Phish Covers David Bowie & Plays "David Bowie", Rips 40-Minute "Simple" At Alpine Valley [Photos/Videos] (2024)

After kicking off a three-night run at Alpine Valley Music Theatreon Friday, Phishreturned to theEast Troy, WI shed Saturday night for another stellar show featuring a rare cover of “Moonage Daydream” by David Bowie and an unforgettable 40-minute “Simple” jam.

The run started strong on Friday with the longest “My Friend, My Friend” in Phish history, but the band was just getting warmed up, it turns out. Saturday’s show opened with a lively “Sample in a Jar”, and right off the bat, ample enthusiasm and joy were evident both in Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell, and Jon Fishman‘s playing and in the audience’s excited response.

Phish – “Sample In A Jar” – 7/27/24

The a cappella intro to “Halley’s Comet” drew another cheer of crowd approval, but it was the succint yet powerful improv section that made the version memorable. Interplay and interaction characterized the jam as it unfolded with spontaneity and verve, the band continuing to up the ante with a series of ascending key changes.

The masters of tension and release kept climbing with the full-throttle funk of “Bird of a Feather” before settling down with a slower, gentler blissful jam during a beautiful “Mountains in the Midst”. After a brief reprieve, though, the crowd was ready to ramp things up again with “Foam”.

The highlight of set one came next as Phish broke out David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” for the first time in almost a year exactly (since 7/29/23 at Madison Square Garden). Debuted during the band’s 2016 David Bowie Halloween set, the tune suits Phish well, especially Trey’s voice, and has reappeared in setlists basically once a year ever since. This year’s take was particularly heavy, with an epic peak featuring a wailing guitar solo from Trey.

Following that Bowie bust-out, Phish kept things lighter with “My Soul”, which included an especially impactful bluesy piano solo from Page on the baby grand, followed by more inspired leads from Trey. Gamehendge favorite “The Lizards” marked the beginning of the night’s crowd participation, as the audience inserted a hearty “ooooh” after the lyric revealingThe Helping Friendly Book‘s ancient secrets of eternal joy and never-ending splendor: “The trick was to surrender to the flow.”

In a cheeky nod to their earlier “Moonage Daydream” bust-out, Phish closed the set with “David Bowie”, which featured nice melodic interaction between Trey and Page, with Page picking up on Trey’s improvised figures and building upon them. Chris Kuroda and Andrew Griffin‘s synchronized lights added an extra touch of drama to the set’s climactic ending.

Phish – “Sigma Oasis” – 7/27/24

“Sigma Oasis” started set two off strong with a jam that segued straight into a block-buster “Simple”. After following Trey’s lead into the tune, the band waded into a deep 40-minute jam with some psychedelic rock that got increasingly heavy before settling into a groove, with Page hanging out on the low end of the clavinet for a funky percussive effect. He drew cheers from the crowd before a sudden shift in feel from Fishman upped the energy. Trey improvised anthemic, lyrical licks over a peppy rock drum beat, until modal noodling from Mike and Page helped usher in another psyc-rock groove.

A subtle key change brought the jam to a happier place, with a blend of lead guitar and organ reminiscent of the Allman Brothers Band. Phish then brought the volume down for a synthy outer space vibe, which gave way to another blissful section with more playful interaction between Trey and Page. A final wave of tension and release rounded out the jam as Phish stuck the landing and accepted the crowd’s rabid applause. Much like Friday’s “My Friend, My Friend”, the sprawling “Simple” jam set a new record, marking the longest version of the song in the band’s history.

Now all riled up, the audience howled with gusto during “The Howling”, seemingly drawing a chuckle from Trey, who led an abrupt segue into “A Wave of Hope”. A steady and upbeat “Wave” jam washed over the shell-shocked audience ahead of a somber and contemplative “Lifeboy”.

The band then took one last opportunity to stretch out with a funky “Sand” jam, faking out the crowd with a climactic finish that appeared to close the set before busting into “Golgi Apparatus”, the actual set-closer.

Still not ready to relent, Phish returned to the stage and surprised fans with a rare “Esther”, followed by a triumphant “Character Zero” to cap off night two in Wisconsin.

Phish returns to Alpine Valley tonight to finish its three-night Wisconsin run. For a full list of upcoming Phish tour dates, headhere. Fans can follow along with the tour from home with nightly video webcasts viaLivePhish. To order your webcasts for any of the band’s upcoming summer shows or purchase adiscounted full-tour webcast package, headhere. [Note:Live For Live Music is aLivePhish affiliate. Ordering your webcast via thelinks on this pagehelps support our work covering Phish and the world of live music as a whole. Thanks for reading!]

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Phish – “Mountains In The Mist” – 7/27/24

[Video: shinepigeon]

Setlist: Phish | Alpine Valley Music Theatre |East Troy, WI | 7/27/24

Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Halley’s Comet > Birds of a Feather, Mountains in the Mist, Foam, Moonage Daydream, My Soul, The Lizards, David Bowie

Set 2: Sigma Oasis -> Simple, The Howling > A Wave of Hope > Lifeboy, Sand > Golgi Apparatus

Encore: Esther, Character Zero

Notes:
Trey teased Birds of a Feather during Bowie.