Phish reign supreme at Xcel in St. Paul

This feels so good!

It took sixteen years for Phish to return to the Twin Cities and was it worth the wait? Yes it was! Phish kicked off their Summer 2016 tour at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and their devoted fanbase showed up in groves, nearly filling to capacity the 18,000 seat venue.

Phish last played the Twin Cities September, 24, 2000 at Target Center in Minneapolis. I was there for a fantastic show, and watched after as many fans spilled out onto the streets of downtown Minneapolis in a drug-induced haze, naked hippies running from rubber-gloved cops etc. Some sixteen years later, the vibe at Xcel was full of good energy and love, and thankfully lacked the overall insanity of the last time they were in town.

Phish played a smooth and somewhat conservative set overall at the Xcel. With a new monster light show curated by lighting director Chris Kuroda, the band seemed in sync and comfortable from the start. Singer / guitarist Trey Anastasio was bursting with a big grin nearly the entire show. At one point in the middle of the set he commented, “This feels so good!” Some first set highlights were a beautiful cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” (the band last played live in 1994), a nice version of “Horn”, and probably the heaviest song played all night “Walls of the Cave”. “Walls of the Cave” ended set one with a crescendoing pace that exploded into an awesome guitar solo by Anastasio, inducing glow sticks to fly all across the arena. It kicked ass.

After what seemed like a long set break, Phish returned to the stage and cranked out the best jam of the night with “Mike’s Song” > “I Am Hydrogen” > “Weekapaug Groove”. By the time “Weekapaug Groove” hit, everyone in the entire arena was dancing! “Ghost” followed soon after and was slowed down, driven by a heavy backbeat courtesy of drummer Jon Fishman. On “No Men In No Man’s Land” the band got really funky and Trey shredded another huge solo across the bridge that sounded amazing. The night ended with “Water in the Sky” and a pretty standard “Character Zero”.

Phish at Xcel Energy Center was an incredible amount of fun. From the start it was smooth sailing, and it was obvious both the band and crowd were in tune and having a whole lot of fun. What it lacked was the over-the-top extended jams that reach deep and can sometimes blow your mind. It seemed Phish has matured since the last time I saw them in the Twin Cities, and that is ok as I have as well. I’d love to go Phishin’ again real soon.

Phish at Xcel Energy Center