Photo Credit: Lee Butterworth

On Friday, July 26, Phish returned to Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wis. The show represented the band’s first time at the location since August 2022, bringing their total performance count at this specific venue to 24. During night one, the ensemble used their initial frame to set an explorative and jam-focused tone that would extend through the weekend, acting as the driving force behind lengthy interpretations of choice material. 

The first notes of Phish’s 2024 Alpine Valley stand conjured an ascent into “46 Days,” helmed by Jon Fishman’s taut percussive display and Mike Gordon’s bass growl. As if a nod toward August’s Mondegreen festival, Phish delivered an inspired take on “Moma Dance,” followed by “The Well,” which saw the band lean into its funkier side during Friday’s iteration. The high point of the show occurred next, with a spontaneously jammed-out “My Friend, My Friend,” which veered into the Type II domain by sequencing into “Brian and Robert,” robbed of its “Myfe” ending and clocking in at over 17 minutes, the most extended display to date.

A brief take on “Llama” ensued prior to the fan-favored cover, the Talking Heads’ “Cities.” Conjuring the essence of swaying palms and white sandy beaches, the group dipped into another borrowed tune, “Ya Mar.” Follow-up “Stash” featured a tease of an Anastasio-led “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” The former could have represented a solid finish to the set if the guitarist hadn’t felt inspired to add one more, “Cavern.” After a break, the band returned for part two of Friday’s concert, a fairly standard affair with a peppering of outliers in the expected Phish fashion.

Whereas Friday was a jam-heavy display, Phish landed on a different treatment for Saturday’s material, revving up its initial offering before the onslaught of frame two, which produced a monster serving of “Simple,” which emerged out of opener “Sigma Oasis,” the latter was left unfinished. “Simple” housed an array of improvisational moments, which saw the band click into probing layers of exploration from rock-focus to fortified grooves and an essence of reggae before a colossal climax and instrumental sigh, clocking in at a staggering 41 minutes–the longest delivery of this specific number and eighth lengthiest jam in Phish history. 

Before hanging up their hats, Phish shocked their deserving audience with the third-ever encore take on “Esther” before the final song of Saturday’s stand, “Character Zero.” Phish is two nights into a three-part stand at the historic Alpine Valley Music Theatre. The band will return tonight for their venue-specific closeout. Tickets remain on sale. 

Scroll down to view setlists from the group’s East Troy, Wis., concerts.

Phish 

Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, Wis.

July 26, 2024 

Set I: 46 Days, The Moma Dance, The Well, My Friend, My Friend -> Brian and Robert, Llama, Cities > Ya Mar, Stash, Cavern

Set II: Axilla (Part II) > Down with Disease > Mercury > Taste > Ghost > Limb By Limb, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Good Times Bad Times

Enc.: Contact > Run Like an Antelope

Phish 

Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, Wis.

July 27, 2024 

Set I: Sample in a Jar, Halley’s Comet > Birds of a Feather, Mountains in the Mist, Foam, Moonage Daydream, My Soul, The Lizards, David Bowie

Set II: Sigma Oasis -> Simple, The Howling > A Wave of Hope > Lifeboy, Sand > Golgi Apparatus

Enc.: Esther, Character Zero

Setlist via phish.net.