Another Phish show at Grand Rapids, MI’s Van Andel Arena, another eye-popping night of collaboration with Billy Strings: After bringing out the bluegrass star and Michigan native for six songs on Tuesday, Phish once again invited the beloved picker into the fold on Wednesday night—this time for a nine-song stretch to round out the show.
Much like Tuesday night’s show, the first three-quarters of Wednesday’s performance at Van Andel Arena will surely be relegated to afterthought status when fans look back on these two notable dates. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty to like there, though—coming in hot off their sparring session with Billy the night prior, the band seemed laser-focused throughout a first frame highlighted by a peaking “Undermind” featuring a Trey Anastasio-requested “percussion rinse” from Jon Fishman, a lovely take on existential ditty “Driver”, a free-wheeling “Birds of a Feather”, and a snarling burst of sonic adrenaline via “About to Run”.
The not-to-be-missed highlight of set one, however, was the otherworldly “Oblivion”. The 16-minute rendition made yet another strong case for “Oblivion” as “best song on Evolve,” the band moving with eerie poise through its ethereal lyrics before sending it on a beautiful, textured, utterly unique journey that seemed to lay the finer elements of “evil Phish” and “love and light Phish” on top of each other to stunning effect.
“Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” got the call to open set two for the first time since New Year’s Eve 2022. “A Wave of Hope” vamped for 13-plus minutes as Trey and Mike Gordon traveled distinct yet harmonious paths, the ever-impressive Fishman serving as the connecting thread. After locking into a majestic, “Harry Hood”-like motif, Anastasio steered the band into an uplifting “Prince Caspian” featuring a hair-raising helping of his famous sustain accented by tasteful droplets of Page McConnell piano. Gordon and Fishman powered forward on the buoyant “Light” that followed before astral synth flourishes from Page sent them swirling into darkness.
An emphatic “Loving Cup” functioned much like the previous night’s “Harry Hood”: a typical set-closer to mark the end of the night’s regularly scheduled programming and the beginning of another crossover episode with young Billy Strings. The stoic focus on Trey’s face throughout the night seemed to intensify here as he got in his last licks ahead of another sparring session with the young gun. Ice in his veins, ready for round two. What a beautiful buzz.
Related: Billy Strings Reflects On Two-Night Stint With Phish [Videos]
Appearing with Phish on a total of 12 songs on Wednesday, the younger guitarist both lent his acoustic expertise to Phish’s “Mountains in the Mist” and remnants of the band’s bluegrass phase like “Ginseng Sullivan” (Norman Blake) and “The Old Home Place” (The Dillards) and plugged in his PRS for plenty of thrilling rock interplay on the Phish debut of 2024 Trey Anastasio original “What’s Going Through Your Mind”, a serene “Wolfman’s Brother”, a slow, bluesy reimagining of “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long”, new album title track “Evolve”, a soaring, set-closing “Blaze On”, and a big “Frankenstein” (Edgar Winter Group) finale featuring Page McConnell on keytar.
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “What’s Going Through Your Mind” – 8/7/24
[Video: Curty kobashiy]
If the first night of the Billy/Phish combo was about two distinct entities pushing songs to the limit and seeing what happens, night two was all about integrating Strings into the organic flow of live Phish. While Billy has sat in with a long, varied list of acts (the list from 2024 alone includes everyone from Post Malone to Tool to Sierra Ferrell to Greensky Bluegrass to Michigan metalcore outfit Flesh and Blood and beyond), sit-ins have long been hit-or-miss with Phish, a group thoroughly predicated on the fluent creative connection between its four longtime members. By the end of night two, Billy had seemingly found his groove within that dynamic. We can call this one a hit.
On “What’s Going Through Your Mind” Anastasio showed faith in the combo by ceding a verse of his new song to the new guy in its first appearance, inherently embedding Billy’s interpretation in the tune’s DNA going forward. On “Wolfman’s Brother”, Strings hung back to read the room and followed Trey into blissful waters with tasteful restraint before mirroring another moment of Anastasio single-note sustain sorcery to a thundering roar from the audience. The one-of-one, slow-blues “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long” that materialized from there felt like a classic moment of spontaneous Phish experimentation, and Billy was there to follow and further the new idea at their pace. (Side note: “Wolfman’s” > “Slow Death” stands pretty firmly as my favorite portion of the two-night run).
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “Wolfman’s Brother” > “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long” (Slow) [Pro-Shot] – 8/7/24
Even “Evolve”, which I would put at the bottom of my personal rankings of this week’s embarrassment of Phish/Billy riches, offered moments of illumination: Billy’s solo on the bouncing tune was interesting and engaging in a novel way, but Trey’s perfect response seemed to show just how crucial his particular in-the-moment musical choices are to the resonance of Phish’s sound. Strings switched to his acoustic guitar on “Mountains in the Mist”, adding serene, arpeggiated chord voicings and imbuing a verse with new wonderment on vocals to underscore the song’s airy atmosphere. Then, he plugged back in and locked in with Anastasio to coax a set-closing “Blaze On” from campfire to inferno.
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “Evolve” – 8/7/24
[Video: Curty kobashiy]
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “Mountains in the Mist” – 8/7/24
[Video: Curty kobashiy]
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “Blaze On” – 8/7/24
[Video: Curty kobashiy]
Jon Fishman, a man with so many names, was running late when the band took the stage for the encore, earning him a new one from Trey—Hither and Yon Fishman. Trey stuck with his Languedoc while Billy went acoustic for the two encore-opening bluegrass tunes, mixing the best of both worlds. When Page emerged with his keytar for “Frankenstein” and Billy plugged in his PRS once again, setting up a striking, three-axe visual at center stage, Billy seized that moment then went in search of another, turning around to trade licks with Gordon at stage left.
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “Ginseng Sullivan”, “The Old Home Place”, “Frankenstein” – 8/7/24
[Video: Curty kobashiy]
These past two nights were prime examples of the organic, “anything can happen” element that keeps fans coming back to Phish shows again and again. As Billy noted in a glowing reflection on his Phish experience on Thursday morning, “Sitting in with Phish for the last two nights was nothing short of a surreal experience, like something out of one of my wildest dreams. A couple days ago I remembered they were playing van andel and I hit up Trey for tickets.. he replied and said we should blow it up and I just about shit my pants.. I was just trying to come see the show and I had no idea I’d be in it for the next two nights.”
It’s true—in Phish’s world, you never know what might happen tonight, or any other night. But this summer, it’s been a safe bet that whatever happens, it will be fantastic. These two nights of Phish and Billy will make a great live album one day. Until then, it’s full steam ahead to Bethel. See you out there.
Up next for Phish is a three-night stint at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, NY this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ahead of the band’s Mondegreen festival in Delaware on August 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th. For a full list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here.
Fans can order live webcasts of every show on the ongoing Phish 2024 summer tour via LivePhish. [Note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering your webcast via the links on this page helps support our work covering Phish and the world of live music as a whole. Thanks for reading!]
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Van Andel Arena | Grand Rapids, MI | 8/7/24
Set One: My Soul, Undermind > Oblivion, Driver, 555, Birds of a Feather, Ether Edge -> It’s Ice, About to Run, Walls of the Cave
Set Two: Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. > A Wave of Hope > Prince Caspian > Light > Loving Cup, What’s Going Through Your Mind [1] > Wolfman’s Brother [2] > Death Don’t Hurt Very Long [3], Evolve [2], Mountains in the Mist [4], Blaze On [2]
Encore: Ginseng Sullivan [4], The Old Home Place [4], Frankenstein [5]
[1] Phish debut; with Billy Strings (electric guitar, vocals)
[2] with Billy Strings (electric guitar, vocals)
[3] with Billy Strings (electric guitar, vocals); Slow, blues version
[4] with Billy Strings (acoustic guitar, vocals)
[5] with Billy Strings (electric guitar, vocals); Page McConnell on keytar
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