Phish has brought their best to San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for the last two nights, treating fans to a tease-filled opener and a classic second night with some great song selections. Leave it to Phish to continue accelerating for night three, giving Bay Area fans one of the best shows that 2016 has seen. Whether it was the 11 consecutive tour debuts to open the show or highlights sprinkled through the second half, this was a finale none will soon forget.

Right off the bat, Phish hit fans with a bust-out opener, playing Hoist tune “Demand” for the first time since 12/31/09 (258 shows). The tour debuts kept coming as the band nailed a great version of “The Curtain With,” before bringing out yet another bust out, “Alumni Blues.” Not seen since 8/3/13 (114 shows), the rocker kept fans locked in, before Mike Gordon took over lead vocals on the first “Fuck Your Face” of the summer. The next surprise was a cover of The Beatles’ “Cry Baby Cry,” not played since 11/21/98 (496 shows), and there were only more surprises in store!

The band broke out into “Sing Monica,” the only Fuego track that hadn’t been performed in 2016. They dedicated the version of Bob Ezrin, famed producer who worked with Phish on the Fuego album, and also produced their new, unreleased album. The band also said they had just put the finishing touches on their new album today, so the excitement was truly palpable.

The epic first set continued with “McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters,” yet another first-time-played song in 2016. The Gamehendge-themed song never fails to excite fans, as it only gets played roughly once per summer. The breezy tones eventually led into the Halloween 2014 instrumental “The Very Long Fuse,” played for only the third time ever. The interplay between Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell was on point during the song’s coda, before the band exploded the fuse into “Big Black Furry Creature From Mars.” Yet another tour debut! Jon Fishman was playing around with the countdowns in the song, bantering with Gordo throughout the tune.

As if “BBFCFM” wasn’t enough for this first set, they brought out a cover of James Gang’s “Walk Away.” Not played since 10/29/13 (100 shows), McConnell led some great vocals, but it was Anastasio that shined with a ripping guitar solo. The Junta track “Sanity” came next, with the band joking throughout the song’s silly lyrics and even getting into a vocal jam. McConnell teased “The Very Long Fuse” during the “I don’t care if the world explodes” section of the song, before Fishman led the band into a set closing “David Bowie.” Though it was the only non-tour debut of the set, having played the song at SPAC, the back-to-back Junta tracks served as a fine ending for one of the best sets yet.

After the break, Phish returned to get things jamming with a great “No Men In No Man’s Land.” The soaring set opener was pulled into “Mike’s Song” by Anastsaio. It was a fun version, but it was the following “Fee” that really got the crowd’s attention. The 12th tour debut made its first appearance since 7/27/14 (74 shows), and was played after a “Mike’s Song” for the first time in band history. Wow! The band also played “Fee” > “Seven Below” for the first time, keeping the set energy high. They cooled things down with a “Waiting All Night,” but got the dance party started once more by bringing out “Gotta Jibboo.” 

Ripping through “Jibboo” with a passion, it was the return of 2016 debut “Miss You” that came next. The slower Anastasio-penned ballad brought the second set mood down, though Anastasio did finish the song with a nice melodic solo. Still, fans have yet to warm up to “Miss You” in its second-ever performance. Fortunately, “Weekapaug Groove” came out next, funking the finale of this lengthy “Mike’s Groove” set. The far-out improvisation session included more instrument swapping, and eventually wound its way into the “Weekapaug Groove” finale, but the set wasn’t over yet, as Phish touted out “The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony” before segueing into “Suzy Greenberg.” The two songs were played together in Philadelphia for the only time this summer, suggesting that the classic “Oh Kee Pa/Suzy” pairing may have just returned. A rockin’ “Julius” closed out the set in style.

With a short break, Phish returned and Page thanked the audience for having them for three nights. The band then proceeded to perform the piano ballad “Wading In The Velvet Sea,” before finishing the performance with the straight up rock and roll of “Character Zero.” Anastasio let the crowd sing most of the familiar tune, only adding to its power.

While the finale sent the crowd home rocking, something more in line with the 11 tour debuts from set one was certainly on people’s minds for the encore. The first set was the true highlight of this performance, going down as one of the best first sets ever.

Check out the full Phish.net setlist below.

Setlist: Phish at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA – 7/20/16

Set 1: Demand, The Curtain With, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues > Fuck Your Face, Cry Baby Cry, Sing Monica[1] > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, The Very Long Fuse > Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Walk Away > Sanity[2] -> David Bowie

Set 2: No Men In No Man’s Land > Mike’s Song > Fee > Seven Below > Waiting All Night > Gotta Jibboo, Miss You, Weekapaug Groove, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg > Julius

[1] Dedicated to producer Bob Ezrin.
[2] Vocal jam.

Notes: Demand was played for the first time since December 31, 2009 (258 shows). Alumni Blues and Letter to Jimmy Page were played for the first time since August 3, 2013 (114 shows). Cry Baby Cry was played for the first time since November 21, 1998 (496 shows). Sing Monica was dedicated to producer Bob Ezrin. Walk Away was played for the first time since October 29, 2013 (100 shows). Sanity contained a brief vocal jam.