Hot damn! Phish’s third of four nights in Las Vegas is in the books, and keeping with the trend of the last two nights, the band brought some serious heat to the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Although the Sunday show of the band’s 2016 Las Vegas Halloween run was not the run’s final night, the old adage undoubtedly held true: Never miss a Sunday show. Even a “fake” Sunday show. At least not if it’s in Vegas.
As they did on nights one and two, the band opened the show with a song from the band’s 2014 Halloween performance in the same room, this time opting for a short-and-sweet “The Dogs”. “Ghost” was up next, as the band quickly dove into a swampy, bass-led jam. Trey Anastasio led the band through a tight, methodical build to a peak where his tone, not dexterity, was what shined. Minimal LED work from lighting designer Chris Kuroda gave the jam a nostalgic aesthetic.
Watch the official video of “The Dogs,” below.
The one-two punch of “Funky Bitch” and “Chalk Dust Torture” that followed kept the energy high, before Page McConnell-sung anthem “Army Of One” and setlist staple “Heavy Things” (complete with “take it Leo” solo) provided a quick breather. Mike Gordon got the crowd dancing again with “How Many People Are You”, featuring a fun jam with a pseudo-vocal jam at its peak.
“Stash” was somewhat soft-spoken, but skillfully deliberate. After the composed portion, the band launched into a jazzy improv with splashes of dissonance to maintain a dark vibe, before building to a typically-blistering “Stash” jam peak. The “Theme from the Bottom” that followed ripped particularly hard, even by the song’s high standards.
The band closed the first frame with an energetic “Suzy Greenberg” whose “about as faithful as a slot machine” lyric got a knowing cheer from a crowd three days into pumping money into Sin City’s slots. You could feel how much Page and Jon Fishman were enjoying themselves as traded bars on the song’s closing solo–“a neurologist can’t tell me how fun this is!”
“Down With Disease” got the call as the second set opener for the second time this tour. The first, in Alpharetta, was a 20+ minute beast, and its Las Vegas counterpart was similarly extended and exciting. The jam started in anthemic major key space before dropping into a submerged, echolocation groove. The improv moved through several distinct sections, before Trey turned on the hose and Gordo let loose the bass bombs he had been hinting at, eliciting an ecstatic response from the crowd. The jam then started to pick up hints of “Birds of a Feather”, and little did the Vegas audience know, a giant “Birds” was flocking just outside…
Watch the official video of “Down With Disease,” below.
The “Birds of a Feather” that came next was an instant classic version. The top-notch full-band improvisation cycled through various themes and faintly touched on both “Blaze On” and “What’s The Use” before building to a rocking climax and ending with an appropriately placed “they attack!” Do not sleep on this “Birds of a Feather”–this was Phish at its finest, and they were just getting started.
The “Fuego” that came next featured “Birds of a Feather” teases and a stop-start section that was met with a relatively even split of woos and they attacks from the crowd. After the “Fuego” jam faded out, the band jumped straight into “Harry Hood”, whose blissful jam flowed into–and back out of–The Mighty Diamonds‘ “Have Mercy”. The cover had not been played since popping up inside a “Hood” on 6/4/11 (221 shows). After bringing home the “Hood” sandwich, Phish hit fans with one last surprise: a perfectly played performance of fan favorite Beatles cover “A Day In The Life”. The old-reliable “Character Zero” encore was all gravy, as the rowdy Vegas crowd sang and whooped along to the raging show closer.
After three fantastic shows filled with bust-outs, countless grade-A jams, and incredibly tight playing top-to-bottom, there’s plenty of cause for excitement among Phish fans. The band sounds noticeably rehearsed, on point, focused. They’ve been practicing, folks, so look out–whatever it is they have planned for us tomorrow, it’s about to blow us all away.
Check out the full setlist from last night’s show below.
Setlist: Phish at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV – 10/30/16
Set 1: The Dogs, Ghost, Funky Bitch, Chalk Dust Torture, Army of One, Heavy Things, How Many People Are You, Stash, Theme From the Bottom > Suzy Greenberg
Set 2: Down with Disease -> Birds of a Feather, Fuego, Miss You, Harry Hood -> Have Mercy -> Harry Hood > A Day in the Life
Encore: Character Zero