After the opening two shows yielded very little improvisational moments, Phish’s third show of their fall tour saw the band delve a bit deeper into their musical arsenal. Kicking off their first multi-night stand of the tour at the picturesque and intimate Santa Barbara Bowl in California, the band came out of the gates strong with a 1-2 punch of “Stash” and “Possum.” This marked the first time “Stash” has opened a show since 2003.

After fairly standard takes on “Ocelot” and “NICU,” the quartet worked in some more funk-oriented jamming with “Back on the Train.” As he would throughout most of the night, Page McConnell took the lead, delivering one compelling lick after another.

Prior to “Heavy Things,” Trey Anastasio recalled the band’s last time performing at the venue in 1992 while opening for Santana (Anastasio incorrectly stated it was 1993), noting that the venue staff probably hadn’t been born the last time they were there. The guitarist joked that he didn’t really remember playing at the venue, remarking, “it must’ve been a really good time.” The first set came to a close with a straightforward rock take on “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan.”

The final set of the first night started the way most of this summer’s standout sets began—with an extended “Chalk Dust Torture” (coincidentally, “CDT” was the opener to Phish’s 1992 show). The song of the summer made its fall debut and picked up right where it left off as the group dove into an extensive jam. McConnell once again shined, as he and Anastasio worked together to create a delicate, multi-layered jam. As the improv took on more of a darker, minor-key tone, the band carefully and expertly worked their way into “Ghost,” giving themselves another opportunity at extended jamming.

This “Ghost” stood up to the stellar “Chalk Dust” that preceded it as once again McConnell and Anastasio teamed up to take the jam through a funk section and then into a more blissful, ambient place. While the segue into “Birds of a Feather” had its rough patches, the Type I-jam that followed went smoothly until an abrupt ending. After McConnell checked in with the crowd to gauge their World Series fandom (the home-state team San Francisco Giants received the biggest cheer), Anastasio joked, “who didn’t want that last jam to end like that?” while raising his hand.

The “Wombat” that followed allowed the group to atone for a rough ending to “Birds” as they worked the Fuego cut into a bit of a jam (one that had hints of “Ghost”) before launching into the first “Tweezer” of the young tour. While the jam wasn’t as expansive as the “Chalk Dust” or “Ghost” earlier in the set, this “Tweezer” continued the musical theme created by those two. The set rounded out with an abrupt segue into “Julius” before a subdued “Piper” that gave way to “Wading in the Velvet Sea.”

For the set closer, drummer Jon Fishman had some fun with his guitarist during “Suzy Greenberg” when he added the lyric, “I wish you’d look at me before you count off the song” before launching into the singalong chorus.

The show closed with a “Boogie On Reggae Woman” and “Tweezer Reprise” encore. Phish will return to Santa Barbara tonight for their second of two shows. The show will be webcast via LivePhish.com.

Here’s a look at the setlist as it appears in our Box Scores section:

Phish
Santa Barbara County Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA

Set I: Stash, Possum, Ocelot, NICU > Back on the Train, Limb By Limb, Waiting All Night, Yarmouth Road, When the Circus Comes, Heavy Things, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan

Set II: Chalk Dust Torture > Ghost > Birds of a Feather, Wombat, Tweezer > Julius > Piper > Wading in the Velvet Sea, Suzy Greenberg

Enc: Boogie On Reggae Woman > Tweezer Reprise

Source: Phish.net