Phish Blossom – Cuyahoga Falls: Setlist and The Skinny

Phish Summer Tour 2012 continued tonight at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The quartet came back to this Cleveland-area shed in 2010 and 2011 after a layoff of nearly a decade. Both of the recent performances were outstanding as the band treated fans to a barn-burner in 2010 that included the only version of The Band’s Look Out Cleveland to date and the debut of Instant Karma! as well as a heavenly take on Backwards Down The Number Line. Last year’s scorcher included the famed “When Harry Met Sally” segment and a ridiculous Possum that segued into the debut of Steam.

[Photo by Joe Ringus for Hidden Track]

In a start that was similar to the first night in Portsmouth, Phish came out of the gates with staples Sample In A Jar, Tube, Axilla and Bathtub Gin, all of which were played at the nTelos Pavilion this past Tuesday. Bathtub stayed within the normal boundaries of the jam and featured a typically strong peak. A straight-forward rendition of Ween’s Roses Are Free came next, leading into a string of tightly-played, heavy-rotation favorites in Limb By Limb, Free, NICU, Possum and The Wedge. The bust out of the set came towards the end of it as Phish dusted off their cover of Corinna by Taj Mahal for the first time in 56 shows (last time played – October 29, 2010). Meatstick, another 2012 debut, brought the opening stanza to a close, but not before guitarist Trey Anastasio welcomed a number of fans on stage to do the Meatstick Dance.

Golden Age opened the second set and quickly veered off into an ambient section before Ghost emerged. This ferocious Ghost featured impressive contributions from all four members of the band, an improvisational highlight of the evening. Next up was another 2012 debut, a cover of Sweet Virginia by The Rolling Stones. Following a tight Rift, Phish embarked on an incredibly fun Tweezer that contained teases of Tweezer Reprise, Meatstick, Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall, David Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure as well as Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice before eventually seguing into the first Walk Away of the year. The Horse and Silent In The Morning brought us to a short-but-sweet Piper. Then, Waste came off the shelf after 26 shows to make its 2012 debut. Run Like An Antelope, which featured Mike, Trey and Page teasing Meatstick and the Under Pressure/Ice Ice Baby bass line, ended Set Two. The familiar but jubilant Loving Cup / Tweezer Reprise encore sent the crowd on its way. Phish has three days off leading up to Thursday’s first of two shows at Deer Creek in Noblesville, Indiana.

Setlist…

Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Tube, Axilla, Bathtub Gin, Roses Are Free > Limb By Limb^[1],Free > NICU > Possum > The Wedge, Corinna, Meatstick^[2]

Set 2: Golden Age > Ghost > Sweet Virginia, Rift > Tweezer^[3] -> Walk Away > The Horse > Silent in the Morning > Piper > Waste > Run Like an Antelope^[4]

Encore: Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise

[1] DEG tease.
[2] Japanese lyrics; with fans on stage dancing.
[3] Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, Under Pressure, and Ice Ice Baby quotes; Meatstick jam.
[4] Under Pressure and Meatstick teases; Fernando (Abba) quote (with lyric changed to “Orlando”). Lyrics changed to Marc Orlando Esquandolas from Syracuse, NY” and “Run like Orlando out of control.” “Orlando” repeated several times.

Notes: Limb by Limb contained a DEG tease. Meatstick contained Japanese lyrics and featured fans on stage dancing. Tweezer contained an Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, Under Pressure and Ice Ice Baby quotes as well as a Meatstick jam. Antelope featured Under Pressure and Meatstick teases, a Fernando (Abba) quote with the lyric changed to “Can you hear the drums, Orlando?” Antelope’s lyrics were changed to “Marc Orlando Esquandolas from Syracuse, NY” and “Run like Orlando out of control.” “Orlando” was repeated several times.

[via Phish.net]

[Photo by @DarkStar25]

Here’s The Skinny for Phish at Blossom Music Center…

Venue Capacity / Attendance / Type: 19,263 / 14,000 (Estimate) / Amphitheater
Previous Shows at Venue: 5 Shows – 07/31/1992 (Opening for Santana), 06/20/1995, 09/18/2000, 06/12/2010, 06/04/2011
Number Of Songs / Length – First Set: 12 / 7:45PM – 9:04 (79 Minutes)
Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set & Encore: 13 / 9:36PM – 11:12PM (96 Minutes)
Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 25 / 6 / 19
Biggest Bustout: Corinna – 56 Shows (LTP – 10/29/2010)
Debuts: N/A
Weather: 80° and Partly Cloudy at Showtime
Wardrobe: Trey – Blue Checkered Long-Sleeve Button-Down Shirt and Jeans / Mike – Black Polo and Dark Jeans / Page – Black Shirt and Jeans / Fish – Dress
Average Song Gap: 10.28
The Spread: Lawn Boy – 2, Picture of Nectar – 2, Rift – 4, Hoist – 1, Billy Breathes – 2, Story of the Ghost – 2, Farmouse – 1, Misc. – 5, Covers – 6
Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: Run Like An Antelope 12:19 / The Horse 1:19
Audio: Live Phish