photo by Jake Silco (via Phish From the Road on Twitter)
Phish began their traditional three-night run at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO, on Friday night with a rocking but fairly standard first set, followed by an excellent second frame which featured exploratory jamming in nearly every song.
Set one began with the second ever “Can’t Always Listen,” a song that debuted on December 30, 2015 (142 shows ago), and hasn’t been seen since. Next came “Free,” which contained the first nod to the plague outbreak in the area—guitarist Trey Anastasio changed the main lyric from “free” to “flea,” in reference to the insects that infected the local prairie dog population. The “Free” jam was one of the finest of the summer, featuring particularly keen interplay between Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon.
Next came the ever-present “No Men in No Men’s Land,” it’s seventh appearance of the summer. This version, while never straying from the “No Men’s” structure, featured some more excellent guitar work from Anastasio. Next came the Gordon-penned “555,” a song that the band has played less frequently over the last few years, with only three renditions this summer. (For context, the song was played seven times during the Summer 2016 tour.) “555” went straight into “Back on the Train,” which contained more high-energy type-one jamming from the band, followed by a standard version of “Rift.” After two more first-set staples, “Poor Heart” and “Undermind,” the band dropped into the second “Train Song” of the summer, a relatively rare tune that was last seen twice in one tour during Fall 2009. “Wingsuit” came next and featured an outro jam that is well worth a listen, and the first frame closed with a standard rendition of “Blaze On.”
“Everything’s Right” kicked off the second set and, as has become typical with this song, the jam section delivered the goods. This 17-minute type-two version contained a dark, funky section and a stunning turn to a major-key bliss section, before returning to swirling, minor-key improvisation. As the jam faded, Anastasio signaled for the band to transition into the highlight of the show, “Mercury.” The sprawling, nearly 24-minute version again featured moves between minor and major keys, with multiple euphoric peaks. After these 41 minutes of deep jamming in the first two tunes, the band opted for a cool-down with “Shade.” “Light” came next, a song that has consistently led to quality improvisation since its debut. This version was certainly no different; after a ripping initial jam section, the band stretched out a particularly adept transition into “Party Time.”
“Sand” followed this sequence, maintaining the high energy of the set. This rendition again featured excellent group improvisation, including one moment in which the band switched to a major key seemingly out of nowhere. As the blissful jamming began to wane, Anastasio led the band into the instrumental “What’s the Use?,” which contained a particularly interesting middle section as Gordon showed off his bevy of bass guitar effects. “Harry Hood” closed the set with a bang, with this version featuring some thrilling type-two jamming before the final refrain. For Friday's encore, the Kasvot Växt favorite “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” closed out the show on a high note.
Check out the full setlist below, along with pro-shot video of each set opener via LivePhish's webcast. Phish return to Dick's Sporting Goods Park this evening for round two of three.
In other Phish news last night, Gordon also made a surprise post-show appearance at the Phunk Sessions at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, CO, sitting in on the Little Feat classic "Spanish Moon" along with the collaborative band led by Meters bassist George Porter Jr. and featuring keyboardist Robert Walter and members of Turkuaz and The Motet. Watch a full stream of that show below the Phish videos (Gordon emerges a little bit after the 59-minute mark).
Phish
Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, CO
Set I: Can't Always Listen, Free*, No Men In No Man's Land, 555 > Back on the Train > Rift, Steam > Poor Heart >Undermind, Train Song, Wingsuit > Blaze On
Set II: Everything's Right > Mercury > Shade > Light -> Party Time, Sand > What's the Use? > Harry Hood
Enc: Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
Notes: * lyrics changed to "flea"
Source: phish.net
