for “Mull,” a track off his experimental new album Flying Games – a welcomed and introspective addition to the greater band’s songbook. The song melded into “Bouncing Around The Room” before Jon Fishman’s cymbals crescendoed and Anastasio lit off some fretboard fireworks on “Stash,” before they closed the frame with a Goliath “David Bowie.”

The second set started with “A Wave of Hope” off of Anastasio’s Lonely Trip – the guitarist’s bandmates utilized the song to highlight their improvisational skills and had a conversation of three before he rejoined with the riff of “Fuego” starting the longest jam of the night. Without pause they flowed into “Piper” before arriving at the second debut of their summer tour “Ether Edge.” Like “Oblivion”–the debut from evening before–the song is one of 10 Anastasio shared during his run at the Mission Ballroom in Denver with the Trey Anastasio Trio. Notably, of the six songs in the second set the debut was the only number that was not explored for over 10 minutes, though in the short time it was played McConnell dished out blissful work on the Rhodes. To round out the second set the band paired “Mercury”” with “Free,” the former of which featured Fishman’s Marimba Lumina which was used the night before to open the second set with “2001” – making for a rare two-night appearance of the MIDI controller.

For the encore the band once again nodded to the respected nearby NASA center and tapped some older tunes. They opened with “Alumni Blues” which included the altered lyrics “I had no hat on my head / And no PhD,” and contained “Letter to Jimmy Page.” The evening was closed on a high note with a closing “Run Like an Antelope.”

Phish will perform next at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Ga., on July 14, 15. and 16.

Watch all 21 remaining shows of Phish’s Summer Tour via LivePhish in 4K or HD + 48 hours of unlimited replay here.

Phish
Orion Amphitheater – Huntsville, Ala.
July 12, 2023

SET 1: Plasma > Sigma Oasis > Wolfman’s Brother, Evolve, Mull > Bouncing Around the Room, Stash, David Bowie

SET 2: A Wave of Hope -> Fuego -> Piper > Ether Edge[1], Mercury > Free

ENCORE: Alumni Blues[2] > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Run Like an Antelope

[1] Phish debut.
[2] Lyrics changed to “no PhD.”

This show featured the Phish debut of Ether Edge. Trey teased Super Bad in Free. Trey changed the first Alumni’s lyrics to “no PhD.”