Phish Delivers Bust Outs at Tour Opener in Providence, RI

Phish kicked off their first night of fall tour with a bang at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, RI last night delivering a night of music for the ages. This was the Vermont quartet’s first show at the venue since October 2010 and no better way to start the sold out show off than with a “First Tube.” This was greatly unexpected since the song usually falls as a set closer or encore. With this high energy tune wiping people off their feet, Phish let everybody know what was to be in store. Next up was a funky version of the Kasvot Växt tune “The Final Hurrah” which led right into “NICU.” Phish then played a top notch version of “Steam” into “Scent of a Mule” sang by bassist Mike Gordon.

The band then delivered the biggest bust out of the night with “Bye Bye Foot” which hasn’t been performed since 1997, over a 700 show gap. The crowd was quiet as drummer Jon Fishman serenaded the crowd. After finishing the song, the group jumped into their 3.0 catalog with “No Men In No Man’s Land” which included a solid jam before jumping into “Gumbo,” with Page McConnell delighting the crowd at the end with a bright piano solo. A rocking version of “My Soul” was to follow which was tested out during sound check included “Bye Bye Foot” as well. Phish then debuted “Maybe,” a song from McConnell’s brand new Vida Blue album Crossing Lines. After a jam filled version of “Sand,” the band ended off the set with a Jimi Hendrix cover, “Fire” which had the crowd bouncing off the walls, seeing its first appearance since Boston Creme night of the Baker’s Dozen run back in 2017 at Madison Square Garden.

(Photo: Frankie Cavone)

With a heavy first set, it was unpredictable(as always) how the band was going to start off the second set. Phish walked back out to the stage with “46 Days” another rocker which led into “Back on the Train,” giving everyone in the building a great feeling about tour being off to the races. The song segued into “Plasma” followed by a brief “Farmhouse.” “Light” then made its way into the setlist with a solid jam which jumped back into “Plasma.” “Plasma” has made its way into the Phish repertoire more often recently and you can see how much the band loves playing this song. Then the group broke into “Birds of a Feather,” another 1.0 era favorite.

It was time to slow down just for a brief moment with “Joy” before hopping into “Simple.” The Vermonter’s kept the groove going for a short moment before a near perfect transition into “Set Your Soul Free” receiving a great reaction from the fans, but it didn’t stop there. The band then moved their way back into “Plasma” once again finishing the song off. Phish closed the second set with James Gang’s “Walk Away,” another bust out and very unexpected.

The band came back out for a 4 song encore starting off with a somber “Meatstick” into “Sleep.” Next, they broke out with “Driver,” then capping the night off with “Bug” reminding us all that “It doesn’t Matter!” With an insane start to the tour, it will be interesting what Phish has in store for night 2 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, RI. Setlist and gallery below: