As I mentioned about Wednesday’s show, Phish concerts come in all different shapes and sizes, and that’s what makes them so appealing. What made last night’s show so great were all the curveballs thrown at various points in the show. Whether it was dusting off Jimmy Dale Gilmore’s My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own, busting TV on the Radio’s Golden Age to the delight of the indie segment of the fanbase or debuting the reggae-tinged original Tomorrow’s Song; the quartet kept fans guessing all night long.

As soon as guitarist Trey Anastasio barreled through the solo in AC/DC Bag it was clear he was firing on all cylinders and extremely excited to be on stage. Maze gave Anastasio a chance to channel all of his pent up energy for good as he delivered one rapid-fire run of notes after another. The first bust out of the evening came after a long discussion by Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon which ended with the band settling in on the first My Mind’s Got A Mind Of Its Own since 2004. The other bust out of the set was Two Versions of Me off of Undermind, which hadn’t been played since November 28, 2003. The line “no more Phish in the sea” was met smiles instead of groans as the state of the band couldn’t be better…for now.

There’s no doubt the first set was good, but the second set was where the magic happened. The fan-favorite My Friend, My Friend was met with cheers and hugs. The ensemble impressively nailed the tune. Out of the chaotic conclusion of My Friend came a song that had most scratching their heads at first. Then, many in the crowd started putting it together that Phish was covering TV on the Radio’s Golden Age. The band made the tune their own adding a light, happy jam at the end that had everybody pumping their fists.

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We expected something standard after a cover debut of that magnitude, but instead we got the rare cover bustout of On Your Way Down. How rare is On Your Way Down? It was only the second version in the last ten years. McConnell nailed the vocals with Anastasio laying down some fiery leads during his bluesy solo. The vibe couldn’t have been better after such an impressive start to the set. Perhaps it was time for the band to cool things down, but instead they decided to keep the energy high by starting Fluffhead. This particular Fluffhead featured a guitar solo for the ages by Big Red during the Fluff’s Arrival segment.

The momentum of the second set continued with a Piper that featured more blistering guitar work by Anastasio and aggressive piano work by McConnell. After a few minutes of Trey and Page ripping it up, drummer Jon Fishman kicked up a reggae beat. Here was another curveball – the debut of Tomorrow’s Song. Unlike the quick segment on Undermind, this version was fully developed with additional lyrics. The audience was eating it up and on the walk back to the hotel, I counted ten people singing the lyrics to themselves as they were leaving the venue. A fun moment to be sure. Prince Caspian gave fans a chance to catch their breath. A fantastic Harry Hood followed along with an energetic Suzy and gorgeous Squirming Coil.

Gordon, Anastasio and Fishman each left the stage during Page’s Coil solo. Just as McConnell was about to finish, the band members reemerged and climbed back on stage. Anastasio took the mic and asked Page “where ya been?’ Some funny banter ensued leading into McConnell singing I Been Around from the recently released Joy album. The band let the stage once more after I Been Around and most weren’t sure if that counted as the encore. Sure enough the band returned for a fiery Fire in honor of Jimi Hendrix’s birthday.

All in all we got bust outs, tight playing and even a couple of debuts at the first of the two Albany Phish shows. The band is feeling it and treating each crowd to completely different, memorable shows. The action continues tonight at the Times Union Center.