Phish performed for two nights at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, during the summer of 2010. As is typical, the band performed very different sets on both evenings with no overlap, but this one is easily the more polished of the two included in the
Live Phish series. There can be no question, evidenced by the entire tour, that the post-reunion
Phish is a far tighter live unit than in their previous incarnation. This concert contained 21 songs. Clocking in a the requisite four hours, it offers two sets and a brief encore. There are many highlights from this snaky but uplifting show, not the least of which is a mind-blowing rendition of "Bathtub Gin," lasting 12 minutes in set one, a deeply funky, slippery "Meaststick," and an excellent reading of "Ghost" which gives way to a spirited cover of the
Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash." The encore -- which follows an excellent 20-minute "You Enjoy Myself" (that somehow channels both
Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the
Grateful Dead and melds them seamlessly into something wholly other that doesn't sound cheesy at all) -- is a furious, nearly punk rock version of
Jimi Hendrix's "Fire." This show is well worth having for fans, whether you've seen one
Phish show or a hundred.
–
Thom Jurek, Rovi