In a Minute I'll Be Free, And We'll Be Splashing in the Sea

As evidenced by the rainbow in the picture, the gods were smiling on Fenway Park last night. Considering I'm watching the Yankees right now, last night was one of the few times I bid Fenway good wishes.

For those of you unaware, Phish opened their summer tour last night with their biggest non-festival show ever. While you may expect me to gush about how amazing the band was, I assure you I won't. In fact, I thought that the first nine songs of the show were garbage. The band seemed to think instead of play, with Trey Anastasio, the guitar player, and Jon Fishman, the drummer, working especially tentatively. Then came "Down With Disease" and the band let loose. Next came the rare "Destiny Unbound" followed by "Character Zero" to close out an average first set. Download the first set here:

Set One - Phish - Fenway Park 5.31.09

After a set which the band certainly knew they underperformed in, Phish opened the second set with a blazing "Tweezer." The four dorks from Vermont seemed to finally remember how to play music together. After segueing into "Light," a new song, they brought out the fan favorites, "Bathtub Gin" and "David Bowie." Next came what had to be the most promising new song of the night, "Time Turns Elastic." Just the other day, Phish released that song as a single off of their upcoming album. As the studio track is more than 13 minutes long, Trey joked after they played the song saying, "That's our new single," which he quickly followed up with a laugh, referencing Phish's "prolific" career on the Billboard Top Ten. It will be interesting to see the improvisational direction Phish takes this multi-phased song throughout the tour. The band came next with a high-flying "Free," followed by the extremely rare Lynyrd Skynyrd cover "The Ballad of Curtis Loew," which Phish played only 25 times before, the last time coming in 1993. To end the far superior second set was the quintessential Phish song, "You Enjoy Myself." With a bass solo by Mike Gordon that sounded more like Peter Frampton on the talking-guitar and an extra scary vocal jam, Phish ended the set with a bang. They encored with "Cavern," the Led Zeppelin cover "Good Times, Bad Times," and a fitting "Tweezer Reprise." Here's the download for the second set and encore:

Set Two & Encore - Phish - Fenway Park 5.31.09

All in all, Phish put on a good show to start off the tour. Being an improvisational band, you've got to give them some time to get used to playing with each other. Tomorrow night marks the first of three shows at Jones Beach. I'll be there in person for the first two shows so I'll be able to bring back some first-hand experience for all you Phish lovers. I know you're all jumping up and down and simply can't wait that long. Don't worry, I've got a video of the encore to hold you over haha: