Miers on Music by Jeff Miers

Phish
CMAC Performing Arts Center
Canandaigua
Tuesday
by Jeff Miers

The 2010 summer outing has so far proven to be the most consequential series of shows Phish has undertaken since reforming in 2004 following a self-imposed hiatus. Last summer, when the band played at Darien Lake, the results were often inspired, but largely tentative; this year, as evidenced by Tuesday's show at CMAC in Canandaigua - the only Western New York stop on the summer 2010 tour - Phish is back in a big way. In fact, it is more than reasonable to assert that the band has never been better.

Succesful Phish shows are based upon the level of improvisational interplay between Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman on the stage, but a certain magic needs to be in the air as well; For things to really take off, the right setlist needs to be in place, the audience needs to be well-attuned, the acoustics in the hall or shed need to be cooperative, and the band members themselves have to be fully committed to wringing every possible drop of joy from the music.

On June 19th and 20th, Phish delivered a two-night stand at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, NY, that is already being discussed in hushed tones amongst hardcore fans. Those shows were simply outstanding, a perfect meeting of inspired setlist choices, nigh-on-perfect performances, and an audience eager to see Phish making the best real-time music it has made since before its hiatus and subsequent "break up". The SPAC shows were outrageous. Tuesday's CMAC performance was equally so, however.

Balancing newer material against early-career deep cuts and what Phish fans consider to be "standards," the band made no false moves. Anastasio's guitar playing generally framed the long and consistently sublime improvisational sections, and these boasted enough ensemble peaks & valleys and purposeful manipulations of tension and release to please even the most discerning fan of mid-90s Phish - a period *94 and 95 in particular) generally regarded to be a peak for the band.

More than a few fans were heard to utter variations on the "Oh my god, they are back, in a big way!" during intermission and on the way out of the concert following Tuesday's show. That point is well-taken: the band's self-imposed exile seems to have recharged the batteries and, at last, reminded the band members themselves just how lucky they are to have found such simpatico musical cohorts.

Summer 2010 is likely to gow down in Phish history as they year the band got its mojo back.

Here's the set list from CMAC on Tuesday, to the best of my recollection.And a few pics I snapped during "Reba".

First set:
The Connection
Down With Disease
Sample In A Jar
Ocelot
Reba
Horn
Funky Bitch
Undermind
Ballad of Curtis Loew
David Bowie

Second set:
Possum
Mike's Song>Simple.I Am the Walrus>Weekapaug Groove
Limb By Limb
Joy
Harry Hood
Golgi Apparatus

Encore:
First Tube