The members of Phish kicked off the second leg of their Summer Tour last night at the famed Red Rocks amphitheater in Morrison, CO; playing their first show at the legendary venue in 13 years. While the show won’t be remembered as one of the best they ever played it certainly showed flashes of brilliance and set a good base for the beginning of a four night stand.

Thursday’s concert featured a number of songs that mentioned the surroundings in which the band was performing. Opening with Divided Sky – a staple of the band’s previous performances at the venue – the quartet also threw down The Wedge, Loving Cup and Possum, all with lyrics about mountains. From the moment they took the stage it was clear the band had been practicing. Sure, there was a flub here and there, but for the most part they tore through some of the more complex material.

The highlight of the first set came in the form of the exploratory jam in Stash. Bassist Mike Gordon kept pushing and prodding the improv into new, exciting territory with guitarist Trey Anastasio following Mike and inserting some smart ideas of his own into the jam. If there’s one song to check out from last night’s show, it’s Stash.

READ ON for more from Scotty on night one of Red Rocks…

As the sun set we were treated to some magical imagery courtesy of Phish LD Chris Kuroda. Kuroda’s lights were set up at a much lower height than anything seen previously, allowing him to light the band from every direction creating a bit of a halo effect around them along with the haze. Mike’s Song in particular showed off some of CK5′s new moves with each passing section.

Speaking of Mike’s, while the jam was well played it was rather short and once again ended without the band veering into the F major “Simple” section that always provided magical moments before the band broke up. After biffing their way through I Am Hydrogen the boys pulled it together for a straightforward – but RIPPING – Weekapaug.

Ghost followed the Mike’s Groove and unlike the previous 3.0 versions of the tune the band didn’t rely on transitioning the jam from minor tones to major tones in order to score points. Instead, Trey went to town soloing over the funk while Mike dropped some thick riffs using his Lovetone Meatball Envelope Filter to add some depth to the bombs. Each member of the band brought something to the mix on one of the more relaxed Ghosts of all-time. Keyboardist Page McConnell eventually asserted himself strongly and led the band into a chord progression reminiscent of Fatboy Slim’s Praise You. The crowd was picking up what the quartet was laying down and the middle of the second set was the most exciting sequence of the concert.

The Ghost ended with Trey and Page dueling on some call-and-response before McConnell inserted the opening piano run that kicks off Wolfman’s Brother. Wolfman’s was another tune that allowed the band to play fast and take chances. Anastasio was loving life at this point and led the other through some nice peaks and valleys during the Wolfman’s jam. Towards the end of this bit of improvisation the quartet stumbled upon an anthemic riff that got everyone in the crowd pumping their fists along with the music. A memorable moment to say the least.

One of the slower and more straight forward sections of the night followed to cool things down with Limb By Limb followed by the bust out of the sweet and tender Billy Breathes and The Squirming Coil. David Bowie gave the foursome one last chance to stretch out and they took advantage of the opportunity. After a quick encore break the band payed tribute to their surroundings once more with a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Loving Cup.

All in all it was a fun show with a number of highlights. There’s plenty of room for the band to up the ante on the three nights left in the run. Phish returns to Red Rocks tonight for night number two. Follow the action live from Morrison @YEMblog.

Setlist:

Set 1: Divided Sky, Ocelot, Wedge, Poor Heart, Moma Dance, Horn, Stash, Horse > Silent in the Morning, Possum

Set 2: Mike’s Song > Hydrogen > Weekapaug, Ghost, Wolfman’s Brother, Limb by Limb, Billy Breathes, The Squirming Coil, David Bowie

Encore: Loving Cup

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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