Author: Brian Ferguson

In Focus: Phish Return to Blossom Music Center

Phish played the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on August 2, following a night off after a fantastic run in Maryland. The Blossom Music Center is a special place, a beautiful wooden, wedge-like structure nestled in the forests of Ohio. If you are from New York, I would highly recommend you make the trip if you have not yet, it’s certainly up there with the best sheds around. This was my first time there, but it certainly won’t be my last.

The band started the night off with a nice acapella version of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which they played for only the second time. “Crowd Control” was up next, and then a mid-set “Punch You In The Eye.” After this was a short “46 Days” before delighting the crowd with a “You Enjoy Myself.” They did a short vocal jam before dropping back into another second “YEM” jam, which the crowd ate up. Keeping the funk going, was a short “Tube” before slowing things down with a “Shade.” A gorgeous “Reba” was a perfect soundtrack to the color leaking from the sunset sky. They wrapped the set up with the staple set closer of “Cavern.”

Phish has really been feeling “Free” this summer, and they opened up the second set with a monster 25-minute version. “Esther” was next, which they unfortunately struggled through due to Trey’s guitar being out of tune. “Blaze On” followed, the jam was on the shorter side, and then Trey started off “Scents and Subtle Sounds.” As they worked their way through the composition, the sound twice completely cut out for a few seconds. The band played through it and either didn’t notice or they tried to make it up with what was probably the jam of the night. This version was heavy on the dark funk, with a gorgeous ambient outro. Maybe it was a nod to the night being the 19th anniversary of the IT music festival from 2003, which was the band at their peak in ambient jamming, but probably not. A short but sweet “2001” got the whole place dancing, before a wild and beautifully cacophonous “Split Open and Melt” had some in the crowd staring at the stage in awe.

It was amusing to see the confusion and then elation as the Page started up “Bathtub Gin” for the encore. Even though the band was a little bit short on time, they were able to cut out the fat and immediately get right to the good stuff as the jam matured into a some very opulent themes and textures before wrapping up the night.

Phish Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls , OH 8/2/22

setlist via Phish.net

Soundcheck: Funky Bitch, My Soul, Crowd Control (this soundcheck is possibly incomplete)

Set 1: Strawberry Fields Forever, Crowd Control, Punch You in the Eye > 46 Days > You Enjoy Myself, Tube > Shade, Reba, Cavern

Set 2: Free > Esther > Blaze On > Scents and Subtle Sounds > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Split Open and Melt

Encore: Bathtub Gin

Strawberry Fields Forever was performed for the first time since July 22, 2017 (168 shows). Fish quoted Strawberry Fields Forever in the YEM vocal jam and in the jam that followed. Trey teased Also Sprach Zarathustra at the end of Gin.

August 10, 2022
In Focus: Phish Return to Merriweather Post Pavilion

Phish continued their Summer 2022 tour as they rolled into Columbia, Maryland for a weekend run at Merriweather Post Pavilion (MPP)

Fans got their first look at the venues upgrades from the renovations in 2018. The raised canopy and improved sound system is a major upgrade if you’re on the lawn, the sightlines in the pavillion have also improved. They have also added a “Skylawn” if you’re looking for an almost pavilion like lawn experience, if you can manage to get in there early. The one thing they forgot to improve were the bathrooms, as the wait could take a good 30 minutes.

A bit light on the improv, Phish leaned on a mix of classics along with some surprises deep from their catalog for the first night of the run on a beautiful, but hot, Maryland summer night. The night started off with “Sand” to get things cooking. Next was an always welcomed “If I Could”, before throwing things back into high gear for the heart of the set with “Buried Alive”, “Set Your Soul Free” and “Llama”. Next Page took over with a “Halfway to the Moon” as the sun set. The song featured some improv for the first time in the song’s history as the jam melted into “Shafty.”

Afterwards was a take on The Brothers Johnson classic “Strawberry Letter 23”, which again, the band took the song out for an extended spin for the very first time. They made the perfect call to end the set with a Lizards, and not a person in the building disagreed with it.

The second set started out focusing more on the songs before loosening into a slippier fourth quarter. “First Tube” started the set off and had the venue pumping. Next up was a “Fuego” that included some of the better improv of the night. After was a solid combo of “Sigma Oasis” and “Prince Caspian.” The peak of the show was next with “Waves,” “Meastick” > “Simple. “

“Waves” was the another fantastic jam, and the “Meatstick” was one of the better versions they have played in some time. The band linked up like a funk Voltron and it felt like we were back in 1998. “Meatstick” oozed into a ‘Simple” that was sublime. Simple turned into “The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony,” which turned into a rocking “Suzy Greenberg” to wrap the set up. The encore started with a fun “Alumni Blues” > “Letter to Jimmy Page” > “Alumni Blues” and ended with a rocking “Character Zero.”

Knowing not to miss a Sunday show, Phish fans returned to MPP for a show with on-again, off-again rain throughout the day, best described as “alternately annoying, refreshing, fun, beautiful, obnoxious, baptizing, cleansing, cold, healing, and joyous” by phan @ZZBenz.

Set one began and ended with 15 minutes versions of “A Wave of Hope” and “Ghost,” respectively. Prior to “Ghost,” Mike Gordon Band’s “Mull” took a surprise turn as a jam vehicle, stretching out farther than many expected, and segued neatly into the Junta composition, “Foam.”

Prior to playing a Set two opening “Halley’s Comet,” Trey and Mike briefly teased “Those Were the Days” (All in the Family theme). A long-awaited “Tweezer” featured a jam on “All Along the Watchtower” before delving into a unique final seven minutes of improvisation. After a jump to “Wingsuit,” a little bit more “Tweezer” was played before working into “Birds of a Feather.” A rare second set “Taste” gave way to “What’s the Use?” which had Trey ‘holding the note’ in a “Divided Sky” manner. A combo of “The Howling” and “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” closed the set, with a three song encore of “Show of Life,” “Loving Cup” and “Tweezer Reprise” to wrap up another Sunday show at MPP.

Phish keep the tour moving to the beautiful Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, then Clarkston, MI at Pine Knob Music Center, before returning to the East Coast for three nights in Atlantic City over August 5-7.

Phish – Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD – Saturday, July 30, 2022

Soundcheck: My Soul, Fluffhead

Set 1: Sand, If I Could, Buried Alive > Set Your Soul Free > Llama, Halfway to the Moon -> Shafty, Strawberry Letter 23 -> The Lizards

Set 2: First Tube > Fuego > Sigma Oasis > Prince Caspian > Waves > Meatstick -> Simple > The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg

Encore: Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues > Character Zero

The jam out of Halfway to the Moon contained Shafty lyrics from Trey and Page and teases from Trey and Mike. Mike teased Miss You (Rolling Stones) in Strawberry Letter 23 and Flash Light in Character Zero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA-N7BMMrjI

Phish – Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD – Sunday, July 31, 2022

Set 1: A Wave of Hope, Dogs Stole Things, AC/DC Bag > Sparkle > Back on the Train, Mull > Foam, Ghost

Set 2: Halley’s Comet > Tweezer > Wingsuit > Tweezer > Birds of a Feather, Joy > Taste > What’s the Use?, The Howling > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.

Encore: Show of Life, Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise

Mike teased Twenty Years Later in Ghost. Mike and Trey teased Those Were the Days before Halley’s Comet.

August 2, 2022
In Focus: Spoon at Town Ballroom in Buffalo

Spoon opened their second leg of their summer tour at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo on July 7. Touring in support of their recent release Lucifer On the Sofa. Though it was the first show they had played since June, you wouldn’t know it. Opening up the leg with a Smog cover of Held, the show was an eclectic mix of old and new, playing 5 songs from Lucifer on the Sofa, along with an impressive mix of their older catalog. It really highlighted the deep well they can draw from and keep the audience on their toes.

Spoon is a band that serves no bullshit; no stage theatrics, no elaborate light setup or costumes. Britt Daniel (vocals, guitar), Jim Eno (drums), Alex Fischel (keyboards, guitar), Gerardo Larios (guitar, keyboards) and Ben Trokan (bass, keyboards) are just 5 guys on stage who are focused on just playing their music. The band represents their cool Austin roots from the 80’s and 90’s where bands were cool without trying too hard. The show moved along like a locomotive, it didn’t slow and keep chuggin along and gaining momentum. Their 5 song encore started with a cover of John Lennon’s Isolation and ended with their musical nod to The Rolling Stones with 2014’s Rent I Pay. Some people say that rock is dead, but Spoon is proof that it’s alive and well.

Setlist: Held (Smog Cover), The Devil & Mister Jones, Don’t You Eva, Wild, The Beast and Dragon, Adored, The Way We Get By, Don’t Make Me a Target, The Underdog, I Summon You, My Babe, Feels Alright, My Mathematical Mind, Do I Have To Talk You Into It, Inside Out, I Turn My Camera On, Got Nuffin

Encore: Isolation (John Lennon Cover), The Hardest Cut, Do You, Small Stakes, Rent I Pay

July 16, 2022
In Focus: Twiddle and Andy Frasco & the U.N. at Town Ballroom in Buffalo

Twiddle and Andy Frasco and the U.N. came to The Town Ballroom in Buffalo on April 7. You can tell both bands on tour are having a ton of fun because all three sets featured various members and friends sitting in, giving a vibe that you were seeing a collective of friends and musicians versus two seperate bands doing their thing.

The show started with a set by Mihali and a few friends which was a mellow open to get the night started. Andy Frasco & The U.N. was next. Half show and half house party on stage, Andy Frasco and his band ramped up the energy, whether swigging from a bottle of Jim Beam, jumping on the piano or pulling various friends and musicians onstage, Andy Frasco is all about having a good time onstage and the Buffalo crowd ate it up.

Twiddle rode the energy from Andy Frasco and the U.N. and kept the crowd dancing all night. An encore of Baba O’Riley brought all of the musicians throughout the night back together onstage for a finale that left the crowd walking out with smiles.

Setlist: Collective Pulse > Be There, Play, The FRENDS Theme, Apples > White Light > Apples > Lost in the Cold, Milk*, Juggernaut
Encore: Baba O’Riley^

* with Mike Gantzer
^ with Andy Frasco & The U.N.,Â Mike Gantzer, and Scott Hannay

April 14, 2022
Gary Numan Intrudes at Town Ballroom in Buffalo

Gary Numan stopped by the Town Ballroom in Buffalo on March 12th. Best known from his 1970’s and early 1980’s hits “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and “Cars“, Numan is still going strong in support of his newest album Intruder, his 21st solo record.

Though he played a good amount off of his new science fiction soundtrack about the impending climate catastrophe, he also included a good mix of his material throughout the years. Gary still has some dates in America before heading back overseas to continue his world tour.

Gary Numan – Town Ballroom, Buffalo – March 12, 2022

Setlist: Intruder, Metal, The Promise, The Gift, Everything Comes Down to This, Films, Ghost Nation, Love Hurt Bleed, Pray for the Pain You Serve, Bed of Thorns, Down in the Park, Cars, Here in the Black, The Chosen, My Name Is Ruin, A Prayer for the Unborn

Encore: Me! I Disconnect From You, Are ‘Friends’ Electric?

March 24, 2022