Phish has shared pro-shot footage of “Down With Disease” which appeared during night two of the band’s 2019 Labor Day weekend run at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO.
The jam-friendly staple came halfway through the second set of night two, on the tail end of a long series of segues. The night had already been noteworthy for the bust out of “Access Me” in the first set after a seven-year gap.
Coming out of “Set Your Soul Free”, the band transitioned smoothly into “Down With Disease” and eventually settled in for a long stay. As Phish starts the process of building a tight rhythm to lay the jam atop, Page McConnell moves over to the trusty clavinet for a bit of exploration. Eventually, the baton gets passed to Trey Anastasio who starts pushing the band toward a strong build, with Jon Fishman and Mike Gordon following along and helping pave the way for a big payoff. The band is firing on all cylinders by the time the song begins to reach its climax as each member pushes the improvisation forward without trying to take control. Ultimately, the song doesn’t come to much of a crescendo, but rather finds itself in the pocket of a communal groove that will eventually segue into “NICU” after the video ends.
Watch Phish perform “Down With Disease” on night two at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park last summer.
Phish – “Down With Disease” – 8/31/19
[Video: Phish]
This archival release comes amidst Phish’s ongoing Dinner and a Movie webcast series. Combined with the release of the band’s new album, Sigmas Oasis, earlier this month, Phish has shown that it still has plenty of content in the vault to get its fans through self-quarantine.