On Tuesday night Phish’s summer tour descended on the brand new, 6,800-capacity Ascend Amphitheater in downtown Nashville, TN. The Nashville Skyline form the backdrop and the gentle arches of the Korean Veteran’s Memorial Bridge spanning the Cumberland River in the background frame this gorgeous spot in Nashville’s West Riverfront Park. This was Phish’s 26th performance in the state of Tennessee, the first since 6/10/12 Bonnaroo; it was Phish’s fourth in Nashville, though the first in almost twenty years since 11/29/95 at the Municipal Auditorium.

Reports from the brand new venue were universally positive. Seats were just folding chairs on grass and were not permanently affixed, and none of the seats were yet numbered barring the first one in row, as if details were still being added. Most of the staff were laid back and accommodating, and the facilities were so fresh that they had "new car smell." The venue acoustics was unusually pristine – crisp and bright – offering the best of both worlds, with wide open and full sound like the best outdoor venues but with the sharp, dialed-in sound of an indoor venue. The extreme heat that has followed the band throughout much of their tour was no exception in Nashville, an unrelenting 90F° at the 7:34 start time.

Photo © @tweeprise

The gig kicked off with a spirited “Free;” this was the sixth deployment in the kick-off position since the song opened the MSG run on 12/28/11, and the role fits the song like a glove. The tour’s bright, peppy new Anastasio/Marshall funk vehicle “No Men In No Man’s Land” is gaining steam and fans as it rolls across America. While the Mu-tron effect gets a lot of ink, it’s Trey’s playful, engaged, attacking jamming leads, weaving and jutting and sailing over the bedrock of the best rhythm section in rock, that is propelling this song to strong Rookie of the Year contention.

“Wolfman’s Brother” was next – you know the set is shaping up as a winner when “Wolfman’s” is offered this early, when there was no pressing need for an energy boost. Mike and Trey engaged in the first of several adventures in Glen Close jamming – this bromance is no act, the affection (musical and otherwise) for each other is palpable on stage. It borders on redundant to note Mike’s contributions to “Wolfman’s” ongoing excellence, but this is as good a place as any to note that Mike’s playing this summer has been consistently phenomenal in a lead jamming role, brilliant musical ideas rolling off one after another into the Phish stew. This set was kicking so much ass that even “555” was superb, featuring a fiery Trey solo.

Photo © @tweeprise

Trey was using his Ocedoc guitar for this gig, and in an unusual move switched to the KOA for “Birds of a Feather.” Trey has switched guitars during the tour from one show to the next, but it is exceedingly rare for him to do so mid-gig. While this “BOAF” was brief at six minutes, Trey was super active in the composed section, playing lead fills where he usually just chords. Intentional or otherwise, Page chimed in with a series of scary effects toward the end, like the kitchen sink of screeching animal noises. The whole sequence was weird, but awesome weird. Don’t sleep on this “BOAF” when scanning the timings; it’s a jam-packed six minutes. When “BOAF” ended, Trey switched back to the Ocedoc.

“Funky Bitch” featured Mike showing strong vocals and a fantastic Page solo, and a tender delivery by Trey of “When the Circus Comes” provided what is in the last few years a rare instance of back-to-back cover songs. This version of “Stash” isn’t going to whiff any seasoned observers “best of” lists, but it rounded out the set nicely. After a brief interlude with the Chairman of the Boards in “Lawn Boy” – where Page visited and acknowledged Mike Side (the right side) – a pounding “Walls of the Cave” punctuated this excellent first set. While this set didn't have a tent-pole jam like the Atlanta1 “Ghost” or even a very non-first-set-like opening sequence of “Martian Monster” and “Down with Disease” from the LA Forum, this set had great pace and flow, thoughtful song selection and inspired type-I playing that easily ranks it among the top tier of this tour's first sets.

Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

The first “Golden Age” since the ground-breaking 10/31/14 Vegas gig opened the second set festivities. The “song” part of the song was light on love, heavy on falter; maybe something was amiss with Trey’s prompter? The jam section starts out with real potential, a chunky groove with Page on clav that went type-II, though in an unusual move reverted back to the type-I jam. This wasn’t negative at all it was just unusual, as Trey shifted the band to a major key with an airy, open approach and tone. “Light” brought out the rock star in Trey, almost a 90s style where he was out on the ledge, way out front with more typically hard rock licks, leaving the band a bit behind but in a good way, deep into his art before lots of pedal tweaking and a reduction to a soft spacey wash that set the stage for “Shade.” Another new Anastasio/Marshall composition, “Shade” may not have been liked by all for blocking the “Light,” but the selection could be reasonably excused given that Tom was in attendance.

Many readers know the story of “Mike’s Song” and its long-lost “second jam.” For those catching up, back in the proverbial day (up until the first hiatus in the fall of 2000), “Mike’s Song” would often contain not one but two jams – the first jam after the vocal section, and the second at the end of the descending chord progression that resolves to “Simple,” “I Am Hydrogen,” or any number of other tunes. When Phish returned to the stage after their break and break-up, – in 2002, and then again in 2009, respectively – ”Mike’s” second jam was seemingly a thing of the past. Which was, you know, not that big of a deal. We’re all adults, for the most part; we can accept change, more or less. That said, for fans of a certain age, “Mike’s” second jam was at the very top of lists of things from the good ol’ days that we’d wish might someday return.

Photo © @tweeprise

Enter my friend and colleague, Drew Hitz. Drew is a professional musician and music business consultant, a world-renowned tubist who has performed with many of the greatest ensembles of our time, a phish.net contributor, and a member of the board of directors of The Mockingbird Foundation. He’s also a pretty big fan of the second jam in “Mike’s Song.” So, on 5/22/13, when Drew had the opportunity of a lifetime to perform tuba with Trey and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center presenting orchestrations by Don Hart, he had the chance that every Phish fan dreams of: a few private moments with Trey. Drew thanked Trey for being able to perform with him that night, what he described as the highlight of his career. Then he asked if he could be a pain in the ass Phish fan for one minute, and he asked what had happened to “Mike’s” second jam – you know, it’s in “F”! Drew noted how incredibly gracious Trey is, all the time, even with super fans. The “Mike’s Song” discussion didn’t quite take, however, and the “second jam” remained in mothballs.

When Phish announced that they were playing in Nashville, home of Drew and Trey’s common friend and colleague, Don Hart, Drew decided to make the trip. Don arranged for Drew to attend soundcheck, and again Drew had the chance to speak with Trey. This time he left little to chance; he had a recording of the last known instance of “Mike’s” second jam, 7/14/00 Columbus, OH, queued up on his iPhone, which he played for Trey, to remind him how it goes. “So, Trey, do you want to break Twitter tonight?” None of this was a secret – Drew tweeted about it – so when the opening notes of “Mike’s” hit, the suspense was, for many of us, rather thick. The show was also being webcast – it wasn’t quite the whole world that was watching, but for those who follow Phish with passionate regularity, this was the "who shot J.R.?" moment – we were all tuned in.

Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

Now that we’re all on the same page, we had the pesky matter of the first jam in “Mike’s Song,” which was excellent in its own right. If they would have concluded “Mike’s” then and there, well, no big deal, right? But after two false endings… a hint at “Simple” and then... no way! The second jam! This holy shit moment, the all-time couch-tour synchronized desk-flipping moment, instigated by a fan. Pretty cool, huh? And the (second) jam! Much ink will be spilled about this in the coming days and weeks, but for now let’s just say that it was well worth the wait. Trey even capped off the fun by briefly teasing “Eleanor Rigby” near the end of second “Mike’s” jam. Clocking in at 14:27, it was the longest “Mike’s Song” in over twelve years, since 2/21/03 Cincinnati. Wow. Just… wow!

At this point in the show, the “W” is obviously secure. It would have been so easy to take a knee. Park the bus. Call off the dogs. It would take an act of monumental stupidity to fuck this up, so play a few songs straight-up and hit the tunnel, right? Wrong. Good Phish shows get their work done in the third quarter, stick it in cruise control, take a bow, and move on to the next town. Great Phish shows power through the fourth quarter with ferocity and determination... to glory! This was a great Phish show. “Piper” was simply outstanding, pushing the boundaries of sonic space. When “Crosseyed and Painless” hit, there were no more desks left to flip. Fish was so on, all night, and he still had the juice to drive the powertrain and offer a transcendent vocal performance, while Trey was channeling his inner Adrian Belew.

Photo © @tweeprise

Then, there is the not-so-small matter of the “Weekapaug Groove.” First, a silky smooth segue from the “C+P”. Then the “Weekapaug” intro at first seems a little trainwrecky, but it’s all coming up Millhouse so they work it to their advantage. Then, a funky change in key and tempo, more bromance coordinated dancing to a funky dark groove – that contained strong hints of Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral” – before heading back to the concluding chorus. Still Waiting! Using “Crosseyed’s” “still waiting” chorus to smoothe the transition from the dark slow part to the light fast part was absolutely brilliant. “Weekapaug” was like a mini-movie thriller with more twists and turns than a “Mike’s Song” with a second jam! Fifteen-minute “Weekapaug”; 45-minute “Mike’s Groove”... holy shit. Take a few deep breaths, hug the person closest to you, and then sit back and enjoy a sublime “Slave to the Traffic Light” encore.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but sometimes, after all these years and decades, you wonder… why is it that I still spend so much time and energy and money on a rock and roll band? Sometimes, that answer isn’t readily apparent. Sometimes the answer is still waiting. Sometimes the answer never comes at all. Then, Shoreline II. Atlanta1 I & II. Nashville (Or Vegas, or Randall’s Island, or….). When you get whacked in the face with brilliant, powerful, masterful, awe-inspiring shows like that, the answer is simple. It’s the art of four men, it’s right in front of you, it’s undeniable, and when it’s on, it’s totally awesome. That’s why.

We’ll be back here tomorrow with more coverage of Phish's summer tour from Kansas City.

-Phillip Zerbo

Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

Phish Summer 2015 – Setlists & Recaps
07/21/15 Setlist – Recap – Bend 1
07/22/15 Setlist – Recap – Bend 2
07/24/15 Setlist – Recap, Recap2 – Shoreline
07/25/15 Setlist – Recap – LA Forum
07/28/15 Setlist – Recap – Austin
07/29/15 Setlist – Recap – Grand Prarie
07/31/15 Setlist – Recap – Atlanta 1
08/01/15 Setlist – Recap – Atlanta 2
08/02/15 Setlist – Recap – Tuscaloosa
08/04/15 Setlist – Recap – Nashville
08/05/15 Setlist – Recap – Kansas City
08/07/15 Setlist – Recap – Blossom
08/08/15 Setlist – Recap – Alpine 1
08/09/15 Setlist – Recap – Apline 2
08/11/15 Setlist – Recap – Mann 1
08/12/15 Setlist – Recap – Mann 2
08/14/15 Setlist – Recap – Raleigh
08/15/15 Setlist – Recap – Merriweather 1
08/16/15 Setlist – Recap – Merriweather 2
08/21/15 Setlist – Recap – Magnaball 1
08/22/15 Setlist – Recap – Magnaball 2
08/23/15 Setlist – Recap – Magnaball 3
09/04/15 Setlist – Recap – Dick's 1
09/05/15 Setlist – Recap – Dick's 2
09/06/15 Setlist – Recap – Dick's 3

Nashville, TN LE poster by Status Serigraph. Edition of 700. 18x24.

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