Phish returned to the stage for a one-off tonight at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont. This benefit concert was set to raise funds for the Vermont Flood Relief effort in the wake of last month’s Hurricane Irene.

[via @NugsNet]

The first Phish show in Vermont since the Coventry Festival in 2004 started with a typically rocking Chalk Dust Torture. Phish kept the energy high throughout an opening stanza laden with the band’s “greatest hits” such as Cavern, Sample In A Jar, Moma Dance, Julius and Bathtub Gin. Bathtub was an intense version energy-wise that stuck within the normal parameters of the jam.

With the exception of Alaska, the quartet kept to classic material in set one. As expected, Possum reared its head for the 14th time in this short year of touring. Phish saved the best for Wolfman’s, throwing down another fantastic version of a song contending for 2011 MVP. Trey lit into the solo from the get go and built up the dirty funk jam to a rolling boil. Once at that point, Anastasio laid down a number of jam-dropping licks and was urged on by Mike Gordon’s slap work and Page McConnell’s chunky, barrelhouse piano stylings. You wouldn’t expect Julius to be among the highlights of a set, but tonight an interesting take on the rocker in which the band toyed with the tempo and pacing closed out set one.

READ ON for the rest of the recap as well as the setlist and The Skinny…

The second set was a completely different beast as the first half of the set featured lots of jamming. Trey strode to the mic and told the crowd that two of the few Vermonter friends he hadn’t run into was former Phish crew member Pete Carini and his wife Tara before dedicating Carini to its namesake. While most recent Carinis were extremely short, Phish jammed this one out beautifully, exploring one pretty jam space after another. Out of the ether came Down With Disease, which offered the band another chance to take it deep. Though, this Disease was more about Anastasio’s fretboard fireworks at the beginning of the jam than the left turn it took a few minutes in. A gorgeous Slave To The Traffic Light came next followed by a way too brief Rock and Roll.

Twist is another song which has undergone a renaissance in 2011 and while tonight’s take didn’t quite reach the heights of recent versions, Phish is clearly enjoying Twist these days and stretching out every little section of this tune. From there, the group went with more heavy rotation originals in the form of Backwards Down The Number Line, Theme From The Bottom, Suzy Greenberg and Character Zero. Just as with Julius, the band really toyed with the tempo of the Zero jam making for a nice climax to the set. Up against the clock, the Loving Cup encore was a hit it and quit it affair.

Overall, this evening’s concert was a huge success and raised plenty of money for relief efforts. Musically, this was more in line with Outside Lands than Chicago or Denver.

Setlist…

09/14/2011 Champlain Valley Exposition

Set 1: Chalk Dust Torture, The Moma Dance > NICU, Funky Bitch,Sample in a Jar, Cavern, Bathtub Gin, Alaska > Possum, Wolfman’s Brother > Julius

Set 2: Carini[1] > Down with Disease[1] > Slave to the Traffic Light >Rock and Roll > Twist > Backwards Down the Number Line, Theme From the Bottom > Suzy Greenberg > Character Zero

Encore: Loving Cup

[1] Unfinished.

This special performance was a benefit for flood relief efforts in Vermont the wake of Hurricane Irene. The show was preceded by an announcement from Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, who thanked the crowd for their support and spoke about additional ways people could get involved in the flood relief effort. Carini was dedicated to Pete and Tara Carini. Carini and Disease were unfinished.

[via Phish.net]

  • Venue Capacity / Attendance: 10,050 / Approx. 12,000 [Figure From Venue Rep via @sgallman]
  • Previous Shows at Venue: N/A
  • Number of Songs / Length – First Set:  11 / 7:34PM > 9:01PM [87 Minutes]
  • Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set & Encore: 10 / 9:36PM – 11:04PM [88 Minutes]
  • Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 21 / 3/ 18
  • Biggest Bustout: NICU [LTP 07/01/2011 - 15 Shows]
  • Debuts: N/A
  • Average Song Gap: 3.71
  • Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: Bathtub Gin (12:52) / Cavern (4:20)
  • Wardrobe: Trey = Black Shirt / Jeans, Mike = Denim Vest /Grey Shirt / Black Pants, Page = Black Shirt / Blue Jeans, Fish = Dress w/ Hurricanes
  • Audio: Live Phish SBD,

Poster…

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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