Phish Explores Maine With 30-Minute Down With Disease [Videos]

Phish doesn’t play as high north in Maine as the band used to, but Bangor still isn’t a quick shot for anybody, including most Maine residents. So, it’s hard to not go into a show like Saturday’s at Maine Savings Amphitheater without at least some hope for a performance that would reward the fanbase for its effort. Expectations are never a good thing to have going into a Phish show, but outlier shows have tended to make it worth it in the past. Bangor, however, would see the band nearly falling victim to early tour malaise, had it not been for one Jonathan Fishman on the drums.

“Free” in the opening position is always a great way to send a show in the right direction, and this one was strong despite lacking any distinguishing features. The Trey Anastasio pandemic rocker “I Never Needed You Like This Before” came next, just over a week shy of the song’s Phish debut opening the band’s first post-lockdown concert. The tempo was up substantially compared to prior performances—morphing the feel from garage-funk to arena-rock, and all for the better. We’ll see if stays at this speed on future incarnations.

Mike Gordon, who has taken some intriguing fashion turns in the modern Phish era and who decided to dress like the assistant manager of a Honolulu hardware store on this particular evening, led the band next on “555”, a tune that finally broke out of its shell for the first time last fall, but has gone back to coloring inside the lines since then.

When “Possum” showed up next, it felt clear that this would be a rather non-confrontational Phish set; the kind of set you can put on at the family reunion when your grandmother really wants to hear what this Fishy band you spend all your allowance on sounds like. “No Man in No Man’s Land” continued with that vibe. It was rock solid but never felt like it had the opportunity to round second base. On the other hand, Chris Kuroda’s light rig was taking every opportunity for eccentricity that it could—looking like DNA molecules reconstructing while the song played out.

A standard first set “Ocelot” kept the casual groove rolling, although Trey did show some signs of life with a cool little quintuplet rhythmic riff. That signaled a call into some more subterranean worlds until the guitarist brought everything back to the head.

Seven songs into the first set, “Reba” dropped as the first tune to bode of any potential open expansion. The precursing fugue section was almost perfect which is always a good sign. But that was followed by a solid jam that pushed but never questioned itself. The peak was there, but not as sharp as you’d normally want.

“Axilla II” felt like a good place to move on to. The best part about this song’s recent reclaim to prominence over “Axilla” is not the verse changes, but the fact that the meltdown ending has returned to the stage. It felt like the urge for it to drip further off its bones was there this night, but instead the pocket just lingered into the freshly darkened sky.

The greatest first set closer any band has ever written, “Run Like An Antelope” finally saw some sparks flying from a Trey that had been especially reserved thus far. Intentional or not, halfway through the jam he landed on a hook that was remarkably similar to Island Boys, (yes, seriously,) and that seemed to kick things up a notch.

Phish opened the second set in Bangor with the pairing of “Sigma Oasis” and “Down With Disease” for the third time in less than a year. You can pry into all the lyrical subtext you want out of that, but sonically they work well so that’s all that really matters. The “Sigma” jam kept dipping its toes in different waters but got frightened by the cold every time, and it felt like “Disease” was destined for the same fate. Its jam stayed in Type 1 territory for an uncommonly long time where it felt like each band member was waiting for someone else to step up. At least ten minutes into the jam, Fishman finally had enough and decided to put on an absolute clinic on the kit.

While the rest of the band kept throwing spaghetti at the walls to see what would stick, Fish was rolling a syncopated avalanche behind them. As this band continues to get older, it’s becoming clear that he may be the one the rest will have to keep up with. Once the other three grabbed onto his lead here, the entire feel of the show flipped. “Disease” ended up clearing the 30-minute mark, taking detours through atmospheric soundscapes and frenzied resolves along the way and eventually returning to its traditional close.

The transcendent “What’s The Use?” felt like it should have grown straight out of “Disease”, but instead started up after Phish all but concluded the tune. There was a long time when “What’s The Use?” was a rare and magic moment at a Phish show. But since 2015 it’s averaged being played every six shows, and one out of every eight versions has come after “Down With Disease”. Of course, right after I looked up all those stats the jam broke down to that tender nothingness that makes me wish they’d play it every show.

Phish – “Down With Disease” [Pro-Shot] – 7/16/22

A standard “FLuffhead” came after—performed tight but with Trey playing it extra safe in the solo. “Twist” followed with yet another jam that meandered on top, while Fish steamrolled underneath. Trey pulled the jam back into “Sigma Oasis” to close the set and make a sandwich of the setlist, while missing Fishman’s calls to return to “Twist”.

A perennial crowd favorite cover of Ween’s “Roses Are Free” started the encore, and then fans were treated to one more display of rhythmic ferocity as the band dropped into “First Tube”. You don’t come across too many graceful freight trains in life, but you can hear one here. It’s hard to think of many Phish shows with such a dominant player throughout the night, but Jon Fishman was a cut above this evening. A couple days off before Philadelphia should give everyone a chance to get back on his all-star level.

For a full list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here. To order your LivePhish webcast for any of the band’s upcoming summer shows, head here. To sign up for a free trial membership to LivePhish+ and listen to the whole summer 2022 tour and more, head here.

Check out a collection of fan-shot videos of Phish in Maine below. For a complete directory of Live For Live Music‘s Phish summer tour 2022 coverage, head here.

Phish – “Reba” – 7/16/22