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Phish defied expectations across the board last night when they took the stage at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena for what was perhaps the most ambitious performance of the 3.0 era. Recent interviews has led many fans had to believe that the group intended to abandon its longstanding tradition of covering full LPs on Halloween—so the surprise was universal when the Phishbill revealed that they would be putting their spin on Walt Disney Studios’ 1964 record Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of The Haunted House during last night’s second set. Since the 10-track album is mostly composed of sound effects (punctuated by some spooky narration from Laura Osher), the highly theatrical set primarily consisted of original, instrumental material that incorporated samples from different parts of Chilling Thrilling.

While the musical costume set was truly a special treat, there was also plenty of old school Phish to go around. The first set got going with something of a Halloween theme (at least in terms of song titles) as “Buried Alive” kicked the show off before playing into a rocking “Ghost.” The well-executed “Scent of a Mule” that followed featured some top-notch interplay between guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell, as well as an instrumental sword fight between Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon. Solid takes on “Sample in a Jar,” “Reba” and “46 Days” then gave way to the first “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars” in 87 shows. Next, McConnell took his place at the front of the stage to belt out a “Lawn Boy” that also included a drum solo from Jon Fishman. A rare (though it was played earlier this year) “Saw It Again” then segued into “Tube,” with a powerful “Wolfman’s Brother” finally closing out the set.

In the time between the first and second sets, the stage was revamped to include a graveyard set, along with a spooky gate labeled “P” that appeared to be holding back a couple of zombies. The gate eventually opened and a large haunted house was pushed to the front of the stage as zombies danced around the structure. A zombie woman then emerged from a tomb that was labeled “ESTHER” to deliver Osher’s narration from Chilling Thrilling before the band went into their interpretation of the album’s first track, “The Haunted House” (the undead woman would also return to offer narration prior to each song). The next tune—titled “The Very Long Fuse”—ended with a literal bang, as the walls of the haunted house came crashing down to reveal the band inside. The quartet, who were all wearing white tuxedos and had their faces painted like zombies, then went into the heavy-hitting combo of “The Dogs” and “Timber.”

Phish also made good use of a screeching cat sample on the next track, “Your Pet Cat” before the undead dancers and their Thriller-esque moves returned during “Shipwreck.” The influence of Ennio Morricone could then be heard on “The Unsafe Bridge,” while the band added some serious psychedelia to the liquidy sounds of “The Chinese Water Torture.” Next came “The Birds,” which found the band effectively building a jam around a sample of the narrator shouting “we attack.” Finally, the bold experiment came to a close as the band blasted off into the set’s longest number, the delightfully trippy “Martin Monster.” A number of zombies made their way to front of the stage for the song, which ended with the band stepping out of the haunted house to join the ranks of the undead (and take a bow).

While the reaction to last year’s Wingsuit (aka Fuego, sort of) musical costume was decidedly mixed, last night’s effort left most in attendance yearning for more. Fortunately, there was still another full set of Phish left in the tank and the band did not disappoint. The third set got started with the year’s second “Punch You In The Eye,” which then gave way to a gorgeous “Golden Age” before the band launched into a crowd-pleasing “Tweezer.” Just when it seemed like the song was about veer into uncharted territory, the band switched gears by segueing seamlessly into “Heavy Things.” A fun “Guyute” kept things interesting before the night’s longest number, a supremely funky 18+ minute “Sand,” got the crowd grooving. Glowsticks galore then went flying across the arena, as the tune abruptly jammed into a rare non-encore “Tweezer Reprise” to put the exclamation point on the third set. Finally, Phish made their way back out to the stage to debut a somewhat reserved cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Is This What You Wanted” before McConnell took up the keytar to help the group cover Edgar Winter Group’s instrumental classic “Frankenstein” for the first time in 100 shows. The tune, which was the first song that Phish performed during their first musical costume show in 1994, was a fitting end to a spectacular night of music.

Phish will return to the MGM Grand Arena tonight for the second show of their Las Vegas Halloween run.

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist as it appears in our Box Scores:

Friday, October 31, 2014, Phish, MGM Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV

Set I: Buried Alive > Ghost, Scent of a Mule, Sample in a Jar, Reba, 46 Days, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Lawn Boy, Saw It Again > Tube, Wolfman’s Brother

Set II: The Haunted House*, The Very Long Fuse*, The Dogs*, Timber*, Your Pet Cat*, Shipwreck*, The Unsafe Bridge*, The Chinese Water Torture*, The Birds*, Martian Monster*

Set III: Punch You In the Eye > Golden Age > Tweezer > Heavy Things, Guyute, Sand > Tweezer Reprise

Enc: Is This What You Wanted^, Frankenstein^^

Notes: *Debut
^Phish debut
^^Page on keytar

The backdrop on the stage at the start of the show was a large gate adorned with a “P.” The musical costume was a set of original, mostly instrumental music played with the sound effects and narration of the 1964 Disneyland album Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House. Prior to the start of Set II, the stage was cleared of all band equipment, and a graveyard set was brought out. At the start of the set, smoke filled the stage, and zombies appeared behind the gate. When the gate opened, a large haunted house with the band inside was brought to the front of the stage. The sound effects and narration were played on the PA, while an undead narrator would emerge from a crypt inscribed with “ESTHER” prior to each song for the introduction. At the end of The Fuse, the sides of the house came down while sounds of an explosion were heard, and the band was revealed inside, dressed in white tuxedoes and with zombie face paint. Several zombies came to the front of the stage and danced during Martian Monster. At the conclusion of the set, the band members came down from the Haunted House riser, slowly walked to the front of the stage, and took bows, along with the entire cast of zombies. All songs during the second set were debuts, with the titles taken from the first ten tracks of Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House.

Source: Phish.net