After sticking to some of their more reliable live staples on opening night of the Alpine Valley run, it was only right for Phish to lean heavily on their back catalog on night two as the group delivered 12 tour debuts throughout the night.

The entire first set was comprised of tunes not yet performed in 2015 as the band dipped into their Chilling, Thrilling Sounds performance with the opening track, “The Very Long Fuse.” From there, the first “Forbin’s” appeared which included a particularly hilarious narration from Anastasio.

The guitarist began the story by saying he isn’t much of a talker these days but then proceeded to tell a story about walking around the venue’s grounds earlier in the morning. He said the inspiration to do “Forbin’s” and the subsequent “Fly Famous Mockingbird” that night came a “bird who shit on me” during his morning walk. The guitarist also acknowledged the band’s affection for the venue, noting that their 19th anniversary with the famed Wisconsin shed fell on August 10.

The surprises kept coming throughout the set as “Brian and Robert” led into a psychedelic “Saw It Again” before the band dipped into some of their lesser played tunes like “Esther” and “Weigh.” To close the set, a rocking “Sloth” and wild “Sanity” (which featured quotes from “The Very Long Fuse”) preceded the first real exploratory moment of the night in “Split Open and Melt.”

Tasked with following up one of the most exciting sets of the tour, Phish wasted no time trying to match the intensity as they came out for the second set with a rare “Run Like An Antelope” opener. The straightforward, rocking take on the tune led into a “Carini,” igniting the crowd. While “Carini” carried its typical aggression, the improv was brief before Anastasio led the band into “Waves.”

While “Waves” once again had flashes of diving into a Type II jam, the group pulled out of it and instead opted for “Tweezer,” which served as the improvisational centerpiece of the show. A delicate jam that included hints of “Dear Prudence,” the “Tweezer” is as cohesive a jam as was performed last night.

A well placed “Dirt” preceded yet another “Mike’s Song” with the second jam tacked onto the end. The group experimented with some stop/start jamming, inciting some “woos” from the crowd. The set came to a close with a straightforward “Blaze On” and a high-energy “Weekapaug Groove” before ending with “Tweezer Reprise.” Phish then returned for two more tour debuts in the encore as they played the more fun “Contact” and the lone cover of the night, “Frankenstein,” with Page McConnell on keytar.

Next up for the band is a show at the Mann Center in Philadelphia on August 11.

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

Phish
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI

Set I: The Very Long Fuse, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird, Brian and Robert, Saw it Again, Esther, Weigh, The Sloth, Sanity > Split Open and Melt

Set II: Run Like an Antelope > Carini > Waves->Tweezer > Dirt > Mike’s Song > Blaze On > Weekapaug Groove > Tweezer Reprise

Enc: Contact, Frankenstein