2010

The first show of a Phish tour always brings higher hopes than the band can deliver. They need time to warm up, to settle in, and find their groove. To think that the four horsemen can ride together perfectly every time is just absurd. But it feels good to start off on the right foot, to watch your horse fire out of the gate with saddle blazing. You just hope he keeps up that pace for the rest of the run. It’s possible that the ACL set was Phish’s time to get the kinks out. Their reportedly un-jammed set consisted of fan-favorites that could also be easily enjoyed by the indie folk who may have chosen Phish over the Strokes on Friday night. That’s, at least, what I was hoping.

[A Playlist Featuring 50 Minutes of Video From This Show]

As Phish entered stage left to a capacity house, all 6,500 tickets sold and resold (Tickethorse, unannounced, re-released a handful of tickets Sunday morning, allowing a few lucky hopefuls their shot into the show), the initial energy could hardly be topped. Seeing a band like Phish in a room as small as the 1st Bank Center, when you’re used to seeing them in 9,000-seat or larger venues, is a lucky change of pace. The interaction between band and audience is heightened, the sound is trapped in one place and reverberates in your ears and the energy takes you over. Also, the lack of humongous jumbo-trons flanking the sides of the stage provides for a more intimate experience. We are brought back to the days of old, when Phish shows seemed like family gatherings.

Chalkdust Torture tore through the speaker system, a great song to start a show with. It’s a song we know and love, a song guaranteed to get you singing (or screaming) along, and with Trey’s wailing guitar piercing the room, it’s a song that throws you right into the action. Ocelot, as always, was a bouncy and fun tune, but because it lacked the necessary power that the room needed, had to be followed by a song like It’s Ice, a song intended to bring the energy back up, but that may be a little too intricate to have tried to tackle so early. The outro harmonies on Bouncing Around The Room were nailed and Page’s keyboard solo led Funky Bitch right on through. The AC/DC Bag>NICU>Moma Dance>Horn hit its high point during Moma Dance, with Anastasio’s guitar screaming over Mike Gordon’s bass funk. Stash started a little sloppy, the transitions were a bit off and notes were missed, but the jam grew nicely. Golgi Apparatus, to close the set, sent us to the bathrooms looking forward to what was to come, thinking that perhaps now they had gotten all the kinks out.

READ ON for more of Jonathan’s thoughts on the tour opener…

We covered tons of ground this week on Hidden Track and before we get back to the grind we wanted to recap some of the things we learned… Groupie Alycen

Fourmile Canyon Revival @ 1st Bank Center, October 9

String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, Jeff Austin, Big Head Todd, and Bonnie Paine from Elephant Revival, all on stage at the same time – and it wasn’t even the highlight of the show. That was the kind of night it was – one full of sit-ins and guest appearances, free-for-all jams and surprises. The Fourmile Canyon Revival benefit concert, held at Broomfield, CO’s 1st Bank Center, was easily the fall of 2010’s first and most anticipated show in the Rocky Mountain State.

[All photos by David Steinberg]

Before the show, the parking lot was buzzing. Rumors had been flowing about the lineup, special guests, and most people simply couldn’t wait to get inside. The 6,500-capacity 1st Bank Center was fully packed early on in the evening, and that’s a good thing, because it was not a show to miss.

Just a few a minutes before 6PM on Saturday night, Leftover Salmon took the stage to a barrage of loud screams, people hopeful that the night would go as well as they’d hoped. That was the first good sign: an entire band taking the place of originally scheduled Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, and Keith Moseley of String Cheese taking over bass duties. When Phish’s Page McConnell joined the set, and then String Cheese Incident’s Bill Nershi, and then Bonnie Paine from Elephant Revival, the crowd was already thrown back on their heels. By the end of the set, just about everyone’s jaws had dropped. But it was only 7PM, the night was young.

READ ON for more from Kos on last night’s show…