Photo by Rick Martinez

Phish returned to Telluride, CO for the first time since 1991 last night. The majestic, remote mountain town has special significance in Phishlore as the first town the band visited on its first tour outside the East Coast in 1988. Those shows featured some unique moments, including an infamous night where Phish played as a three-piece band when Jon Fishman was late to a gig after getting high on acid and wondering up a mountain. A picture of Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell moving gear between venues in the small town is documented on the cover of a live album from that early tour, Colorado ’88.

Last night’s show featured several songs the band played in Telluride in 1988, including “Camel Walk,” a recently revived cover of Traffic’s “Light Up Or Leave Me Alone,” “Possum” and “David Bowie.” The Vermont Quartet also nodded to its surroundings with a version of the Farmhouse outtake “Mountain in the Mist.: Despite much speculation, Phish did not cover any Grateful Dead songs to mark the 15th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s passing, though the band did bust out a cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)” for the first time since 1999. The Grateful Dead covered The Basement Tapes gem almost 60 times between 12-30-85 through 7-02-95, while Phish covered the song regularly in the late ‘80s and sporadically in the late ‘90s. The band will return to Telluride tonight.

Here’s a look at the setlist via Phish.net

08/09/2010 Telluride Town Park, Telluride, CO

Set 1: Down with Disease, Camel Walk, Ocelot, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, Summer of ’89, Stash, Cavern, The Wedge, Possum, Julius

Set 2: Sand > Backwards Down the Number Line > Prince Caspian > Tweezer > Boogie On Reggae Woman > Piper > Mountains in the Mist, David Bowie, A Day in the Life

Encore: Quinn the Eskimo$this->footnoteID(‘1’,’‘), Tweezer Reprise

[1] Last Quinn the Eskimo 10/02/1999, 209 shows ago