Phish upped the ante on the third night of their four night stand at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO last night; busting out some forgotten classics and continuing to explore new terrain in their jams. The foursome even showed off a bit of the humor their known for by creating hand signals for each song in the first set with guitarist Trey Anastasio telling the crowd as much before moving his hands from left to right in the form of a Tube.
The action started early with a quick but intense AC/DC Bag before the quartet took the wraps off two fan favorites that hadn’t been played in years: The Curtain With (last played at Coventry) and Mound (last played at the “Comeback” show). Both we’re well played and the crowd voiced their approval at every break in the action. Gotta Jibboo contained some focused improvisation with Anastasio letting loose with quickfire runs of notes.
Let’s take a look at the setlist…
Set One: AC/DC Bag, The Curtain With, Mound, Gotta Jibboo, Guyute, Punch You in the Eye, Tube, Alaska, Run Like An Antelope
Set Two: Rock and Roll, Down With Disease > Free, Esther, Dirt, Harry Hood
Encore: Sleeping Monkey, First Tube
Antelope was a bit all over the place and at times the quartet seemed a bit lost, but they pulled it together to peak the jam twice ending the set on a good note. The second set kicked off with Rock and Roll which the group using as a launching pad for some fierce improvisation. Led by Gordon, the band stumbled upon a number of interesting, anthemic chord progression that got fists pumping throughout the majestic venue. The melodic jams kept coming throughout a Disease that segued into a dirty version of Free.
The third bust out of the night was the most well-received: Esther. Hugs and handshakes abound as Trey delivered a near-perfect reading of the tune which was last played on September 30, 2000. Phish’s last performances of Esther and The Curtain With were horrible trainwrecks, so it was great to see the band exorcise their demons. Dirt gave the group and the crowd a chance to catch their breath before dropping a gorgeous Hood featuring teases of Dirt and Free in the opening segment. For the encore, the band returned with the mellow Sleeping Monkey and an energetic First Tube that ended things on a high note. Phish returns to Red Rocks tonight for the final show of the run. Follow along as I tweet live from the show @YEMblog.
2 Responses
thanx scotty b. esther and curtain played well is music to my ears. a YEM tonight for the YEMBlog?
Ah, nice to see nothing changes: “Fans” blathering to each other while the band they “love” plays amazing music. TOOOOOOLS!