Phish at XFinity Center, July 1

The first show of Phish tour is not usually something to write home about, Last year's summer tour started with a solid but standard show.

But last night's show at the former Great Woods in Mansfield, Mass., was something else. After the "Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan" opener, they immediately picked up on the momentum of last fall's debut of brand new songs and the new album released last week, bashing out a killer version of "Fuego" as if it has been in their repertoire for years. It was only their third performance of what is now the title song to their new record.

The one show at Jazz Fest aside (with its lone cover song), Phish picked up where they left off at the New Year's Run, playing all original songs, including five from 'Fuego'. What's most amazing is how they managed to make those songs into instant highlights. The funk of "555", the pleading "Waiting All Night", the mellow groove of "Halfway to the Moon", the powerhouse title track, and the gorgeously soaring "Wingsuit" were only eclipsed by an insanely awesome segue from "Ghost" to "Weekapaug Groove".

Not that the older material was bad. The climax to "Stash"; the solid groove of "The Wedge"; and the rollicking "Birds of a Feather" kept the show in high gear. Even "Bouncing Around the Room" seemed to sizzle with new energy.

"Cavern" closed the second set in classic fashion and the "Julius" encore went way down before building back up to its climax.

Though "Hood" was the MVP, this night was a clear win for the new songs. I heard someone say, "4.0," and he may be on to something. This could very well be a brand new era of Phish.