Phish just finished off their second night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Our friend Brian Ferguson of BUT I WAS THERE photography shot the first night and brought back this gallery, but tune in below for some notes, videos and etc. from last night’s show. Hot, hot, hot Night #2.
The band kicked off the show with a high energy “Buried Alive” and nailed it perfectly and got the energy in the room pumped up even more than it was. “Cavern” came next quickly and injected some more fun energy vibes into the arena. Then we get the first “Dogs Stole Things” since the Baker’s Dozen 2017 run, and wonderfully it was a solid version and well delivered. Clearly recently rehearsed, that’s for sure.
Speaking of recently rehearsed, “Sugar Shack” came next and frontman Trey Anastasio nailed it as closely as I’ve heard him lately, always a bit of a challenging guitar part for him. “Stash” came next and got into some interesting jam places, almost a “Caravan” type jazz/funk vibe that resolved nicely into the song conclusion, and “Wingsuit” came next and showed off some soaring guitar work by Anastasio.
“Limb by Limb” came next and again shows off more of the trademark virtuosity the band exhibits when they’re allowed to really play off each, always a song highlighting Fishman’s drumming in my opinion.
“Gumbo” launched next and finished with a jazzy breakdown with Fishman and Page taking center stage, which launched into “Stray Dog” next. Fun version, great playing on it and a lot of fun vocally in the second half of the song. “Steam” was a great chill-out end of the set jam session, a good chance for the groove for a bit, and the set closed with a monster “David Bowie”.
The second set kicked off with one of my faves always, “Party Time” a totally straight ahead version of the tune, and then the band moved into the launch pad of “Chalk Dust Torture”. A great jam followed, something that I loved to hear patiently form once the band launched out of the main song structure and into the abyss. The jam got almost math rock at times with the way Fishman kept teasing and playing around with the one and where he playing off Trey and Mike. Great version, and a tentative seque (missed opportunity) got “Ruby Waves” off to a slow start but a commanding finish.
As the band jammed out of the Ghosts of the Forest song, they found their way into the Round Room song “Seven Below”. “Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan” gave some pause while “Piper” got a full fledged slow build-up.
Well that was perfect. #Piper #Phish
— LIVE music blog (@livemusicblog) July 11, 2019
Out of the “Piper” chaos came some melodic connection to the “Ruby Waves” jam and the show made another appearance this summer. “I Always Wanted It This Way” brought out those PagEDM vibes and got people dancing, while “Drift While You’re Sleeping” closed out the set.
“Bouncing Around the Room” seemed to get a groan or two, but a perfect version followed and the band went into “I Saw It Again” next. Without a doubt, after getting into the jam a bit, Trey shouts KUNG! and immediately we’ve dropped into the scary, weird Phish-y type of moment that I think a lot of people have been waiting all summer for. Trey and Fish are there singing “Kung” over the “Saw It Again” beat, and it all sorta becomes chaos, them shouting, making each other laugh, and then the band moved into “Slave to the Traffic Light” to finalize the two-night run. Unbelievable.
"I Saw It Again" jam. Full "Kung". Fishman shouts to crowd "Don't sit down during the encore! Stand the f*ck up!" Trey shouts "taste the humidity" at some point.
Then… out of the chaos… "Slave to the Traffic Light".
Wow. #phish
— LIVE music blog (@livemusicblog) July 11, 2019
The band moves onto Alpine Valley for a three-night run to close out the tour. Here’s the setlist below…
Phish @ Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT 7.10.19
Set I: Buried Alive > Cavern, Dogs Stole Things, Sugar Shack, Stash, Wingsuit, Limb by Limb, Gumbo > Stray Dog, Steam > David Bowie*
Set II: Party Time, Chalk Dust Torture > Ruby Waves > Seven Below, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan > Piper -> Ruby Waves > I Always Wanted It This Way > Drift While You’re Sleeping
Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, I Saw It Again -> Kung^ > Slave to the Traffic Light
Notes:
* – “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” teases
^ – sung over the “I Saw It Again” beat. At one point Trey and Fish both vocally tease the crowd (“Don’t sit down at setbreak, stand up!” and just being all around crazy). Perfect transition of energy into “Slave to the Traffic Light” following.
