Phish are the masters of unpredictability. The band had a long-held tradition of performing a “musical costume” on Halloween, covering another band’s album in its entirety. Last year, despite many, many predictions, the band broke from tradition by playing what would eventually become the Fuego album. This year, Phish said that they would be doing something completely different – leaving us phans completely in the dark.

Naturally, the scene at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV was excited. Phish phans had taken over the hotel and casino, creating a sense of wholehearted exuberance.

The Phishbill, which was handed out upon entry, depicted the cover of the 1964 Disneyland album Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House. The album, which is entirely macabre sound effects and narrations, certainly was an interesting concept – how would they integrate that into their performance?

The stage was decorated with a graveyard theme, and a large, cast-iron fence with the letter P, filled the background. The band came out with “Buried Alive,” a tour debut that truly got things started on the right foot. The first set was tight and rockin’, dropping into a extended-funky “Ghost.” Phish got into their first heavy jam session with “Scent Of A Mule,” which included a guitar and bass instrument duel between Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon, and intricate piano work from Page McConnell. The band continued their Halloween theme with “Sample In A Jar,” “Reba,” and “46 Days,” all excellent renditions.

Next up was the bizarrely hilarious “Big Black Furry Creature From Mars,” dusting off the song after a gap of 87 shows. Page took the center stage with “Lawn Boy,” giving his friend “Mike Gordelleone” (a nickname he received last Halloween) a nice bass solo, before passing the spotlight onto Jon Fishman for a rare drum solo. They got heavy with “Saw It Again,” funky with “Tube,” and were in a zone by the time they hit the set closer, a downright “Wolfman’s Brother,” with inspired playing from Trey. A satisfying end to a great set of music.

Between sets, the stage was completely cleared of all instruments and equipment, and the graveyard props were pushed to the side. As the second set started, a number of dancing zombies appeared behind the gate. The music of crescendoed as the zombies opened the gate, revealing a massive haunted house that was pushed forward to the front of the stage. This was their interpretation of “The Haunted House.”

Each track from the album was preceded by a narration, also from the original album. The next song was “The Very Long Fuse,” and a visible laser beam was transmitted from the sound booth onto the haunted house, creating the image of a lit fuse. As music played, it was clear that the band was inside the haunted house, as flashing lights inside showed the silhouettes of musicians and instruments. The beam inched closer and closer to the end of the fuse, as the band played on, playing a mixture of funky metal vibe that carried throughout the entire set. When the fuse burst, an explosion sound blasted from the PA, and the top of the house burst open.

The band members were seated, facing each other in a tight circle, dressed in white tuxedoes with face makeup. As they worked through the album, it became clear that this was original music, composed to incorporate the various sound effects and narrations from Chilling, Thrilling. Page was actually controlling each effect with a small synthesizer, integrating this bizarre album into their set. The narrator was portrayed by a ghoulish woman who appeared from a crypt marked “ESTHER” at the beginning of each song.

Each composed track was meant to capture the theme of each track on the album, though the majority of the music was in that funky-metal space that Phish occupies oh-so-well. Next up was “The Dogs,” with barking effects, “Timber,” with tree-cutting effects, and “Your Pet Cat,” with harsh cat meowing effects. They slowed things down with “Shipwreck,” as the zombies returned to dance along to the crashing instrumental. The song had a “Prince Caspian” feel to it, unsurprisingly.

After “The Unsafe Bridge” jam, Phish went into psychedelic “Plinko”-style offering with “The Chinese Water Torture,” incorporating the dripping album effect with Trey’s light touch on the guitar. The final tracks really delved into experimentation, as the next song, “The Birds,” was centered around the single line “They Attack!” – referring to the birds. This song was driven by a bluesy rock progression, which would drop out, as Page manipulated the narration along with the beat. It was probably the closest Phish will ever get to playing “livetronica,” for lack of a better word, as they integrated the samples into the song.

Finally, the set closed with “Martian Monster,” a trippy tune that saw all of the zombies return to the stage. They danced with Thriller-like choreography throughout the music. As the band finished their song, they came down from the haunted house, and joined the zombie dancers on stage proper. They lined up with the zombies, taking a well-deserved bow at the end of an unbelievable second set.

The third set started with “Punch You In The Eye,” which segued into “Golden Age.” At the lyric “if you think you’re in the right place,” the crowd roared wildly. We were in the right place indeed, and the subsequent “Tweezer” was indelible proof. As the “Tweezer” jam continued, the band seemed to stumble into the track “Heavy Things” unintentionally. They played it well, switching key signatures and jumping into the poppy tune with style.

Next up was “Guyute,” the intricate tune of the ugly pig. It’s a devilish composition, to say the least. Afterwards, the band played an extended version of “Sand,” an 18-minute version that segued perfectly into “Tweezer Reprise,” capping off a wild third set.

The encore started with an unfamiliar cover, “Is This What You Wanted” by Leonard Cohen, sung by Mike Gordon. The song mentions a haunted house, perhaps asking the audience if this was what we wanted. It was, Phish, it absolutely was. Finally, Page took center stage once more, this time donning a keytar around his neck that could only mean one thing – “Frankenstein.” The Edgar Winter instrumental was played for the first time in 100 shows, and the use of keytar was fitting, considering that Winter himself played that instrument on the track. It was executed perfectly – a very fitting ending to a magnificent Halloween performance.

For Phish to both compose new music and still, sort-of, cover an album shows their ingenuity and versatility as musicians. This was, far and away, one of the best things we’ve personally witnessed at a Phish concert. Thank you Phish, for curating a wonderful night of music. See you again tomorrow night!

-David Melamed (@DMelamz) and Rick “The Jamfather” Melamed

-Photos via Jocelot Photography!

[Setlist via Phish.net]

Friday, 10/31/2014 
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV 
Set 1: Buried Alive > Ghost, Scent of a Mule, Sample in a Jar, Reba, 46 Days, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Lawn Boy, Saw It Again > Tube, Wolfman’s Brother

Set 2: The Haunted House[1], The Very Long Fuse[1], The Dogs[1], Timber[1], Your Pet Cat[1], Shipwreck[1], The Unsafe Bridge[1], The Chinese Water Torture[1], The Birds[1], Martian Monster[1]

Set 3: Punch You In the Eye > Golden Age > Tweezer -> Heavy Things, Guyute, Sand -> Tweezer Reprise

Encore: Is This What You Wanted[2], Frankenstein[3]

[1] Debut.
[2] Phish debut.
[3] Page on keytar.

Teases:
· Saw It Again tease in Tube
· San-Ho-Zay tease in Wolfman’s Brother

Noteworthy Jams: Scent of a Mule

Average Song Gap: 17.11

Performers: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon

Notes: The backdrop on the stage at the start of the show was a large gate adorned with a “P.”  During Lawn Boy, Page introduced Mike as “Michael Gordleone” and Fishman took a drum solo.  Trey teased Saw It Again during Tube and San-Ho-Zay during Wolfman’s.  The musical costume was a set of original, mostly instrumental music played with the sound effects and narration of the 1964 Disneyland album Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House.  Prior to the start of Set II, the stage was cleared of all band equipment, and a graveyard set was brought out.  At the start of the set, smoke filled the stage, and zombies appeared behind the gate.  When the gate opened, a large haunted house with the band inside was brought to the front of the stage.  The sound effects and narration were played on the PA, while an undead narrator would emerge from a crypt inscribed with “ESTHER” prior to each song for the introduction.  At the end of The Fuse, the sides of the house came down while sounds of an explosion were heard, and the band was revealed inside, dressed in white tuxedoes and with zombie face paint.  Several zombies came to the front of the stage and danced during Martian Monster.  At the conclusion of the set, the band members came down from the Haunted House riser, slowly walked to the front of the stage, and took bows, along with the entire cast of zombies.  All songs during the second set were debuts, with the titles taken from the first ten tracks of Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House.  Is This What You Wanted (Leonard Cohen) was a Phish debut.  Page performed Frankenstein on keytar, which was played for the first time since July 1, 2012 (100 shows).