Show Review - Phish 8/31/24 Commerce City, CO
Three For Three
Phish headed into the third night of Dick’s with two incredible shows under their belt on Thursday and Friday. With past trends in mind, I expected more of a “mixed bag” show last night – maybe some shorter jams and iffier setlist calls – but instead, we were treated to an incredible show anchored by a monstrous first set and the longest “Kill Devil Falls” to date. Never doubt Phish.
The band took the stage with “46 Days,” guitarist Trey Anastasio counting the band into the song together as opposed to the usual opening riff. The jam quickly opened up into a breezy major-key space with excellent dual Wurlitzer and piano work from keyboardist Page McConnell, coasting on vibes and setting the tone that this would not be the inconsistent third night some had expected.
A surprise call of “Oblivion” in the two-slot was received well by the crowd, though the jam vehicle has been relatively contained this summer with some shorter versions. Last night’s version was decidedly not that, as the band proceeded to jam it out for nearly 20 minutes, beginning with some low-key clav funk.
Bassist Mike Gordon took the lead (as he was doing ALL night) with some heavy thumping as Anastasio layered vibrato-infused guitar over top. Switching to some really interesting space delay, the guitarist worked the groove and built the intensity a bit over some mellow chordal work from McConnell.
Patiently sinking further into the jam, the quartet locked in together on a moody vibe for a bit before Anastasio pulled the band into a dark minor key, McConnell’s dissonant piano serving as a signal that we were heading into evil territory, but that was not to last as Phish pivoted in the other direction, heading for major-key waters.
Anastasio stuck to delayed chordal riffing while McConnell took the lead, dancing over the rhythm section on piano and then clav, drummer Jon Fishman pushing the tempo as Gordon dug into some disco-funk themes that would return later in the set. Hinting at some “San Ho-Zay” riffing, the jam grew more rocking and upbeat.
From a solid peak, the band denied an opportunity to wrap up the jam and moved into some darker zones, Gordon letting loose some pulsating synth textures as McConnell hit the clav once again. Following the pattern that the jam had hit previously, Phish returned to bliss and glory to finish the jam with an electric and joy-filled explosion.
A brief reprise of the chorus of “Oblivion” wrapped up the 19-minute jam and only the second song of the show before the band launched into “Axilla (Part II).” A few minutes of dark and spacey jamming from the outro bled into the beginning of “Bathtub Gin” and my personal highlight of the first set.
When I wrote about Sunday at Mondegreen, I noted that the afternoon “Gin” from that set had a similar momentum and vibe to the funked-out versions of Summer ’98. The band built on that last night, building up a great head of steam in the initial improv before departing into extended exploration around the 10-minute mark.
As the peaky Type I jam died away, McConnell hit the clav and the band locked in on some serious funk, Fish’s insistent tempo leading the way for some incredible full-band themes, no one member taking a lead role and everyone contributing to the groove.
Gordon activated a synth pedal to bring the booty-shaking disco-funk jam to its full form, Anastasio letting loose angular delay chords as all 25,000 people inside the venue GOT DOWN. This segment of “Gin” immediately became one of my favourite pieces of music played all weekend and the band seemed to be feeling the vibe as they blasted back into a more euphoric jam and brought the song to a high-octane peak.
Four songs into the first set, and two of them nearly hit 20 minutes. That’s what I call success - especially in a summer where the majority of the jamming action has come in second sets.
The set continued with a rocking “Undermind” that highlighted McConnell’s Hammond B3 work which continued through “Maze.” A quick run through “Free” led to my first “Most Events Aren’t Planned,” a welcome set closer whose rave-up ending jam had the crowd going nuts. One of my absolute favourite McConnell tunes and something I had been wanting to catch for a long time.
Another quick setbreak later, the band returned to open the second frame with “Loving Cup” for just the fourth time ever, joining 2/26/93, 5/7/94, and 10/22/21. Though “Tweezer” seemed to be the obvious big jam call for after the opening rocker, one of this summer’s most consistent vehicles was tapped and the band uncorked a behemoth 26-minute “Kill Devil Falls” – the longest version in the band’s history.
Diving quickly into improvisation with a low-key groove, Phish picked up where the first set’s centrepieces left off with some excellent interplay, Gordon locking in on a repetitive riff with Anastasio and McConnell.
Fish varied the beat as the band executed a major modulation, dancing around each other with Anastasio and McConnell intertwining on some unhurried and beautiful playing. A quick increase in tempo saw the energy skyrocket as Anastasio switched to rhythm guitar to allow McConnell a lead role on piano.
Hitting a solid peak, “KDF” made a pivot into its next segment some layered and almost eerie space, largely thanks to Gordon’s heavy space-haze effects. Fish laid into heavy tom work in this segment, allowing an amazing calming interlude of sorts between the more high energy themes before and after.
Fish pushed forward into a faster clip as McConnell took to his Fender Rhodes as Anastasio confidently took the lead with some minor-key riffing. Sticking with this for a short time, Fish eventually varied the tempo again – something he’s been doing a lot the last couple of shows – into a slower and heavier mode for Anastasio to get increasingly psychedelic with his guitar work.
But again – not content to sit in one spot, the band began to speed up again, building an incredible bliss peak over several minutes. At the apex, Anastasio began to infuse dissonance into the jam and Fish broke his steady beat as the band drifted into some hazy sections, accentuated by Gordon’s use of drill. Mellowing from there, the band cooled and landed in a thumping groove that transformed into the opening of “What’s Going Through Your Mind” perfectly.
Jaw-dropping segue aside, I was overjoyed to hear this song after absolutely loving it at Mondegreen earlier this month – and it delivered another fantastic jam to continue the incredible direction the set was already heading.
Returning to the disco-funk of the first set’s “Gin,” Gordon went full synth mode once again as Fish held down the dance pocket, leaving room for Anastasio’s delay-filled Whammy-bent chords and McConnell’s low synth and then piano.
From there, the band hit a transitional haze once again before coming up for air in a few more minutes of solid improv ahead of a fantastic setlist call of “Crosseyed and Painless.” Another 14 minutes of high-quality Phish, this jam built to several fiery peaks as the Talking Heads classic is wont to do, but not before the quartet locked in on some relatively dissonant descending lines.
So far, the second set had consisted of just over an hour of completely uninterrupted and high-quality Phish, and the band barely paused before launching into a demented “Split Open and Melt,” much to the delight of the audience.
While the “Chalk Dust Torture” and “Ruby Waves” from Friday’s show contained evil jamming, there’s nothing like the band opening every bag of tricks in their arsenal and unleashing hell upon the crowd like a good “Melt.” Fish especially just blows my mind in every version of this song with his ability to keep the whole thing together while simultaneously giving space for it to all feel like complete random chaos.
Nailing the ending of the song, the second set stood just over 70 minutes and could have ended after a phenomenal five songs – but 90-minute sets are the norm now and Anastasio opted for one of his best new ballads in “Monsters,” cooling down and giving himself the opportunity to go full rock god ahead of a raucous and quick “Carini” closer.
While I do like the energy a late-set “Carini” brings, the song is too good of a jam vehicle to be relegated to this spot – this summer at Mohegan was the only non-set-closing version since last year’s Dick’s. Hoping for a renaissance in 2025!
After the monstrous encore on Friday, the band opted for a standard and fiery “Bug” > “First Tube,” complete with a bit of an extended ending where Fish stood up to show off the lot shirt he had donned for the encore, reading “First Tube is My Lube.”
One show remains on Phish’s summer tour and Dick’s run, which is also currently the only show scheduled for the remainder of the year. While we will see a New Year’s announcement in the coming weeks, the lack of a fall tour means this is the last Phish concert for nearly four months – so I imagine the band will have some big plans to leave it all out on the field.
Let’s do this one more time! Webcasts are available for the summer finale via LivePhish.com – see you at the show!
