Over this past weekend, Phish wrapped up their first-ever three-night run at the scenic Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. The bucket list-worthy venue hosted the Vermont foursome and 20,000+ of their devotees on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, delivering fan-favorite originals, new song debuts, and extended jams all weekend long. In celebration of the weekend’s highlights, Phish has shared two pro-shot videos of Friday’s “Chalk Dust Torture” and Saturday’s “Piper”.
To kick off Friday night’s first set, Phish launched into a fiery, 24-minute “Chalk Dust Torture”, with Page McConnell laying heavily into the keys early on, clearly playing off the crowd’s energized response. Using the set-opening “Chalk Dust Torture” as the vehicle for a spacey jam, the group settled into a psychedelic theme, with Mike Gordon leading the charge as the improv steadily became more propulsive. With plenty of experimental tones from Trey Anastasio, the jam found its major-key resolution with an initially quiet yet bounding segment that grew to a blissful motif and a triumphant peak.
Phish – “Chalk Dust Torture” [Pro-Shot] – 7/20/18
[Video: LivePhish]
During Saturday night’s second set, the band dug deep into “Piper” after a short and sweet mid-set “Farmhouse”. During the 11+ minute execution of the circa ’97 favorite, Page sent off dark and spacey tones while Chris Kuroda kept the light rig bouncing. The jam slowly transitioned into silky-smooth Type II territory, earning its place as one of the most-talked-about jams of the night.
Phish – “Piper” [Pro-Shot] – 7/21/18
[Video: LivePhish]
Phish continues their 2018 summer tour tonight as they return to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium tonight for two nights in San Francisco. From there, the band will head to The Forum in Inglewood, CA for another two-night run this Friday and Saturday, July 27th and 28th. For a full list of upcoming Phish summer tour dates, head to the band’s official website.