If I was not so excited about the first new Phish show in more than three months, in the very same place as the last time I saw them, I would have cried, "Laaaaaaaaame," when the opening chords of "AC/DC Bag" rang out through Madison Square Garden.
Yes, yes, we get it, the song says, "Let's get this show on the road."
Once that was out of the way, the first set showed off some high energy, with faster-than-normal versions of "Wolfman's Brother" (with Page killing it on the Fender Rhodes and a big climax from Trey) and "Bouncing Around the Room" (for which the 20-something girls next to me shrieked with approval) and a super-hot jam in "Tube" (despite a shaky transition into the swinging bridge). The band also brought it pretty hard with "Back on the Train" and funky lil' "Your Pet Cat".
There were some softer, slower moments, though, with "Roggae" showing up third, which seemed a little too soon for something so laid back, but the song never disappoints these days, so by the end of its 10 minutes (!), it was as enjoyable as any other jam. Then there was "Waking Up Dead" which falls into the category of what my friend aLi and her husband call "DEMDOM" - an acronym for "Doesn't excite me, doesn't offend me" - despite its extended middle section. And the set closed with "Theme From the Bottom", which has been growing on me again. I would not have expected it to be the set closer, but that is why I still love Phish - we can still expect the unexpected after all these years.
Even more unexpected was the six-song second set that knocked out a couple of heavy duty jams, surprising for the first night of the run.
After the big opening with "Wilson", "No Men in No Man's Land" became the MVP jam of the night - 20-plus minutes of funky, funky jamming and a fantastic key change turn. You can be damn sure I danced the night away with that one so the back-to-back attack of another huge jam in "Twist" kept the improvisation coming while Chris Kuroda did some beautiful stuff with the lights. The last time we had a "NMINML > Twist" was 8/12/15 at the Mann. Both that set and this one deserve repeated listens.
Why Trey ripcorded the "Twist" jam when it was still going places and exploring different textures is a mystery, but "Everything's Right" was a joy to hear, with its happy chorus and its I-VIIb-IV chord progression. The jam that followed was thoroughly enjoyable, but not as engaging as the previous two jams, so when an excellent "2001" brought yet even more funk, this set was shaping up to be a disco dance party for the ages.
Clearly, it was time to end the set, so I figured, "Cavern" or "Character Zero". Nope. "Harry Hood" brought another glorious climax to a well-paced jam to close the set.
But the surprises did not end there. The band came out for an encore with a tightly executed rendition of "The Wedge" and then shocked the hell out of everyone with a gorgeous "Slave to the Traffic Light", plastering the ecstasy face onto every fan in the room.
Picking up right where they did from summer tour, Phish brought the house down yet again at Madison Square Garden. And it is only night one.
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