7.18-7.20 Phish at United Center
I surpassed the 80 show mark and feasted on blueberries.
7.18 Phish at United Center
The crew and I got into Chicago around midnight Thursday, and set up camp on a blueberry farm on the outskirts of Cook County. A rented sprinter van ferried the 15 of us an hour or so to United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks. This was Phish’s second three day run at this venue, and I was glad to be back. I’ve been to enough outdoor shows in July and August that are negatively impacted by the heat or rain (ie Phish Chicago, Northerly Island, 2013) that I am happy to be indoors. (Preach it, Steve Miller!?) Most of us didn’t go in to the city at all, except of course for the shows. Instead, we spent the days picking blueberries and guitars and waiting out the rain. We thoroughly enjoyed our unique and idyllic accommodations, along with fresh blueberry pancakes and muffins.
Friday’s show started with “Harry Hood”, a bit of a confounding but welcome choice, as the song usually appears in the encore or as a set closer. In fact, this was just the 7th time since its 1985 debut that Hood has appeared in the opening slot. “Oblivion”, a new song from last year’s Evolve album., followed. This night’s version included some “Bird Song” teases from Trey, just a couple weeks before Trey Anastasio Band will be opening for Dead and Co on the third night of the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead in Golden Gate Park. “Bathtub Gin” had a fun little “Tequila” section, then the opening set featured what would be the biggest bustout of the weekend, Allen Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down”, which hadn’t been played since 2011 (522 shows). “Hey Stranger”, a groovy pandemic era Trey tune, was also a highlight. Second set had its moments (a wandering, 28 minute “What’s Going Through Your Mind”) but first set was the clear winner for me.
I was situated stage left, above and behind drummer Jon Fishman, who for this tour moved from his perch behind the other band members to beside bassist Mike Gordon, so that all four band members were in a row along the front of the stage. So, I had an unusual perspective on Fishman and keyboardist Page McConnell and their rigs. Not long after the show started, I moved towards the center of the arena and joined some friends with better seats for a view of the stage and lights.
“Harry Hood”:
7.19 Phish at United Center
Saturday night’s show marked the 80th time I’ve seen Phish, and reaffirmed why I have traveled to 16 states to see this band. The quartet continues to add exciting new material into their repertoire (represented tonight by “Life Saving Gun” and “Pillow Jets”) and dig in to classics with extended improvisation, as they did on a blissful “Tube” (yes they did jam out “Tube”, 15 minutes!) and “Down With Disease”. Other highlights for me were the first set closing “Most Events Aren’t Planned” from Page’s side project Vida Blue, and “2001”.
“2001”:
Trey strutted around the stage for a bit before his customary guitar raising ceremony during “First Tube”:
7.20 Phish at United Center
Never miss a Sunday show! That definitely applied for this third and final show of the run, which absolutely took the top prize. One of my favorite songs, “Reba”, made an appearance in the first set, after a bouncy “Mikes Song” that didn’t get it’s typical “Weekapaug Groove” counterpart until the encore. A lively “Gotta Jiboo” opened the second set and was followed by a lengthy and funky “Fuego”. A somewhat rare “Fee” was played in the encore, with Trey singing the lyrics through a megaphone (as is done on the studio version) to the delight of the crowd. All around it was a stupendously fun weekend of music! ‘Til next time, Phish!
And finally, a serene pond at the blueberry farm:
And a dragonfly who has eaten too many blueberries:
