After the first set of last night’s performance at the Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend, OR, Phish fans were left scratching their heads. Just when did Phish have time to learn all of these new songs?

Every other song in the set was a debut! After an opening “Stash”, the band went head first into the Mike Gordon/Scott Murawski original “How Many People Are You?”. The funky upbeat number was featured heavily on Gordon’s recent solo tour, and is a welcome addition to the Phish canon. Page McConnell’s keys punctuated the piece nicely. Listen to a Gordon version below:

 

Next up was “Winterqueen”, a track from 2014’s Fuego, and afterwards the band performed a debut version of Page McConnell’s song “Heavy Rotation”. McConnell wrote the song for his eponymous solo album, which was released in 2006-2007. The tune featured lighthearted verses that segued into some darker territory for the instrumental jam section. The song wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to the Phish repertoire, as Gordon was included in the recording of the song:

The band then dropped into a funky groove with “Back On The Train”, which gave way to the Trey Anastasio Band track “Scabbard”.

With a tricky instrumental opening and playful lyrics, “Scabbard” certainly has that signature Anastasio charm to it. Expect some heavy jamming on this tune throughout the tour.

The final debut of the first set was a brand new song called “Mercury”. Unlike the previous three, which had been performed by each member’s solo band, “Mercury” was brand new, uncharted territory for Phish phans. Much like the three debuts from night one, which were all entirely unfamiliar, we can only guess that these tracks were written by Anastasio and writing partner Tom Marshall back in February. “Mercury” was more exploratory than any of the other debuts, with various sections and planetary analogies, and even featured a section with Jon Fishman on marimba lumina.

While “Possum” closed out set one, it wasn’t until deep into set two where the real jamming began. After standard versions of “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing”, “Waves”, “Wingsuit”, and “Farmhouse”, Phish broke into a thoroughly extended version of “Simple”. It was perhaps the first “type-II” jam of the tour, meaning they broke from the song’s structure and explored new key signatures and concepts, and it was straight fire. As was the following “First Tube”, closing out the set.

With a “Bathtub Gin” encore, Phish said farewell to Bend, OR. The band will resume touring this Friday, July 24th, with an appearance at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Who knows what new songs they’ll bring out then? At any rate, the Bend, OR crowd surely seemed enthusiastic about Phish’s fantastic performances.

[All photos by Greg Homolka]

Setlist: Phish at Les Schwab Amphitheater, Bend, OR – 7/23/15

Set 1: Stash, How Many People Are You?[1], Winterqueen, Heavy Rotation[1], Back on the Train, Scabbard[1], Maze, Mercury[2], Possum

Set 2: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing > Waves > Wingsuit, Farmhouse > Simple, First Tube

Encore: Bathtub Gin

[1] Phish debut.
[2] Debut.

Notes: This show was webcast via LivePhish. This show saw the debut of Mercury, and the Phish debuts of How Many People Are You? (Gordon/Murawski), Heavy Rotation (McConnell), and Scabbard (Anastasio). Do You Feel Like We Do was teased after Maze.  Trey teased Little Drummer Boy at the end of Gin.