Show Review - Phish 8/29/24 Commerce City, CO
CONJURERS OF THUNDER
Phish kicked off their 13th annual Labour Day Weekend run at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park last night, throwing down a jam-heavy show that continued this summer’s strong trend – and saw a promising jam vehicle finally break through to massive status.
With the venue weirdly undersold – I don’t remember ever being able to see the “COLORADO” on the seats across the stadium last year. Likely due to lots of people choosing Mondegreen over Dick’s, it felt like those of us in attendance last night really wanted to be there, whether it was the Colorado faithful getting to see their first Phish of the summer or those of us who had travelled to a bunch of shows already.
Opening the first set of the first night with “Cities,” a song previously unplayed at Dick’s, the band made a statement that this would not be your average first set and jumped into extended jamming right from the jump. Guitarist Trey Anastasio leaned into some funky wah work early on (this will be a trend throughout the night) as drummer Jon Fishman pushed the tempo. Hey-hole themes began to take over as keyboardists sparkling piano work dueled with Anastasio as the latter led the charge into a bright major-key space.
Gliding through multiple peaks, the band locked in on a “Mind Left Body”-like descending progression for a few measures before triumphantly concluding “Cities” – an excellent 14-minute opener to the run.
A surprise call came next with the opening bass rumbles of “Down with Disease,” taking an atypical early first set slot. Phish quickly dove headlong back into open jamming, Anastasio hanging back and letting McConnell and Gordon lead the charge initially. The keyboardist began to infuse Fender Rhodes into the jam, doubling with piano for a very cool effect as they explored the upbeat space.
Thanks to a low drone from Gordon, “Disease” headed for some more menacing tones as Anastasio and McConnell locked in on some repeating motifs. The jam seemed to be poised for liftoff from there, but Anastasio opted instead to pull the ripcord back into the conclusion of the song – it’s hard to be that upset after close to 30 minutes of great jamming between the first two songs of a run, but it definitely felt as though “Disease” had lots of gas left in the tank.
“Ether Edge” was called next and the band delivered another incredibly solid 13-minute jam, building on previous versions of this song as they have been doing so far this summer. Quickly departing the song into a brisk space, Gordon coloured the low end with some space-age noises as McConnell moved to some sharp clav, hinting at the funk for a bit before returning to a more standard rocking theme. The band exhibited some great patience through this build, spending several minutes exploring within this theme before exploding into a high-octane peak.
Fading into a rocking “Llama” next, the first set continued with a well-played “Theme From the Bottom,” sadly not following its 2024 trend of being jammed out, before Anastasio actually nailed “Sugar Shack.”
“Ocelot” is always a first-set favourite and a song whose languid pace has always begged for an extended treatment and has never really gotten there aside from a few versions. The interplay between Anastasio and Gordon in the early stages of last night’s version is absolutely astounding, and the guitarist quickly pivoted to some light vamping with Fish and McConnell too.
While never truly breaking free of Type I “Ocelot” space, this was up there with the best versions the band has ever played thanks to its patience and interplay – well worth a listen.
The set concluded from there with a rocking pairing of “Golgi Apparatus” (composition NAILED) and “Blaze On,” continuing what has been a summer of long sets and false endings – we easily could have gone into the break after “Golgi” but the band has been having such a blast on stage that the “bonus” songs have become the norm.
A quick 25-minute setbreak later, Phish re-emerged with “Ghost” to kick off the second frame and jumped right into some incredible jamming. Eschewing the typical early emphasis on a grounded major-key jam, McConnell’s gentle Wurlitzer work and Anastasio’s loops were pushed along by Gordon’s synth-heavy playing to a more layered and ambient-feeling space.
Quickly pivoting into a darker space, Fish kept the steady tempo going as Anastasio’s phaser-delay playing dominated the jam. Gordon has had a hell of a summer and continued to lead the improv, building along with McConnell’s Moog One synthesizer in a minor-key zone before exploding into a fantastic peak.
For the second time in the show, it felt like a promising jam got cut off too soon – despite an excellent 15 minutes of “Ghost.” I was excited, however, when “A Wave of Hope” started up – this was bound to be the first truly massive jam of the weekend.
Unfortunately, that would not be the case as the band didn’t really connect on the short 9-minute version – sometimes a ripcord can be necessary to give them the reset needed to really lock in rather than flounder in a space that isn’t going anywhere. While “Sigma Oasis” had several big versions in 2022, it has largely been Type I for the past two years so I was initially apprehensive at the setlist call for the middle of the second set – but Phish proceeded to ease my fears with over 40 minutes of incredible music.
After spending just a few minutes in “Sigma” proper, the band broke into a percussive funk zone, augmented by Gordon’s distorted synth effects. A cool juxtaposition of tones took place early on as McConnell and Anastasio contrasted the synths with bright major-key playing.
Fully committing to the funk, Fish’s thumping snare led the way as Anastasio took to his bass synth and ring modulator effects alongside McConnell doubling Wurli and piano, one of my favourite tricks of his he’s been using a lot lately. The layered groove continued to unfold and took on an almost “Golden Age”-like tone for a moment, pushing forward into more mechanical funk. Anastasio laid into some cowfunk licks as the band built to a cacophonous peak of sorts, Fish letting loose a stream of wild fills as Anastasio switched to some octave-infused leads. Bursting back into “Sigma” to close the jam, the band landed in “Pillow Jets,” a favourite mid-second set call in 2024.
I have been predicting since the Sphere version in April that a 20+ minute “Pillow Jets” was imminent, and the band finally delivered on that last night with a 23-minute monster, playing with purpose and intent that had been absent from some moments earlier in the show.
Beginning in the psychedelic synth-drenched guitar rock that is the typical starting point for “Pillow Jets,” McConnell sent waves of Moog One shooting out across the crowd for several minutes, the layers of sound getting more and more dense. Emerging from that theme, Anastasio nudged the band into an aggressive and choppy zone that saw McConnell mimick his insistent playing with flurries of piano, Fish opening up into a fluid space.
With an undertone of happiness, it seemed like we might be headed for brighter pastures but instead the band made a hard turn back into the darkness as McConnell began some subtle clav tapping and Anastasio’s multiple layers of delay coalesced into a maelstrom.
Coming up for air with some bent licks reminiscent of “Birds of a Feather,” Anastasio led the way back into a cleaner rocking zone, augmented by Gordon’s sparse bombs.
Switching tones yet again, the jam gradually slowed with the band members dancing around each other into a laid-back motif, McConnell laying down a soft bed of electric piano as Anastasio softened his tone with some beautiful melodic work. This vein of jamming continued for a while before the intensity ramped up and the band launched into a high-energy peak zone, Anastasio doing his best classic rock guitarist impression.
On a dime, the band came down from the peak into a percussive funk jam, Anastasio looping his taps for some eerie effects as the band returned to the laid-back vibe from earlier. Much like the Mexico “Wave of Hope” from February, the last several minutes of the Dick’s “Pillow Jets” featured patience and commitment to quieter dynamics, the band members content to lay in the groove and explore more ambient zones.
Launching into “2001” next, the soccer stadium became an all-out dance party as we celebrated the mind-bending jam that had just happened and the all-around amazing vibes that this Deodato cover brings to the table.
A gorgeous rendition (when isn’t it?) of “Harry Hood” full of deft guitar work brought the excellent second set to a close before a rocking “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” encore closed out the Thursday night on a high note.
One night into Dick’s, Phish has demonstrated that they are continuing this summer’s trend of incredible playing and jamming – I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next three shows! If you’re on couch tour, webcasts are available for the whole weekend via LivePhish.com.