We keep our eyes peeled for new tour dates announcements each week and compile them on Tuesdays (well Wednesday this week if you want to be a stickler) for this
Tonight Phish moved on to the second stop of Summer Tour 2011 and one that is familiar to both fans and the band – the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. Located a short drive from guitarist Trey Anastasio’s hometown of Princeton, Phish first performed at what was then the Garden State Arts Center as part of the H.O.R.D.E. tour on July 11, 1992 and have since returned six times before this week’s two-night stand.
[via PNC Bank Arts Center Facebook Page]
The band came out of the gates by crafting a first set filled with high-energy, arena rock favorites including Chalk Dust Torture, Punch You In The Eye, The Moma Dance and Divided Sky. Anastasio dedicated a straight forward yet strong version of Sand to “Max” before struggling through The Divided Sky later in the set. Trey had such issues with the complex tune that he gave up at one point and urged the crowd to sing his part.
There were no trainwrecks in set two as the quartet put together a tight, engaging second stanza that started with a cover of J.J. Cale’s After Midnight and featured an exploratory jam out of Drowned before ending with the tour’s first YEM. Outside of Alaska, the newest original played on this night, Sand, was debuted in 1999. Phish returns to the PNC Bank Arts Center tomorrow. READ ON for the setlist and for “The Skinny”…
Phish returned to Bethel Woods on Sunday for the third of three tour-opening shows. Unlike the first two performances, night three was light on the jams, sporting a setlist filled with heavy-rotation staples.
[Photo via Justin B.]
- Setlists, Recaps, The Skinny: Phish Bethel Night One, Phish Bethel Night Two
- Audio, Videos, Reviews and More: YEMblog.com
READ ON for the setlist and The Skinny…
On Friday night Phish kicked off the first leg of their summer tour with a hearty opening show that featured a number of expansive jams and laid the ground work for what should be an exciting run. The quartet returned to gorgeous Bethel Woods for the second of three performances at the venue near the site of 1969’s Woodstock Festival on Saturday.
[Photo via Liberty Independent]
Saturday’s show proved the power of the jams as the band continued to flex their improvisational muscles in Bethel. In the first set both Halley’s Comet and Bathtub Gin featured impressive improvisation, especially considering nearly every version of Halley’s since Hampton has been of the five-minute variety. Halley’s at Bethel surpassed the 12-minute mark to the delight of Phish fans, while Bathtub Gin contained elements of Manteca and some of the best group interplay seen from the run thanks in part of drummer Jon Fishman’s bombastic backbeat. Also of note was the rare stretching out of the post-first verse breakdown in Runaway Jim.
The second set started with a 15-minute-plus Down With Disease that devolved into a space jam before the band worked their way into Free. Backwards Down The Number Line could be a monster when Phish chooses to explore the space between the riff that forms the jam and the Bethel version showed why as each member of the group contributed to a tasty improvisation that alternated between light/airy playing and dark/evil-tinged themes. Night two wasn’t just about the jams, Phish was also having fun all night, which was most apparent during a Makisupa Policeman that found Trey, Page, Mike and Fish each taking a turn at laying down what the music would sound like at their respective houses in a cool segment that’s worth a listen. From there, the boys turned on a dime into Harry Hood land for a patient take on the tune that would be a standout version if it peaked harder. David Bowie gave Phish one last chance to jam and they took advantage with Trey in particular laying down some ripping riffs.
HT’s Brian Bavosa will be at all three tour-opening shows and will file a full report early next week. READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…
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