“Tweezer”. Boom. There’s scarcely anything that bodes better for a great show to come than kicking things off with this song, one of the heaviest hitters in Phish’s arsenal. And there’s scarcely anything that bodes better for a memorable run than a Reprise-less Tweezer on night one—but we’ll get back to that…This “Tweezer” boldly swung for the fences early, flowing quickly out of the composed section and into type-II territory against the backdrop of a breathtaking Gorge sunset. After 10+ minutes, the band segued into “Sample In A Jar”, moving through the first set staple without incident before opting for the Mike-sung “The Old Home Place”, the old ditty by country and bluegrass icons The Dillards not seen since 6/28/12 (155 shows).The “Wolfman’s Brother” that followed served as a sort of consolation for the version of the song that was aborted due to sound issues last weekend in Mansfield, featuring a funky, guitar-driven blues jam that built to a huge peak. The band continued with standard first frame fare like “Bouncing Around The Room”, a particularly strong “Undermind”, and “Kill Devil Falls”, highlighted by stellar percussion work from Fishman (a common thread throughout the show). “Lawn Boy” was next, giving the Chairman of the Boards a chance to welcome everyone to the beautiful locale (“We couldn’t be happier to be here, we love this place so much”).After a brief introduction, where Trey cheekily described the newest Fishman-penned song as potentially “the greatest song ever written” (or at least the truest, according to the drummer), Fish went into “Ass Handed”, the evening’s lone debut. Calling this a “song” at all may even be a little generous—it’s essentially just a chant with a couple chords tacked on the end, barely a minute long. Some people are gonna hate on this one for sure, but I maintain that it shows the band is having fun. I like it–it’s weird, in the best possible way. Next up was another Fishman song, “Party Time”, followed up by textbook versions of “The Line”, new original “Tide Turns” and “Rift”, before a raging tension-and-release “Walls of the Cave” brought the set to a close.The second set got moving quickly with a high-energy take on fan favorite cover “Crosseyed and Painless” that started in a hard-driving groove and quickly pivoted to major key bliss before dropping into beloved instrumental “What’s The Use?”. A rarity for most of its existence, “What’s The Use?” has experienced a sort of renaissance in the last year, acting as a frequent landing point coming out of improvisation. With its soaring peaks and tear-jerking dynamics, we can only hope that this tune stays in heavy rotation.The rest of the set showcased a band that’s fully locked-in, with tight playing and creative, entertaining teases and quotes throughout. The funky “No Men In No Man’s Land” that came next (seemingly a nod to the remote location of the show) was led by a Page-led speed-funk jam that touched on “Crosseyed” and toyed with the “Stash” theme before segueing into the song proper. The “Stash” jam reached a Santana-esque guitar peak and flirted with “What’s The Use?” before giving way to the second Friday “Ghost” in as many weeks. The “Ghost” jam was undoubtedly a highlight of the show, moving quickly into ambient improv territory with “Crosseyed” and “Whats The Use?” teases thrown in the mix. About 7 minutes in, Fishman kicked the drumbeat into high gear, Mike and Page joined him on drums, and Trey picked up the Marimba Lumina mallets (as he loves to do) for a full-band percussion jam that flowed into a “NMINML” breakdown, led by Fish’s unhinged vocals.The show’s “fourth quarter” continued to showcase the band’s focused improv and setlist flow, as a slow “Chalkdust Torture” (“NMINML”, “Crosseyed”, and “WTU?” teases) segued into “Meatstick”, which gave way to the always-satisfying space-funk dance party that is “2001” (“Crosseyed”, “NMINML” teases), which led, finally, into a rocking “Cavern” (“Crosseyed” tease) to close out one of the best shows of the summer (and one of the strongest the band has ever played at this storied venue).The Story Of The Gorge: How A Broken Dam & Attempted Winery Created The Gorgeous AmphitheatreAt this point, after a show that saw the band sounding loose, creative, and energized, the encore was just going to be gravy. We’d get something quick to start, and round it out with a big ol’ Tweeprise—the greatest 5 minutes in rock and roll—to send us into night 2. The band, however, had other plans. The tour debut of their classic 420-friendly tune “Makisupa Policeman” came first (Keywords: “I like this song a lot…pot), likely as a nod to Washington’s legal marijuana situation. Instead of the expected Tweeprise, the band opted for “Wilson”, into a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times” to close out Night 1. The band doesn’t often play a “Tweezer” without a “Reprise”, but when they do it’s because they’ve been planning, and have a few tricks up their sleeve. It was abundantly clear throughout the second set (with its endless teases and segues) that Phish was in the zone, putting concerted effort into making this a cohesive, inventive set. Holding off on the “Reprise” shows that the band is understandably viewing this weekend’s two-night run at one of the world’s most beautiful places as a special event. “Tweezer” opened the amazing first half of the weekend to great effect, and whatever tonight’s show holds, my bet is that they break out the Tweeprise for tonight’s Gorge finale, book-ending what is sure to be a run we remember for years to come. Tonight can’t get here soon enough.Setlist: Phish at The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA – 7/15/16Set 1: Tweezer > Sample in a Jar, The Old Home Place, Wolfman’s Brother, Bouncing Around the Room, Undermind, Kill Devil Falls, Lawn Boy, Ass Handed[1], Party Time, The Line, Tide Turns, Rift, Walls of the CaveSet 2: Crosseyed and Painless > What’s the Use? > No Men In No Man’s Land -> Stash > Ghost[2] -> No Men In No Man’s Land -> Chalk Dust Torture > Meatstick > Also Sprach Zarathustra > CavernEncore: Makisupa Policeman[3] > Wilson > Good Times Bad Times[1] Debut.[2] Trey on Marimba Lumina; Mike and Page on percussion.[3] Keyword = “pot.”Notes: This show featured the debut of Ass Handed. The Old Home Place was played for the first time since 6/28/12 (155 shows). NMINML contained C&P quotes. Stash contained a What’s the Use? tease. Ghost contained C&P and What’s the Use? teases, and NMINML quotes. Ghost also featured Trey on Marimba Lumina, and Mike and Page on percussion. CDT contained yet more NMINML, C&P, and WTU? teases. 2001 contained C&P quotes and NMINML teases. Cavern contained C&P quotes and a WTU? tease. The Makisupa keyword was “pot.”Photography by Jordan IngleeInstagram: @visualsuplex Load remaining images
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