Phish played their first of three nights at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey, right across the river from Philadelphia, last night. The run continues through the weekend.
The weekend’s show will be webcast live via LivePhish.com if you want to follow along from the couch at home. Last night’s was a tough one to start as the skies opened up and soaked the entire crowd that wasn’t underneath the pavilion when waiting for Set I.
Wet start at #Phish tonight. 🌧 https://t.co/umE88ohmLD
— LIVE music blog (@livemusicblog) June 28, 2019
Once the band got on, a fantastic “Set Your Soul Free” kicked off the show and got people warmed up. “Strawberry Letter #23” elicited huge cheers right from the start, and it was a fitting and fun version for the soaked crowd. A fantastic set of song choices followed, some that haven’t appeared much at all lately like “Train Song” or “Horn”. The band had a bit of a funny moment with “Birds of a Feather” because it seemed like they were started “The Birds” but abandoned it. “Wolfman’s > Wombat > Timber” had a full mix of Phish compositional elements (funk/fun/groove) before the new Ghosts of the Forest tune, “Drift While You’re Sleeping” closed the set.
https://twitter.com/secretcabdriver/status/1144791292062384129
For set two, a HUGE “Mercury” opened things up and went for 20 minutes before a good groove emerged and the band laid into “No Men In No Man’s Land” before grooving their way into “We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains”. Another new Ghosts of the Forest tune, “About to Run,” gets tonight’s slowdown spot, but the “Light > Antelope” to close the set was a high energy affair throughout. “Light” had this crazy tease thing at the end, too. They quoted The Birds, sang We Are Come, teased No Men, etc. Basically did a jam medley. No notes do it justice. :)
The band encored with “Sleeping Monkey” featuring a full crowd singalong at one point, and a perfect “Quinn the Eskimo” sent people on their way.
Phish @ BB&T Pavilion, Camden, NJ 6.28.19
Set I: Set Your Soul Free, Strawberry Letter #23, My Friend My Friend, Halfway to the Moon, The Old Home Place, Train Song, Horn, Birds of a Feather, Wolfman’s Brother, Wombat > Timber (Jerry), Drift While You’re Sleeping
Set II: Mercury > No Men in No Man’s Land > We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains, About to Run, Light* > Run Like An Antelope
Encore: Sleeping Monkey > Quinn the Eskimo
Notes:
* – band vocal teased “We Are Come To Outlive our Brains Again” and “faceplant into rock” as part of “Light”
PHOTO GALLERY © Jonathan Pretz
