HAMPTON, Va. – Phish caught another keeper at the Hampton Coliseum when it mattered most, blasting a five-year breakup into the past with a crisp, focused show that proved the Vermont foursome is refreshed and ready for the road again.
To be fair, this wasn't the fearless or flawless Phish of the 1990s pre-breakup heyday. But on a Friday night that buzzed and crackled with anticipation, their missteps were few, the jamming was spirited and the mood on stage mostly playful and loose — a far cry from the emotional and musical shambles of their "farewell" show some five years prior.
They opened by nailing the hairpin transitions and turbulent passages of their most challenging material: the old stuff. "Fluffhead," an ecstatic prog-rocker and major crowd pleaser, kicked things off by staking a claim deep within the vast Phish songbook; they held that hallowed ground in the first set with "Divided Sky" and "David Bowie," also from their 1989 debut album "Junta."
But a most encouraging sign was that Phish clearly aims to keep innovating: an a capella "jam" that typically launches from the end of "You Enjoy Myself" (another "Junta" track) was one of the most such vocal segues the band's ever concocted. The odd meshing of mouth-sounds, beatboxing and caterwauling has historically been a thing of throwaway whimsy; on Friday, it quickly developed into a nighmarish wall of what came to sound like deep, spooky electronica gone wickedly wrong.
They also rejiggered the happy-go-lucky "Water in the Sky," changing it from astral bluegrass into an earthier, more dance-friendly shuffle, and debuted the heavy caliber rocker "Backwards Down the Number Line," a strong candidate for inclusion on their upcoming album.
Trey Anastasio's guitar work was on point for most of the longer-than-usual first set, and he recovered quickly on the rare occasions when he did slip out of a complex beat, as happened a couple of times on the twisty turns of a warp-speed "Rift." When he did get to the shrieking high notes, he charged in with all the vigor of a guitarist who has no doubt of his abilities.
Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, keyboardist Page McConnell and drummer Jon Fishman are playing three shows in Hampton, the UFO-looking arena that's often been considered a home court of sorts for Phish, who consistently turn out sterling performances here.
Friday's was their first show since an amicable split that turned out to be more burnout therapy than the end to their 20-year run on the road. They shrugged or laughed off minor flubs and moments of rustiness that, in the past, might have thrown them into a set-long funk of sloppy indifference.
Instead, Phish kept on moving like a tremendous machine through its two-decade song catalog, touching on material from at least eight albums and throwing in quite a few live favorites that never found a home on one, from the euphoria of "Harry Hood" to the mountain romp "Possum."
Maybe Phish will never eclipse their universally accepted musical zenith — a set of marathon shows in the Florida Everglades on New Year's Eve 1999 that was such a high, even the band has acknowledged it had a deflating effect on all future performances.
But if Friday's fiery, fully committed set is any indication, they sure are going to try.
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(Reuters)
