If you were hoping for a “Runaway Jim” Friday night in South Carolina, it’s not going to happen, and if you wanted a “Cavern” > “Runaway Jim,” it might be years away now.
This is the game of Phish, which phans got to play Wednesday night at a packed but not quite sold-out Petersen Events Center, and at home with their audio and video streams.
Whether or not you like the veteran jam band from Vermont, and they are the most acquired of tastes, you must give them props for repertoire. The band that did a Baker’s Dozen run in New York without repeating a single song is on a no-repeat tour, which is something that the superior Grateful Dead didn’t even do.
Set 1 #Phish pic.twitter.com/q7O28upuub
— j_mosk (@j_mosk) December 5, 2019
Like the Dead, obviously, Phish phans follow their band, so there’s a good chance that more than half of the 11,000-plus people are road warriors who hit the Pete and are now on their way to Charleston, S.C. “Damn! I’m not used to these hills!” said a guy in a Buffalo Bills hat, climbing to the top of “cardiac hill.”
Once there, it was a long, cold wait to get through security, but Phish accounted for that, waiting until 8:07 p.m. (37 minutes after ticket time) to hit the stage and immediately throw fans a curveball with bassist Mike Gordon taking the lead on a slow, grooving “555.” It was the 52nd time they’ve played it and only the second time it’s opened a show, the first being 7-18-14 in Northerly Island. (Shout-out to @secretcabdriver for the stats.)
Pretty standard song selection, but the energy in here is insane. #phish
— Clueless Wallob (@subtle_sounds) December 5, 2019
On cue, the loose-limbed fans of Phish started swinging their elbows and throwing glowsticks into all the vape smoke. They also stay busyed shouting “I called it!” on the first note of songs.
“555” launched a 90-minute set that jumped in and out of jams and genres with the Stonesy “AC/DC Bag” (with an absolutely pink-hot solo from Trey Anastasio), the galloping country boogie of “Water in the Sky” and a slamming cover of Son Seals’ “Funky Bitch.”
Phish made some history in Set One with the live debut of Gordon’s solo song “Victim,” driven by Anastasio’s wocka-wocka guitar groove. It was also the first time for a “Halley’s Comet” > “When the Circus Comes to Town,” the former, by Richard Wright, starting with a doo-wop intro and latter being a Los Lobos cover.
#Pittsburgh #phish was awesome! pic.twitter.com/e47xubzWWM
— McIcculus (@mcicculus) December 5, 2019
The most ecstatic jam came at the end with Anastasio firing lasers out of his guitar (not literally) on “Run Like an Antelope” while the lights flickered with equally blinding intensity. It’s definitely a level Garcia never went to.
“This first set is officially longer than the entire show of that sh--ty band your girlfriend likes,” read a tweet from a Phish fan just asking for trouble.
#phish pic.twitter.com/mogKT2mH1U
— seethecityseethefalltour (@1superaly1) December 5, 2019
The deeper, more psychedelic second set/encore, running from 10:10-11:42 p.m., ended up being two minutes longer, thanks in part to a dizzying “You Enjoy Myself,” the longest song of the night at just under 19 minutes. It came with Trey and Mike bouncing on mini-trampolines, followed by a head-spinning foray into avant-garde scat vocalization.
Phish made some more history in Set Two with the live debut of “Ghosts of the Forest,” a swirling, moody beauty that serves as the opener and title track of Anastasio’s new solo album. It came right after they revved up the crowd with the beloved “Runaway Jim” and a before a trippy dive into “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing.”
Set Two closed with some pure hard-rock crunch in the form of a faithful cover of Led Zep’s “Good Times Bad Times” and the encore brought the delights of a Jon Fishman vacuum hose -- yes, vacuum hose -- solo on Syd Barrett’s “Terrapin” and the joyful blues boogie of “Julius” to cap the night.
Aside from “555” (my favorite Gordon Phish 3.0 tune) and Gordon’s “Victim” (a Phish debut!) the first set was like ‘97 all over again. And that 2nd set speaks for itself (with a notable “Ghosts of the Forest” debut). Show number 73 was special, indeed. pic.twitter.com/9lEavnaI9q
— Mike Moroski (@mike_moroski) December 5, 2019
By now, you’ve probably noticed that I’m not an expert on Phish, so for the bottom line, let’s turn to Mike Withrow, a Pittsburgh accounting firm manager who’s logged about 50 Phish shows and will add five of six more by the end of the year.
His take: “Excellent performances from all four band members (and the lighting designer) and a solid setlist that flowed nicely. Some old favorites, some debuts from two of the band members’ solo projects, plenty of deep exploratory improvisations, a ripping Zeppelin cover, and some classic Phish silliness (an extended ‘vocal jam’ and a vacuum solo by the drummer). The setlist included songs from throughout Phish’s lengthy career, with a mix of brand new songs, songs that they’ve been playing since the ’80s, and everything in between. After 5 shows on this tour, they haven’t repeated any songs yet. Overall, it was a memorable show that satisfied the repeat Phish fans like me and converted some first timers into fans.”
There were six 2019 debuts tonight.
— secretcabdriver (@secretcabdriver) December 5, 2019
Cars Trucks Buses
When the Circus Comes
Victim (debut)
Ghosts of the Forest (debut)
Hold Your Head Up
Terrapin
2019 song count: 241
PHISH SET LIST
Set 1
555
AC/DC Bag
Cars Trucks Buses
Water in the Sky
Sample in a Jar
Theme from the Bottom
Funky Bitch
Wolfman’s Brother
Halley’s Comet (Richard Wright cover)
When the Circus Comes to Town (Los Lobos cover)
Victim (debut)
Run Like An Antelope
Set 2
Cavern
Runaway Jim
Ghosts of the Forest (debut)
A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing
Prince Caspian
Fuego
You Enjoy Myself
Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin cover)
Encore:
Hold Your Head Up (Argent cover)
Terrapin (Syd Barrett cover)
Julius
First Published: December 5, 2019, 3:22 p.m.