Phish returned to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with an absolutely blistering show. Following last night’s barn burner that featured some of the band’s most adventurous playing of the summer, Phish had a lot to live up to, and they certainly delivered. An improv-heavy first set made way for a truly impressive second set, and when the dust was settled, Phish had delivered another excellent night at Dick’s.

The band opened up with a song that is typically played towards the end of shows, “Slave to the Traffic Light”. They launched into a nice eleven minute version of the song, using the track as a show-opener for the first time since 1988. The band slowly built the song’s blissful jam to a raging climax, before Mike Gordon kicked off another first set rarity in “Down with Disease”. This early “DWD” showed that the band was in business, delivering another early jam that quickly whipped the Dick’s crowd into a frenzy. The energy kept building, as the band performed a spot-on version of the delicate psychedelic rocker “What’s The Use?”, which fizzled out into a raging version of “Maze” that showcased the band’s patented tension-and-release jamming, with guitarist Trey Anastasio leading the way.

Watch the show-opening “Slave” below, courtesy of Phish.

Next up, Phish cooled things down with a sing-a-long version of “Farmhouse”, followed by a fun run through Mike Gordon’s “555”. “Wolfman’s Brother” came next, and the awesome version certainly made it clear that Phish was firing on all cylinders.  “Divided Sky” featured slick and exploratory playing from Anastasio, which they followed up with a set-closing version of “Rock and Roll” that capped a joyous conclusion to what’s sure to be an instant-classic first set.

Phish returned to the stage for set two, and they picked up just where they left off, opening with a soaring version of “Fuego”. The band launched into type II, exploratory territory quickly after leaving the song’s form, delivering a short-but-sweet ambient jam that slowly fizzled into a funky “Sand”. Anastasio took the lead on “Sand”, turning in a series of ripping guitar licks before the jam faded into another true ambient, type II moment. Page McConnell used his theremin perfectly as Jon Fishman pulsed the beat forward during this cohesive moment. The band worked as a unit on this jam, moving together as one as they created blissful, atmospheric music. Trey and Page locked in to push the melody, and the band busted out with a true “hose” moment as they brought the standout jam to its raging conclusion.

Watch the set-opening “Fuego” in the stream below, courtesy of Phish.

At the tail end of the “Sand” jam, Trey started the opening riff of “Blaze On”, and the band bounced their way through the fun track that has really come into its own. The “Blaze On” jam was short and sweet though, as Phish quickly dropped into “Simple”, which featured a beautiful and blissful jam that saw Anastasio jump onto the Marimba Lumina. The band then segued into “Twist”, with Gordon and Anastasio leading the way with excellent playing before the band locked back up to another standout improv moment, with a the band eventually kicking into double time and finding a true groove.

Slowly, “Twist” transitioned into “Theme From The Bottom”, and the band played a high-energy version with a huge peak. A funky “2001” followed, and it contained a dark jam in its middle section before the song reached its epic conclusion. Fishman hit the opening notes of “Harry Hood” right as “2001” ended, and the band worked the fan-favorite song through to its beautiful conclusion, with Gordon dropping a huge bass bomb right as the jam reached its peak and the band once again fully locked in as they closed out a huge second set.

The band returned to the stage for the encore and played only the second “The Squirming Coil” of the year, to the delight of the excited audience. The song was played with confidence, as they worked through the song’s several sections, before launching off into a Gordon bass solo that saw him explore several different ideas. Gordon’s bass solo replaced McConnell’s usual song-closing piano solo, making this a very unique version of the beloved fan-favorite.

Tonight featured Phish at their absolute best. Adventurous, exciting, fun, and tight; Phish once again showcased their best selves at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Phish returns tomorrow night to complete their three-night run at Dick’s and to finish off their summer tour.

Phish | Dick’s Sporting Goods Park | Commerce City, CO | 9/3/2016

Set One: Slave to the Traffic Light, Down With Disease, What’s The Use? > Maze, Farmhouse, 555, Wolfman’s Brother, Divided Sky, Rock And Roll

Set Two: Fuego > Sand > Blaze On > Simple > Twist > Theme From The Bottom > 2001 > Harry Hood

Encore: The Squirming Coil