Show Review - Phish 9/1/23 Commerce City, CO
After an excellent opening night, Phish returned to Dick’s last night for a throwdown of epic proportions for the Friday night show. While my “Tweezer Reprise” opener prediction may have been incorrect, there was a ton to dig into across the strong first and insane second sets.
Opening the show with a distinctly Type 1.5 “Wolfman’s Brother,” the quartet jammed through the setlist staple with intent, riding the line between inside-the-box and uncharted themes throughout its 13-minute runtime. Guitarist Trey Anastasio’s crunchy wah work melded nicely with keyboardist Page McConnell’s Wurlitzer electric piano as the band eased into the night with an excellent peak.
“Sparkle” was tapped next and gave way to a fiery “Bathtub Gin,” the second song of the night to hint at some extended Type II play without fully leaving the song proper. Drummer Jon Fishman began to assert himself during this early first-set staple and would go on to be the clear MVP of the show.
The steady choogle of “Back on the Train” led to the McConnell-fronted “Halfway to the Moon and an always-welcome first set “Bouncing Around the Room.”
Things heated back up with a well-executed “Stash,” a Type I reading of the Phish classic that had the energy skyrocket after the breathers in “Halfway” and “Bouncing.” “Esther,” a former rarity that has now been played eight times since 4.0 began, took the penultimate spot in the set while we were treated to an excellent and fiery “David Bowie” to close out the frame. Fish seemed to be playing “Maze” at the beginning, utilizing a closed hi-hat instead of the usual open sound for “Bowie,” throwing off those of us who are insane nerds about these kinds of things.
Expectations were high at setbreak after an energetic but mostly jamless first set – and Phish more than delivered with some of the finest music of the summer.
“Sand” began the second frame and quickly departed into uncharted waters thanks to some smooth melodic work from Anastasio, as has been the custom with most big jams this summer. The guitarist crafted a light haze of delay loops, acting as a great textural layer to the jam as McConnell went heavy on the Wurlitzer.
The music began to shift around 11 minutes in as the bliss shifted into a more rock ‘n roll vibe. McConnell’s muscular Hammond B3 tone really lent to that vibe as well as bassist Mike Gordon’s insistent low-end work. Existing somewhere between major and minor key, Anastasio’s quick envelope filter melodies quickly switched to flurries of upper-register playing, dogfighting with the thick organ.
Anastasio led a modulation back into a euphoric major mode and Fish really took hold for the final segment of the jam, pushing both the tempo and complexity of his incredible beat to new levels.
It seemed as though the band was ready to continue blasting off before Fish initiated a return to “Sand” proper as the other musicians vamped around in a Type I space again before bringing the song to its conclusion…nearly 24 minutes later.
Without missing a beat, Anastastio called for “No Men in No Man’s Land,” a song that has constantly flipped between a big jam vehicle and 10-minute rocker. Last night’s version was the former, and seemed MUCH longer than its relatively tame 14-minute runtime. The tempo was already brisk to start and Fish continued to ramp up the momentum as the other three musicians moved into an airy mode with a light touch of guitar and clavinet. McConnell layered some amazing Moog One work in the ensuing build to a throw-your-hands-in-the-air peak that had the full soccer stadium jumping up and down with huge smiles on our faces. Wasting no time, the peak bled seamlessly into a HOT “Llama,” closing out a ridiculously good 40 minutes of music.
“Mountains in the Mist” was an excellent call for the ballad slot, giving us a chance to catch our breath through the beautiful song before “Scents and Subtle Sounds” gave us some fourth-quarter improv, the quartet perfectly locking in on joint melodies in a very mellow space, acting as a nice contrast to the maximalist energy of “Sand” and “NMINML” earlier in the set. The shorter dose of jamming led into a set-closing “Shine A Light,” a great and energetic choice that was the first cover of the run.
The encore began with an incendiary “Wilson,” possibly a nod to football player Russell Wilson’s new home in Denver, which very well could have closed the show on its own – but the band had other ideas, instead tapping “Split Open and Melt” for a 17-minute encore excursion of epic proportions.
Its customary departure into a deep black hole achieved, Anastasio looped some pulsing riffs as McConnell stayed grounded on Wurlitzer – at least at first. Subtle, yet sinister layers of Moog began to appear as Gordon started carpet-bombing the stadium amid Fish’s wild flurries of cymbals and drums.
The “Melt” jam just got darker and cloudier as it went on, some aching whale call-like work from Anastasio’s Whammy pedal – almost feeling like a “Playing in the Band” jam briefly. All rules went out the deep end in the next section as the robots completely took over, an insane amount of ring modulator and synthesizer from everyone as Fish demonstrated why he is one of the greatest drummers on the planet. This kind of jamming is really hard to describe and just demands that you listen to it – but be prepared to be abducted.
Fish drove back to the “Melt” beat out of the evil murk but Anastasio was far from done, continuing the cacophony for another few minutes with absolutely wild and dissonant tones from the guitarist and McConnell before he brought it back to the conclusion of the song, the Type I peak of which lasted a few extra turns in the band’s excitement – closing out the show in the most insane way possible.
Walking out of the venue, it seemed as though most people were trying to process what had just transpired; 17 minutes of absolutely unhinged and truly evil Phish jamming – in the encore, no less!
We’re now halfway through the 2023 Dick’s run and Phish is NOT here to mess around…let’s see what happens tonight!