Pushing Forward: Phish Lights Up Eugene

Phish

Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene

October 19, 2021

The sense of kinship within the Phish fan base — that "we're in this together" feeling — had rarely felt so powerful. 

There was no avoiding the elephant in the room: Phish was performing their first show after the tragedy at their San Francisco concert two days earlier, where a fan plunged to his death from a Chase Center upper deck. And as this evening unfolded, the band seemed to be working through their grief onstage, balancing sadness with duty. 

Everyone's heard that "the show must go on," and "life goes on." Moving forward in this scenario, however, felt like a challenge to everyone in the room. The wound of what happened merely 48 hours earlier was still fresh, and looming like a shadow. Prior to the show, many fans criticized Phish online for not having made any statement, but during the first set, Trey Anastasio, clearly hurt and shaken, did address the incidents (two fans actually fell (separately), with one death and multiple injuries).

And so this Tuesday night in Oregon was weighted with emotion and a potential for serious catharsis. But it was also charged, in an almost electrical sense, with the pre-existing expectation among fans that this two-night Eugene stand, the first Phish stop here in 7 years, was going to be special. And this was a memorable Phish gig, indeed — one of those nights where the band showcased everything they do well: lengthy jams (their opening salvo, "Down with Disease," was in fact the longest opening song in the band's history), multiple segues, light show-enhanced cosmic journeys, and song selections vintage and new. In sports, commentators talk about "statement wins"; this was a statement concert, and contained everything the gathered, roving faithful could hope for.

As Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Page McConnell and Mike Gordon took this Oregon stage, one had to wonder how they would work through the darkness that had visited them just two nights earlier in California. During "Rift," McConnell's singing these lyrics felt significant, as they seemed to confront the tragedy:

I struggled with destiny upon the ledge
And gasped when defeated he slipped off the edge

And silence contagious in moments like these
Consumed me and strengthened my will to appease

The passion that sparked me one terrible night
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite

This was Phish understanding the assignment — shocked, and persuaded to ignite souls. Faced with unthinkable bad fortune, a good-time party band recognized they still had a job to do. What choice did they have but to be resilient? Phish fans ought to feel quite proud of the band's grace, sensitivity and acknowledgments of the late Ryan Prosser and the additional injured persons on this night. 

What happened in Eugene, by any standard, was a real-time evolution of Phish and in so many ways, an emotional turning point that underscored the things humans should never take for granted: love, light, life, family, friends. Anastasio summed all this up so well during the encore of "Drift While You're Sleeping," singing these lines amid an arena full of folks singing them, too:

And we move through stormy weather

We know that our days are few

And we dream and we struggle together

And love will carry us through

And hey, if Phish also wants to churn out a face-melting, mind-bending "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and segue that into a knockout version of "Sigma Oasis," all the better. Passion, sparked. Souls, officially ignited. 

Archives Post #4: Trey Anastasio, Wiltern LG, December 7, 2005

Trey Anastasio is clearly enjoying himself. If the toothy grin he flashes onstage these days doesn't say it all, the endearing, to-and-fro pogo dancing he busted out on this night is further evidence that this guy's loving the single life. Free of the constraints, expectations and the arena-sized audiences of his old band Phish, the singer-guitarist made a compelling case at the Wiltern LG that he will survive.

Anastasio's assured, three-hour concert didn't lack much, but what it did lack was the momentum-killing, 30-minute set break. In a move that seemed radical in today's clichéd jam band scene, this tour-closing performance was a brisk, one-set affair, a runaway train that raced, braked, and eventually hurtled into the Police. But more on that later.

Backed by his ace seven-member group 70 Volt Parade, bandleader Anastasio was clearly charged up and delighted to be breaking in two new recruits, New Orleans drummer Raymond Weber and saxophonist Russell Remington. With his vocals nicely padded by backup singers Jennifer Hartswick and Christina Durfee, the riff-and-squeal guitar maestro provided fresh thrills, nostalgic chills, and eye-popping spectacle. Credit the spectacle part to former Phish lighting wizard Chris Kuroda, whose kinetic, big venue-caliber lighting was lush and colorful, yet practically seizure-inducing in the tight quarters of the Wiltern.

Focused and steering clear of dead-end noodling that sometimes made Phish stink, Anastasio delivered solo material ("Air Said to Me" and "Come as Melody," high-impact rockers from his new CD Shine, book-ended the show) and some welcome Phish tunes, the latter done mostly solo acoustic. It was refreshing to see Trey playing an acoustic guitar; it's something even longtime Phish fans have rarely, if ever, seen him do. So when the crowd echoed the chorus of "Wolfmans Brother" or went all campfire sing-along on "Chalkdust Torture," it was both a knowing nod to the rich history of artist and audience as well as a loving, we'll-follow-you-anywhere, Trey sort of benediction.

And since Trey's earned all this musical capital, by God, he's going to use it. His stature was cemented at the end of the show by his ability to lure no less than Police drummer Stewart Copeland for a run through the pile-driving "Rubberneck Lions" (from Anastasio, Copeland and Les Claypool's now-defunct side project Oysterhead) and the Police's tension-and-release exercise "Cant Stand Losing You." Don't worry, Trey, you haven't lost us yet.