The second leg of Phish’s Summer Tour 2010 kicked off this evening at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA – a venue the band hadn’t performed at since 1993. Possum,
I woke up this morning wondering if what I’d experienced over the last two weeks was real or just a dream like the eighth season of Dallas. Just as quickly as the God Street Wine reunion came, it’s over – for now – as the NYC-based quintet finished the four show run with a scorcher at Irving Plaza this past Saturday evening. These four shows were the rare case of reality living up to the lofty expectations thrust upon this reunion after nine long years of silence from the GSW camp.
[All pictures by Mike Wren]
Friday’s lack of jams was remedied by an improv-filled first set featuring lengthy versions of Driving West, Hellfire and Imogene which showed off the band’s impressive non-verbal communication that comes from playing hundreds of shows together during the ’90s. While last weekend’s minor-key Hellfire jam was on the dark and dirty side, the Irving version went the other direction: a major-key round of improv filled with light and beautiful melodies – a butter jam if you will. Both guitarists got equal time to shine during this most memorable jam of the run. The tight rhythm section of Dan Pifer (bass) and Tom “Tomo” Osander (drums) propelled their band mates to glory in the Hellfire jam like offensive linemen clearing the way for the star running backs.
Irving Plaza, NYC
July 17, 2010Set One: Nightingale, Driving West, Better than You, Hellfire, The Ballroom -> 6:15, Feather, Straight Line, Imogene
Set Two: Good Dream, Snake Eyes, Princess Henrietta, Strange as it Seems, Tina’s Town -> Cheap Utah Blues -> Deep Drag, Diana, Borderline
Encore1: Ticket to Ride, Sweet Little Angel
Encore2: Other Shore -> Into The Sea
Seven sets into the action God Street Wine were still dusting off old songs they hadn’t played yet. Lots of lines hit home in the reggae-tinged Ballroom including “the dancing on the floor has begun,” “so many years have gone by since I looked into your eyes” and “I feel so old” – all of which received huge applause from the attentive crowd. Two of the first-time in ’10 tunes on this night were Feather and Diana off the quintet’s self-titled 1997 release. Feather, an anthemic rocker, was equal parts Tom Petty and Black Crowes and stood out on a night filled with stand outs. Diana also had that rootsy sound typical of songs on the self-titled LP and shined thanks to gorgeous harmonies, Jon Bevo’s electric piano work and Maxwell’s slide work.
- GSW Reunion: #1, #2, #3
- Audio: Scott Brown’s Recording
- Video: Borderline
When listening to some of GSW’s later material like Diana and Feather and comparing it to the early material such as the prog workout Deep Drag, it was crazy to hear how much the group’s sound had changed in just about seven years. You can only imagine how many different phases of evolution the band’s music would’ve gone through had the original lineup been able to stick together through the ’00s. Yet, this weekend wasn’t about focusing on what might’ve been and was more about enjoying what was.
READ ON for more on God Street Wine at Irving Plaza…
The first leg of Phish Summer Tour 2010 came to a close on Sunday night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA. We’ll have plenty of recaps of all sorts over the next week, but for now we wanted to present “just the facts.” We’ve put together a list of every setlist (via Phish.net) and have detailed our favorite audio sources, videos, reviews and photo galleries from each of the 18 shows Phish has performed thus far in 2010.
06/11/2010 Toyota Park Chicago, IL
Set 1: Down with Disease, Wolfman’s Brother, Possum, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Reba[1], Jesus Just Left Chicago, The Divided Sky, Golgi Apparatus > David Bowie
Set 2: Light -> Maze, Ghost -> Limb By Limb[2] > Prince Caspian > The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Run Like an Antelope[3], Show of Life[4]
Encore: Cavern > Julius
[1] No whistling.
[2] Ending vocal jam.
[3] DEG tease by Trey in intro. Fishman drum solo. “Jon Fishman” substituted for “Marco Esquandolas.” Lyrics changed to “Been you to have any stick.”
[4] Phish debut.
Notes: After Possum, Trey congratulated the hometown Chicago Blackhawks’ victory over his beloved Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals that ended two days before this show. Reba was performed without the whistling ending. Limb by Limb included an ending vocal jam. Antelope contained a Dave’s Energy Guide tease by Trey in the intro section. Antelope subsequently contained a Fishman drum solo. “Jon Fishman” was substituted for “Marco Esquandolas” and Antelope’s lyrics were further changed with “Been you to have any stick.” This show featured the Phish debut of Show of Life. [Setlist Source]
READ ON for audio, videos & more from each tour stop…
For the last show of Phish Summer Tour 2010 – Leg One, the quartet delivered a performance that featured a lit bit of everything that has made the run so good. There were bust outs, random covers and even a few intense bouts of improvisation at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Encore Park in Alpharetta, GA that put a proverbial bow around this gift of a tour.
Phish opened the show by paying tribute to America on the Fourth of July with an a Capella Star Spangled Banner. The band then took a trip to Gamehendge for a potent Punch You In The Eye and the rare Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird. As with last year’s Forbin’s > Mockingbird in Hartford there was no narration to be found, but by the end of the concert a narration would come. Other first set highlights included the funky Camel Walk and ripping versions of David Bowie and Gotta Jibboo.
07/04/2010 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
Set 1: The Star Spangled Banner, Punch You In the Eye, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird, Camel Walk, Ocelot, Heavy Things, My Friend, My Friend > Lawn Boy, David Bowie, Gotta Jibboo
Set 2: Down with Disease > Piper > Ghost > Waste, Julius > Mike’s Song > Tela, Harpua > Killing in the Name[1] > Harpua > Weekapaug Groove
Encore: First Tube
[1] Phish debut.
This show marked the Phish debut of Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine).
In a tour filled with dream setlists, the second set of the tour closer could just be the most insane sequence of songs Phish has thrown down this summer. The Disease > Piper > Ghost segment that opened the set was the meat of the show improvisationally. Although a rollicking Disease jam was cut short by Anastasio, Piper and Ghost each featured patient exploration. Waste and Julius were a mirage to lull attendees into a sense of standardness before the combination of Mike’s Song > Tela kicked off an epic end to the show.
READ ON for more on last night’s Phish Summer Tour closer…
Phish visited the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta, GA this evening for the first of two sold-out shows at the 12,000-capacity amphitheatre that bring the first leg
With no new album to support and after a year of shows under their belts, Phish has been letting it all hang out on Summer Tour 2010. The craziness continued
Last year Phish set a record for most songs performed in one year from their vast repertoire with 248. It looks like the quartet is gunning for 2009’s record as
Rush’s Time Machine Tour started last night at the Hard Rock Pavilion in Albuquerque, NM, where the prog rock pioneers filled two lengthy sets with classics, rarities and 1981’s Moving Pictures in its entirety to open set two. We’ll hold off on posting details about the rarities that are part of the setlist until after the jump for those who don’t want their Rush experience spoiled as the band tends to stick to the same setlist at each stop on the tour.
[via Rush.com]
You can always count on Rush to have an interesting setup and for this tour they’ve added a cool H.G. Wells-looking Time Machine to the stage. It also appears as if drummer Neil Peart has added even more pieces to his ridiculously large drum kit. As with past tours, each set begins with a video and here’s the clip that introduces Tom Sawyer for set two…
READ ON for the complete Time Machine Tour setlist…
Phish headed back to Merriweather Post Pavilion tonight for the second of two shows at the Frank Gehry-designed venue in Columbia, MD. Once again, the quartet caught everyone’s attention with an opener bust out as they switched instruments to tackle Walfredo for the first time since September 30, 2000. Gordon handled guitar, Fish played bass, Trey hopped on keys and Page kept the beat on drums for Walfredo.
Sunday night shows always bring out the best in Phish and that trend continued tonight through set one as the group followed the Walfredo bust out with their first cover of Bob Marley’s Mellow since It back in 2003. While Trey, Mike, Page and Fish may have dusted off Tela down in Miami and December 30, 2009, many fans weren’t able to make the trip down south, so we suspect there were quite a few folks who went nuts when Phish performed the Gamehendge rarity tonight in the middle of the first set.
Walfredo, Mellow Mood and Tela were just three of the six tour debuts Phish performed in set one alone. Digging deep into the depths of their repertoire, the popular rock band also busted out My Soul, Ginseng Sullivan and Brian and Robert for the first time in 2010 over the course of the opening stanza.
READ ON for tonight’s setlist and more of our recap…
Last summer’s Phish concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 15, 2009, was greeted with lukewarm response at best from the group’s fanbase. While I did enjoy the controversial show,
