Phish returned to the stage at The Wharf Amphitheater on Sunday for the final night of a three-night stand at the waterside venue in Orange Beach, AL. The Memorial Day weekend run itself marked the start of the band’s eight-show spring tour, which includes stops in Charleston, SC and Noblesville, IN.

There’s always something about a Sunday show, isn’t there? Even if the following Monday is a holiday, Phish has always found a way to reward the faithful with strong showings at the end of the weekend. This time around, for example, saw the band open with a 13-minute “Character Zero”. This will surely earn a spot on the vaunted Phish.net jam chart as the band drifted from the composed section into a steady, Jon Fishman-powered funk session that came to a head in a flurry of Trey Anastasio guitar riffs.

Phish – “Character Zero” [Pro-Shot] – 5/29/22

After the surprisingly exploratory “Zero”, the band jumped into a plucky “Mike’s Song” that served as the second jam vehicle of the set. Following the Mike Gordon-led vocals, the band started drifting in darker territory but lifted into a bright, melodic jam section, all before Trey shredded his way towards the song’s finale. This “Mike’s” would segue into the classic, “Bouncing Around the Room”, occupying the spot following “Mike’s” for the first time since 2016 (and sixth time overall).

The “Mike’s” set continued with a rendition of “Kill Devil Falls” that saw the band stretch its legs, departing from the song’s structure with a jam that started in energetic rock n’ roll territory before departing to a mellow, spacey place and ultimately building up tension en route back to the song’s final refrain.

After a brief pause, the band brought out Fuego song “Winterqueen”, a mellow ballad highlighted by Trey’s uplifting guitar solo. Next up was “Funky Bitch”, itself highlighted by Page McConnell’s work on the organ. Written by Son Seals and long ago adopted by Phish, “Funky Bitch” is always a welcome addition to the setlist, bringing high energy and keeping the fans dancing.

Phish kept the set cooking with “NICU”, played for the first time since last year’s “NICU-Fest” at the actual NICU (North Island Credit Union Amphitheater). This was a solid version, but it was the final two songs of the set, “Carini” and “Weekapaug Groove”, that would prove most memorable. “Carini” broke ground into a nice, flowing jam session before Trey steered the band into a tight, fast-paced “Groove” to close things out both in terms of energy and setlist symmetry. A “Mike’s Groove” set if there ever was one…

The band returned from the break with a tight version of “The Landlady”, but it was the ensuing “Tweezer” that really got the juices flowing in the second set. Working through the first “Landlady” > “Tweezer” since 1993, the band settled into a deep jam on the latter that clocked in around 23 minutes. This remarkable outing charted through sections mellow and fast, tense and loose, before blasting off into a trippy soundscape with a Pink Floyd-esque aura thanks in large part to Gordo’s work on the cordless drill and the light show as curated by Chris Kuroda.

As the jam reached a natural conclusion, Trey dropped into the opening riff of “Plasma”. After the extended “Tweezer”, the stayed inside the lines on “Plasma”, delivering a fun take on the increasingly common-for-Phish Anastasio composition.

Next up was an extended “Wolfman’s Brother”, letting loose on a 12-minute ride through the Hoist classic. The second set continued with the Big Boat ballad “Miss You”, a song Trey wrote to his late sister. The version was highlighted by Page’s beautiful work on the Yamaha grand and Trey’s moving guitar solo at the end of the song.

The band ended the set strongly with two early-era favorites, “Maze” and “Harry Hood”. The entire show skewed 1.0, in fact, with 14 of 18 songs coming from the band’s earliest era. The “Maze” was highly energetic as each band member played emphatically during the song’s climactic build-up section. “Hood” was its usual optimistic self, filled with melodic solos and glow stick explosions amongst the crowd.

Returning to the stage once more, Phish opened the encore with “A Life Beyond The Dream” from Trey’s Ghosts of the Forest project. As with many Phish ballads, the song starts off slowly and ends triumphantly. Of course, it was “Tweezer Reprise” that closed the performance, putting an exclamation point at the end of any “Tweezer” show. Trey thanked the crowd, let the distortion ring out on his guitar, and the band closed the book on an overall enjoyable performance highlighted by a big centerpiece jam and some great song choices.

Phish returns to the stage next Tuesday, May 31, for the first of two nights at the Credit One Stadium in Charleston, SC. We’ll see you there. For a full list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here.

Check out the full show setlist below. Stream or download a full audio recording of the show via LivePhish.

Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | The Wharf Amphitheater | Orange Beach, AL | 5/29/22

Set One: Character Zero, Mike’s Song, Bouncing Around the Room, Kill Devil Falls, Winterqueen, Funky Bitch, NICU, Carini, Weekapaug Groove

Set Two: The Landlady, Tweezer, Plasma, Wolfman’s Brother, Miss You, Maze, Harry Hood

Encore: A Life Beyond The Dream, Tweezer Reprise