Phish Gorge Setlist & Skinny: Night One
Phish kicked off the second leg of their summer tour tonight at the iconic Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA for the first of two shows. The quartet first performed at The Gorge in 1997 and has played a total of five two-night stands (’97, ’98, ’99, ’03 & ’09) leading up to this year. We’ll have a full review and photo set from Friday night’s show later this weekend, but in the meantime we’ve shared some facts, thoughts and images from the show.
The first set of the tour was heavy on the songs with 12 tunes performed in total and somewhat light on improv with Bathtub Gin, David Bowie and surprisingly Roggae standing out. Roggae was described by YEMblogger/HT staffer Andy Kahn as “the best Roggae ever” featuring a “minimal/blues/funk jam.” Phish stuck to heavy rotation favorites for the most part with Walk Away, a song they’ve already played this year, being the biggest bustout of the set with a 21-song gap since last played. According to Kahn it didn’t take long for the group to warm up having noted “no rust” and “patient jam(s)” in both Bathtub and Bowie. He felt guitarist Trey Anastasio was in fine form, “cocky in the best possible way.”
For the second set, Phish came out of the gates with another song from Joy to open and this time it was Backwards Down The Number Line. A 20-minute take on Velvet Underground’s Rock and Roll displayed some of the lessons the band learned during the Super Ball IX Storage Jam as Page McConnell took to the theremin leading the group to settle on what Kahn described as a “Moma Dance-esque groove.” All in all this most exploratory part of tonight’s show to Kahn was “ambient, dark [and] groovy” and showed that “patient jamming continues.” Eventually the ensemble landed in a jam space that was equal parts spacey, funky with disco overtones out of which Meatstick commenced.
This wasn’t a typical Meatstick as it was extended and showcased bassist Mike Gordon. Page returned to the clav, Mike kicked in his Akai Deep Impact bass synth and soon Phish completed a “great segue” into Boogie On Reggae Woman. The closing stanza had so much potential as Phish toyed and extended Boogie On. Rock and Roll -> Meatstick -> Boogie On Reggae Woman was clearly the biggest take-away sequence from the show and should be the first listen for fans who download/stream recordings of the tour opener. Two ballads followed (Farmhouse and Show of Life) before the group ended the set with two high-energy crowd pleasers (Julius and Character Zero). Phish went with a Stones cover in the encore slot – the sixth Loving Cup of 2011. Leg two of Summer Tour 2011 continues tomorrow night at The Gorge.
READ ON for the setlist, The Skinny and much more…
Setlist…
Set 1: Kill Devil Falls, The Wedge, Bathtub Gin, Nellie Kane > My Friend, My Friend,Cavern > Taste > Roggae > Walk Away, Funky Bitch > Roses Are Free > David Bowie
Set 2: Backwards Down the Number Line > Rock and Roll[1] -> Meatstick[2] -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Farmhouse > Show of Life > Julius > Character Zero
Encore: Loving Cup
[1] Page on theremin.
[2] Japanese lyrics.
[via Phish.net]
- Venue Capacity / Attendance: 20,000 / 15,000*
- Previous Shows at Venue: 08/02/1997, 08/03/1997, 07/16/1998, 07/17/1998, 09/10/1999, 09/11/1999, 07/12/2003, 07/13/2003, 08/07/2009, 08/08/2009 [11 total including tonight]
- Number Of Songs / Length – First Set: 12 / 8:02 > 9:35 (93 Minutes)
- Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set & Encore: 9 / 10:09 > 11:28 (79 Minutes)
- Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 21 / 7 / 14
- Biggest Bustout: Farmhouse (Last Played 12/27/2010 – 26 Shows)
- Debuts: N/A
- Average Song Gap: 6.29
- Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: Rock and Roll (19:54) / Nellie Cane (2:48)
- Wardrobe: Trey – Long-sleeve Navy Blue Button-down / Jeans; Page – Short-sleeve Black Button-down/Jeans; Mike – Purple T-shirt (no sleeves) for Set One and Long-sleeve Plaid Button-down for Set Two/Jeans; Fish – Dress
- Audio: Live Phish
* – Approximation
Poster…
Tweets…
[via @TourPhish]
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Videos…
First Set playlist:
Second Set playlist:
Scott Bernstein
Scott Bernstein co-founded Hidden Track in October 2006 and was managing editor until taking over as EiC in January 2008. Scotty also writes for Relix Magazine and curates YEMblog.com.
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The twitpics are a nice inclusion in The Skinny!
Love this segment, especially how quick it gets out.
Only thing, why so many quotes from other people who are recapping the show? It’s almost like a game of telephone at that point. Pics are awesome though, no hating here.
@Jon – I wasn’t at the show and didn’t have the best stream to work off of. I added in Andy’s comments (and he’s a member of our staff) so that there would be first-hand observations included within. We’ll have the full review treatment later this weekend, but I wanted fans to be able to get an overview at what happened at the tour opener as quickly as possible and not just from somebody listening to a stream/recording.
Thanks for reading!