Phish returned to Mansfield, MA’s Xfinity Center (ahem, Great Woods) yesterday evening, playing the second night of a two-night, summer tour-opening run of shows. The band would ultimately continue its night one trend of “seamless segues,” delivering a memorable performance with its fair share of full “->” arrows on the scorecard.
The band started the show with an upbeat “46 Days”, a warmly welcomed selection to get the crowd grooving from the get-go. The band began to lock into a bluesy jam session but ultimately shifted back into the verse, keeping this version short and tight as they eased into the performance. Next up was “Water In The Sky”, played in its up-tempo arrangement (as opposed to the slower, swing version) and highlighted by dancing piano work from Page McConnell.
Guitarist Trey Anastasio took the lead on the next song, Sigma Oasis track “Everything’s Right”, following the verses with a soaring guitar solo. The band then settled into a spacey and bright jam session highlighted by counterpoint-style interplay between Trey and Page that teetered between major and minor key melodies. It was drummer Jon Fishman who ushered in the momentous climax of that section before the band dropped into a dark, pulsing trance jam.
Nearly 16 minutes after it began, Trey broke out of the “Everything’s Right” jam by steering into the opening riff of the song “Rift”. The band expertly worked through the twisting composition, always welcomed in any setlist. Afterwards, Page hit the opening chords of “Wolfman’s Brother”, bringing a roar of applause along with him. Bassist Mike Gordon kept the band in the pocket as they stretched this “Wolfman’s” past the 12-minute mark. Trey eventually put an exclamation point on the jam by way of a peak-heavy guitar solo before bringing this “Wolfman’s” to a close.
Five songs into the show, the band regrouped momentarily before Fish tapped the opening drum beat of “Maze”. The second Rift song of the set brought its classic tension-and-release energy, keeping the set moving along at a brisk pace. Immediately thereafter, Trey dropped into the opening riff of “Bathtub Gin” and, as usual, it was Page’s work on the Yamaha grand that stole the show during the composed sections of the song. The band slyly slipped into a jamming free-for-all that moved through spacey, tense, triumphant moments before winding back to the song’s natural conclusion.
Phish – “Bathtub Gin” [Pro-Shot] – 7/15/22
Phish ended the set with its first cover of the night, The Velvet Underground‘s “Rock and Roll”. It was also the first song not sung by Trey as Page belted the lyrics of the classic number, saving our lives with rock and roll one last time before the setbreak. This was a shred-heavy version with high-energy playing across the board, capping off a strong first set packed with many fan-favorite song selections.
Following the intermission, Phish returned to the stage and got right to work with “Mike’s Song”. The first Gordo composition of the night was highlighted by some tight guitar work and amplified by the band’s energetic playing. After a short, Type I jam, the band played the “Mike’s” ending and drifted into the dreamy instrumental “I Am Hydrogen”. This was not to be the traditional “Mike’s Groove” song trio, as “Hydrogen” veered into a rockin’ “Carini” and, in doing so, closed the loop following and unexpected and unconnected “Weekapaug Groove” from night one of the run.
This was a memorable “Carini” that opened with a darker jam before stepping into light and hopeful territory. After spending some time there, Gordo dropped a funkier bassline complemented by Page’s work on the clavinet. As the band locked into this funky groove just short of 10 minutes in, Trey belted out the lyrics to “Blaze On”, forcing the band to quickly catch up to the song segue.
This “Blaze On” was a short one as the band quickly segued out of the post-verse jam and into a cover of TV On The Radio’s “Golden Age”. As the fan clapped their hands, certainly in the right place, Phish brought the soaring composition to new heights, breaking from the verses with breezy and upbeat improvisation. Trey brought down the energy, unveiling a low-register tone that led the band into a groovier funk tangent. Fish kept the pace and Page punctuated on the electric piano to accompany Trey’s work.
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The rhythm section picked up the tempo from there, noticeably changing the atmosphere of the jam and leaving the space for Phish to segue once again, this time into the Sci-Fi Soldier song “The Howling”, powered by some “2001”-style funk jamming and punctuated by synth wah bass tones and tight, full-band interplay. Building from this tight-knit funk, the band paddled out into “A Wave of Hope” from Trey Anastasio’s Lonely Trip quarantine album, a quintessential example of “dad rock” if there ever was one but an enjoyable song nonetheless.
This would end the modern-era song selection portion of the show as the group segued into early-years composition “Harry Hood”. Backed by its call-and-response lyrics and carefree yet intricate composition, “Hood” is one of the all-time greats. This version had a little extra oomph, erupting in an energetic guitar solo that wound into song’s finale. “Hood” would close out the second set, putting an end to 70+ minutes of nonstop performing from the veteran quartet now in its 39th year. What a set!
📸 @JFaatz_Photo pic.twitter.com/zoKKuGZeRZ
— Phish: From The Road (@Phish_FTR) July 16, 2022
After a short break, Phish returned to the stage for a longer-than-usual encore, ultimately playing through three 1.0-era fan-favorites. The encore started with the beloved sing-a-long “Bouncing Around the Room”, a well-played selection to get things going. “NICU” came next, a song somehow now indelibly linked in my mind to the one-of-a-kind, “NICU”-laced performance at the North Island Credit Union (NICU) Amphitheatre in Chula Vista from last fall. This was a standard take on “NICU”, appreciated nonetheless.
Just when fans may have been asking, “is that the finale?”, Phish dropped into one of its oldest and truest compositions, “Slave to the Traffic Light”, whipping the crowd into one last frenzy before thanking the audience and ending the performance.
Highlighted by a non-stop second set and some great all-around song selections, Phish wrapped up this two-night Great Woods run in style. The band continues its summer tour in New England tonight, Saturday, July 16th, for a one-off performance tonight at the Maine Savings Amphitheater, formerly Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, in Bangor, Maine.
Click below to check out a selection of fan-shot videos from the band’s second night in Mansfield via YouTube user Nevaklass.
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.
For a complete directory of Live For Live Music‘s Phish summer tour 2022 coverage, head here.
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Xfinity Center | Mansfield, MA | 7/15/22
Set One: 46 Days, Water In The Sky, Everything’s Right -> Rift, Wolfman’s Brother, Maze > Bathtub Gin > Rock and Roll
Set Two: Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Carini -> Blaze On -> Golden Age > The Howling > A Wave of Hope > Harry Hood
Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, NICU > Slave To The Traffic Light
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