Phish began their fall tour in style tonight with a show at the North Charleston Coliseum, the first of two nights at the venue. The show featured several songs from their new album Big Boat, multiple jams in the first set, a second set that was filled with many standout moments of improv, and a rare three-song encore. When the dust settled, Phish had delivered one of their best tour-opening shows in recent memory.

The band showcased ambitious intentions from the get-go, kicking things off with the Phish debut of “Petrichor”. The 13-minute composition made its debut as a Trey Anastasio orchestral track a few years ago, and was included as the final song on Phish’s recently released album Big Boat. Phish nailed the composed section before launching into a small improv segment at the end of the tune. “Ghost” followed, and the band almost immediately launched into a jam segment that was sure to remind fans who were possibly dismayed by the new album exactly why they like Phish in the first place. The band was strong, adventurous, and experimental as they locked in as a unit, delivering an early show highlight with an awesome version of “Ghost”.

Phish kept things bouncing along with a standard, but still fun version of “Heavy Things”, before Page McConnell took a minute to say hello to the crowd and thank them for coming. The band then went into his Big Boat standout “Home”, during which they stretched the song out from its form, adding a short but raging jam at the end that gave fans a brief look at the song’s potential. “Poor Heart” gave the audience good reason to hoot and holler, with Mike Gordon providing a slick bass solo in the middle of the song. “Poor Heart” gave way to “Bathtub Gin”, giving Phish another early opportunity to offer up some improvisation, and they took the opportunity and ran with it, with Anastasio and Gordon playing off each other perfectly before Jon Fishman caught them with the beat. McConnell started pushing the band with a double time piano part, and Anastasio responded with a glorious peak before bringing the song to its conclusion.

The band kept the energy up with a dark and dirty performance of “555”, before gifting the audience with a powerful version of “Horn”. Phish then brought the first set to a close with an excellent performance of “More” from Big Boat. The band was on fire during this song, bringing the energy up to a huge peak before completing the song and walking off stage to a huge applause from the thrilled Charleston crowd.

Phish returned to the stage for their second set with a rockin’ version of “No Men In No Man’s Land” that featured a short-but-sweet jam that quickly dissolved into “Down With Disease”. “Disease” included wild improvisation that eventually slowed down into a sludgy, Led Zeppelin-esque type II section, with Anastasio screeching his guitar at the end of the impressive moment. The band made a seamless segue into their cover of The Talking Heads‘ “Cities”, which slowed things down and simultaneously kicked the energy into a whole other gear. McConnell picked things up on his clavinet at the end of the song before the song fizzled out and “Roggae” began. “Roggae” was an excellent call in this slot, with its psychedelic guitar swirls a perfect compliment to the songs that came before it.

Phish continued the psychedelic rock vibes with a great “Twenty Years Later”, before transitioning into the reliable and melodic jam vehicle “Light”. Anastasio’s guitar prowess was on full display during “Light”, as he led the band through a furious improv section, with Fishman pushing the beat more and more until he dropped into a “No Men In No Man’s Land” tease. The full band followed Fishman as the beat slowed down, but the improv kept going, making for a true type II segment. The “Light” jam flowed directly into a triumphant version of “Free”.

The band then started up a loose and funky version of Stevie Wonder‘s “Boogie On Reggae Woman”. The crowd went nuts for “Boogie On”, with Gordon leaning into the groove before Phish started up their classic “Harry Hood”. This version saw Anastasio adding some interesting and experimental flourishes to the songs’s opening segment, before the band settled on the song’s usual beautiful improv section. “Harry Hood” closed the euphoric second set, which featured multiple standout jams and a non-stop flow throughout.

Phish started their encore with the second “Winterqueen” of 2016, but things really picked up with “Tube”. The band stretched “Tube” out a bit, pushing the song’s form and going into a short bit of improv before bringing the song to a close. The band then surprised fans by starting up a fast and wild “Rocky Top” to complete the rare three-set encore.

Phish started their tour with a huge show in Charleston, and fans have to be excited with the energy and creativity that was on display at such an early point in their tour. Phish return to the North Charleston Coliseum tomorrow night to finish their two-night run at the venue.

Phish | North Charleston Coliseum | Charleston, SC | 10/14/2016

Set One: Petrichor, Ghost, Heavy Things, Home, Poor Heart, Bathtub Gin, 555, Horn, More

Set Two: No Men In No Man’s Land > Down With Disease -> Cities > Roggae > Twenty Years Later > Light > Free, Boogie On Reggae Woman > Harry Hood

Encore: Winterqueen, Tube, Rocky Top