Four nights of Phish, a Red Rocks review - Part 1

The majestic rocks illuminated. Photo: glowinz @ Flickr

Where to begin? Phish wrapped up 4 nights of facemelting Sunday night at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. Fans who were lucky enough to score a ticket to the sold-out shows were treated to some of the bands best playing in recent memory. And by “recent memory” I mean the past 10 years.

Their playing was as smooth and polished as it’s been since they reunited in March. Trey was even able to nail the “Thank you Mr. Miner” section “Harry Hood,” a lick he hasn’t quite hit since the reunion. The practice is starting to pay off, and it shows. There were not as many noticeable and egregious aberrations in composed sections as there had been in 2003-2004 or earlier this year.

Four nights at Red Rocks is a lot of music that spanned 8 sets(including encores) at over 11 hours of music. Lets break down each night and discuss the highlights.

Night One – July 30, 2009

Phish opened the first set of the first night of their Summer Tour with the appurtenant “Divided Sky.” The big takeaway and one of the best jams of the long weekend was the “Stash.” Included in the compilation download at the end of this article, this Stash thrusts forward, building momentum and intensity before being brought back to earth. The rest of the first set is solid, highlighted by the rare “Wedge,” the new “Ocelot” and the funky “Moma Dance.”

Trey introduced bassist, Mike Gordon not once, but twice, before kicking off the second set with the aptly titled “Mike’s Song.” From there they continued into “I am Hydrogen” and “Weekapaug Groove,” to complete “Mike’s Groove,” a trio of songs often played consecutively. “Ghost,” easily the highlight of the second set, was a monster clocking in at 18 minutes and developing into a jam reminiscent of Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You.” The “Wolfman’s Brother” and “David Bowie” are also particularly palatable. Also, the band played the first Billy Breathes since 2003.

Night Two – July 31, 2009

Night two the band fired back with some of their classic show starter hits such as “Runaway Jim,” “Chalkdust Torture,” and “Bathtub Gin.” Next was “Time Turns Elastic,” a marathon of a song(16 minutes) that is struggling to find its place, although each version seems to be better than the next. The first set was finished off with an evil, lenocinant “Split Open and Melt.”

One of the best sets of the weekend began with a fluid “Drowned>Crosseyed and Painless,” one of the best segues in recent memory. “Joy,” title-track from their upcoming album, allowed people to catch their breath before diving into a congenial “Tweezer.” The fun didn’t stop as the band ripped through “Backwards Down the Number Line,” a tune off their new album, Joy. The finest set of the weekend continued off with fan favorite “Fluffhead” that segued into a fervent “Piper.” Page led a cover of the Beatles’ “A Day In The Life” to finish off the set. The “Suzy Greenberg” and “Tweezer Reprise” encore was solid, but nothing to write home about.

Click here to continue to Part II of the Red Rocks Review