Phish Take on the Weather, Largely Shy Away from Mid-’90s Tunes in Syracuse
Photo by René Huemer via Phish’s Facebook page
Phish returned to Syracuse, NY’s Lakeview Amphitheater last night, their final show outside New York City before kicking off a five-night thematic run at Madison Square Garden. It was also the group’s first concert in drummer Jon Fishman’s hometown since 2023.
The evening commenced with an exploratory improvisational sequence, moving from a 12-minute “Turtle in the Clouds” into an unusually jammed out 13-minute “Bug,” an 11-minute “Seven Below,” a tighter, 8-minute “Ocelot” and, finally, a 10-minute take on “Mull” from bassist Mike Gordon’s solo repertoire. Another long run, from a nearly 14-minute “Sigma Oasis” into an 11-minute “Ghost,” brought the almost completely segued first set to a close. The entire frame felt inline with a summer that has found Phish jamming in unexpected places and extending songs that are normally not stretched out.
The Vermont Quartet leaned even more in that direction during their second set, which turned out to be a seamless suite of music. The sequence kicked off with a 19-minute take on “Sand,” before the group moved into a 12-minute version of “Everything’s Right,” a shorter, but meaningful 7-minute spin on The Siket Disc gem “What’s the Use?,” a 15-minute “Light,” a brief, 5-minute “2001,” a 10-minute “Blaze On,” a 5-minute “Prince Caspain,” the tighter, 3:41-minute “More” and, finally, the almost 6-minute closer, “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”
During the jam segment in “Blaze On,” guitarist Trey Anastasio alerted the crowd that they would be ending the show early due to weather and playing through without taking an encore break to get in as much music as possible. It was the rare occasion when the band turned in a proper headlining show without offering an encore segment.
Also of note, as Phish begin a run of shows ostensibly celebrating both their 92-96th appearances as MSG and those impactful years in general, the group shied away from playing material debuted before 1997 last night. The two notable exceptions were “2001,” their variation of Deodato’s interpretation of Strauss’ classic “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” which they debuted in 1993, and “Prince Caspian,” an original that entered the live repertoire in 1995 and appeared on Billy Breathes a year later. Phish will make their 92nd appearance at MSG this evening.
Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via Phish.net
Tuesday, July 21, Lakeview Amphitheater, Syracuse, NY
Set I: Turtle in the Clouds > Bug -> Seven Below > Ocelot > Mull, Sigma Oasis -> Ghost
Set II: Sand > Everything’s Right > What’s the Use? > Light > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Blaze On > Prince Caspian > More > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
Trey teased In the Summertime in Sand and A Love Supreme in Light. During the jam in Blaze On, Trey addressed the crowd and explained that the show would be ending early due to weather and that to maximize their time, the band would not play an encore.
