Photo by @rene_huemer

Last night, Phish wrapped up their fall tour with a triumphant third show at Chicago’s United Center. Unlike the previous two nights, marked by pristine improvisation, Sunday’s performance was defined by a unique mix of song choices and a surprising return of three tunes absent from their repertoire for over 100 shows.

The show took place near 2023’s Halloween, and though there are no official Halloween gigs on Phish’s calendar, they nodded to the season with a selection of five songs from previous Halloween albums. They set the tone immediately with the show opener, “Everything Is Hollow,” from Kasvot Vaxt. Notably, the song had only been performed three times before, all in 2018 and 2019. The quartet delivered a lively rendition of the track, followed by a brief and energetic “Timber (Jerry the Mule),” which featured some impressive interplay between Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell.

“Ocelot” was marked by skillful dynamics, and later on, Anastasio incorporated Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone From the Sun” during “Vultures.” The unexpected appearance of “Monsters,” a ballad with a soaring guitar solo, was another pleasant surprise for fans in line with the peak of fall and had only been played once before in July.

The middle portion of the set included renditions of two standout songs from the mid-2010s, “Plasma” and “Mercury.” The pinnacle of improvisation seen during the opening set emerged with “Stash,” which segued into a beautiful performance of “Leaves.” They then closed with a solid rendition of “David Bowie.”

The second frame began with a revived classic, The Who’s “Drowned,” returning after a hiatus since August 2021. The band then delved into “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing,” a song that gave rise to one of the set’s most notable improvisational moments. The jam transformed from a funky groove that found its way into a fresh “Tweezer” jam, which flowed into “Simple.” The jam was followed by a brisk “Pebbles and Marbles.”

Next, the band broke into the stomping grooves of Little Feat’s “Spanish Moon” – a rare appearance, having only been played twice before, once during the Halloween 2010 Waiting for Columbus set and again in Mexico in February 2019. “Wave of Hope” followed, accentuated by Page McConnell’s synths, which led into “Evolve” before a set closing “Loving Cup.” Notably, “Loving Cup” was the third song on the setlist from a Halloween cover album: The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St.

The encore commenced with an energetic “Run Like an Antelope,” then a return to the Halloween theme with Kasvot Vaxt‘s “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” The night and the tour concluded with the well-received and crowd-pleasing “Tweezer Reprise.”

Phish’s next performance will take place on Dec. 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York as they begin their welcome to 2024.

Phish
United Center – Chicago
Oct. 15, 2023

Set I: Everything is Hollow > Timber (Jerry the Mule), Ocelot, Vultures, Monsters, Plasma, Mercury, Stash, Leaves, David Bowie

Set II: Drowned > A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing -> Tweezer^[1] -> Simple, Pebbles and Marbles, Spanish Moon, A Wave of Hope > Evolve, Loving Cup

Enc.: Run Like an Antelope > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. > Tweezer Reprise

[1] No lyrics.

Everything is Hollow was performed for the first time since December 8, 2019 (135 Shows). Trey teased Third Stone From the Sun during Vultures. Drowned was played for the first time since August 14, 2021 (114 Shows). Tweezer was performed as a “continuation” of October 13th’s version (played between the original Tweezer on that night and the Tweezer Reprise that would follow later in this show) and had no lyrics. Trey teased Get Back in Simple. Spanish Moon was played for the first time since February 21, 2019 (171 shows).