After treating fans to a show-stopping “Down With Disease” on night one, Phish returned to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta, GA to put the finishing touches on a fantastic two night run. This fall tour has been heavily skewed towards the band’s new album, Big Boat, but the band went deeper into their catalog and played a show with only one song debuted in 2016 – “Ass Handed.” In doing so, Phish left their longtime fans smiling with a great night of music.
That “Ass Handed” came in the middle of a show-opening “Mike’s Song”/”Weekapaug Groove” combination, and tracks like “Waiting All Night” and “Sample In A Jar” kept the first set going strongly. Through classic tunes like “Bathtub Gin,” “Rift,” and “Stash,” the band showed their ability to pull out just about anything on their fall tour.
The second set brought more of the heat, with a set-opening “Run Like An Antelope” and the first “Runaway Jim” of the tour. Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” was on the setlist as well, but it was the 16-minute “Simple” and the “46 Days” -> “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley” -> “46 Days” that provided some true fireworks for the night. The band even brought out “Makisupa Policeman” in the encore, playing the fun reggae tune for the first time since The Gorge in July. “First Tube” closed the night with some rock and roll energy, just putting the exclamation point on a great show.
Fortunately, thanks to YouTube user Tom Rowles, full videos of the show are available to stream and enjoy.
Phish will make their way to Texas and play two nights in Grand Prairie on Monday and Tuesday. You can see the full setlist, as well as photos of the show courtesy of Emily Butler Photography, below.
Setlist: Phish at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA – 10/22/16
SET 1: Mike’s Song > Ass Handed > Weekapaug Groove, Waiting All Night, Sample in a Jar, Bathtub Gin, Rift, Stash, Funky Bitch, Your Pet Cat, Character Zero
SET 2: Run Like an Antelope, Fuego > Runaway Jim, No Quarter > Simple > 46 Days -> Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley -> 46 Days
ENCORE: Makisupa Policeman, First Tube
