Over the last six years, Phish fans have had the opportunity to see a band return from a five-year hiatus and get themselves into a steady groove, only to go and reinvent themselves in a totally new creative light. While Joy was a comeback album, Fuego symbolized a new chapter in Phishtory. The moment sparked a new creative fire, ultimately giving us such gems as Halloween 2014 and a handful of new originals that have been strewn into setlists on this current summer tour.

Merging songs old and new, Phish is a constant beacon for everything we music fans have come to represent. The band members are extremely talented, both in musicianship and composition, and are wholly dedicated to both their fans and their craft. As they returned to Tuscaloosa for their first show in 23 years, expectations were high, and Phish delivered.

With a “Sample in a Jar”, the band embarked on their first Sunday show of the summer tour. The sweet and simple song gave way to the night’s first rocker, “Chalk Dust Torture”. It was a standard rendition but a scorcher nonetheless. The band kept things mellow with their first “Train Song” on tour, followed by “Devotion To a Dream”.

Mike Gordon took vocal duties on “Meat”, also a first for the tour, before the group went into a fiery “Maze”. This was a ripping version that kept the dance party raging strongly. “The Line” was next, another track from Fuego, before “Roggae” and “My Friend, My Friend” saw the group diving back into their older material.

“46 Days” brought the funk, and “Cavern” closed out set one with some rocking tones. The mood of the set seemed to change from song to song, bouncing from lighthearted to funky to dark to rockin’ and everything else, but each song was played with such enthusiasm.

Set two broke open the floodgates with a 20-minute (well, 19:48) version of “Down With Disease”. Left unfinished, it seems that the opening song of the second set is becoming the seminal position for exploratory jams. With Friday’s “Kill Devil Falls” and Saturday’s “Tweezer” both crossing the 20-minute mark in that setlist spot, we can only hope for more lengthy improvisation out of the gate.

Without any pauses, the band segued from “Disease” to “Camel Walk” to “Seven Below” to “Fuego” to “2001” to “Harry Hood” to “Possum”. For nearly an hour and a half, Phish was literally unstoppable. Highlighted by excellent Trey Anastasio guitarwork in “Seven Below”, a tour debut, and excellent piano playing by Page McConnell in “Fuego”, this was an expertly crafted setlist that kept the energy flowing and the party going.

They closed out the show with a cover of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life”, dusting off the song its first appearance on tour. Now more than a third of the way through these summer shenanigans, Phish is on fire, en fuego if you will, and they certainly aren’t slowing down any time soon.

Next up for Phish is a performance at the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, TN tomorrow night, August 4th. Details regarding the sold-out show’s webcast can be found here. 

Setlist: Phish at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, Tuscaloosa, AL – 8/2/15

Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Chalk Dust Torture, Train Song, Devotion To a Dream, Meat, Maze, The Line, Roggae, My Friend, My Friend, 46 Days, Cavern

Set 2: Down with Disease[1] > Camel Walk > Seven Below > Fuego > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Harry Hood > Possum

Encore: A Day in the Life

[1] Unfinished.

Noteworthy Jams: Down with Disease

[Setlist via Phish.net/Photo via Phish from the Road]