PHISH in Bethel, NY - REVIEWS
- By Nick Rhodes
- Published on June 01, 2011
As the preeminent jam band in the country ventures off on their 2011 Summer Tour, various fans, Headstash staff writers and even some random, first-time Phish-goers will submit reviews of each night. They'll tell you their favorite songs and segues, how the crowd reacted and whether this show is worth buying, downloading or skipping altogether.
Phish kicked off the tour this past Memorial Day weekend with three sold-out shows in Bethel, NY. Check out what staff writer Max Urquhart had to say about each show below.
For a complete list of tour dates, check out Phish's official website.
--May 27 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts – Bethel, NY
Set I: Tweezer > My Friend My Friend, Poor Heart, Roses Are Free > Funky Bitch, Wolfman's Brother > Walk Away, Stash, Bouncing Around The Room, Kill Devil Falls, Bold As Love
Set II: Carini > Back On The Train, Boogie On Reggae Woman > Waves > Prince Caspian > Crosseyed and Painless > Wading in the Velvet Sea > Possum, The Squirming Coil
Encore: Julius
Crowd Atmosphere: Electric. It had been five months since their last show and the crowd was very eager to get back into the groove. Normal older Phish crowd, but with Summer Camp and Bisco Inferno going on for the Umphrey's McGee, moe. and Disco Biscuit fans going on, it was all phans in attendance.
Best Song: Walk Away
Best Jam: Boogie On Reggae Women
Best Segue: Waves > Prince Caspian
Twitter Recap: From start to finish the show was rocking. "Tweezer" opener set the mood for the night/weekend. The boys sounded amazing and it was easy to see they had been practicing.
Rating out of 5: 4.7
Buy/download/pass: Worth buying this show. I get it for free just for being there.
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May 28 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts – Bethel, NY
Set I: Theme From The Bottom, NICU, Cities, Halley's Comet > Runaway Jim, Gumbo > Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) > Limb By Limb, Horn, Bathtub Gin
Set II: Down With Disease > Free > Backwards Down The Number Line > Makisupa Policeman > Harry Hood > Cavern > David Bowie
Encore: A Day in the Life
Crowd Atmosphere: A little more crowded tonight with the energy just as high.
Best Song: Down with Disease
Best Jam: Harry Hood
Best Segue: Makisupa Policeman > Harry Hood
Twitter Recap: Another very special night with Phish and the boys. Just a vicious show from start to finish with multiple highlights in both sets.
Rating out of 5: 4.69. Couldn’t rate it as high as the night before.
Buy/download/pass: Buy this show just for the "Makisupa > Hood" section
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May 29 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts – Bethel, NY
Set I: AC/DC Bag, Sample in a Jar, Rift, Ocelot, Ya Mar, Timber (Jerry The Mule) > The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg > 46 Days > Twenty Years Later, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Run Like An Antelope
Set II: Mike's Song > Simple > Weekapaug Groove, Meatstick > Fluffhead > Joy, Also Sprach Zarathustra > Light > Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise
Crowd Atmostphere: Full on Phish craziness. After the first two nights, tickets were hard to come by and the anticipation of Phish playing one more night in the beautiful Bethel Woods Center was palpable.
Best Song: Timber
Best Jam: Tweezer Reprise
Best Segue: Mike’s Song > Simple> Weekapaug Groove
Twitter Recap: They didn't take as many chances and the show was not as psychedelic as the previous two but nonetheless was another great performance by Phish.
Rating: 3.9
Buy/download/pass: Download illegally if you really love the Phish.
- Max Urquhart
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Stay tuned as we continue to publish short fan reviews from each night of Phish's Summer Tour 2011.
What did you think of the Bethel shows?
