Phish Festival 8, Day 3 (Indio, CA; Nov. 1, 2009)

On Day 3 of Phish Festival 8, Phish played their first full-length acoustic set at, in their words, “the crack of noon.” The early risers and hardcore fans who showed up when the fields opened enjoyed free coffee and doughnuts shaped like 8s. When Trey Anastasio walked out on stage, he asked the fans if they had gotten the doughnuts, which earned enthusiastic cheers in response. As the band set up—notably in reverse of their normal positions—there were numerous shouts from the crowd, thanking them for the night before and for giving them a whole weekend of music.

After the first couple of melodious acoustic songs, Trey invited everyone to sit, considering the heat and the mellow songs. The crowd eventually complied when Trey urged them to try it out, saying he had “never played to a sitting Phish crowd before.” A huge seated audience across the field was quite the sight. Although the crowd dutifully sat through the next couple of songs, when Phish broke into a slightly more upbeat number, they couldn’t resist that dancing urge and jumped back to their feet. In the middle of “Wilson,” Trey announced that he had to tell a story before continuing. He said that before the show, two crew members had asked him to ask the crowd to sit, and so at their urging he had. Upon reflection, he didn’t know why he did it, because he hates telling people what to do, and on top of that he’s ADHD and hates sitting! After standing himself, they broke into the final portion of the song amongst the crowd’s cheers.

After an afternoon break where fans could stroll around their last day to make sure they got to ride on the “big wheel"—a giant ferris wheel overlooking the venue—climb the snake coil, or purchase one of 50 micro brews available, Phish came back on just after dark for a solid second set.

The third set of the day, and final set of the festival, Phish rocked out the entire set from from start to finish. “Tweezer” began the momentum, followed by “Maze,” with the crowd again celebrating in a wild glowstick-throwing frenzy. The end of “Mike’s Song” was mind blowing, transitioning into a soaring “2001,” and the set wrapped up with a resounding “Slave to the Traffic Light.”

Phish came out for their encore breaking into the always-entertaining a cappella song “Grind.” Fans then got a real treat as they played one of their classic vintage songs, “Esther,” before wrapping up the night with the rowdy “Tweezer” Reprise.

Festival 8 sustained a peaceful yet energetic vibe throughout the weekend: fans from all over coming together to celebrate the music, the scene, and the camaraderie found only at Phish shows. Fans left highly satisfied and already looking forward to when they could attend their next show, with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that Phish is back.

Set lists:

Set 1 (Acoustic):
Water In The Sky, Back On The Train, Brian and Robert, Invisible, Strange Design, Mountains In The Mist, The Curtain With, Army of One, Sleep Again, My Sweet One, Let Me Lie, Bouncing Around The Room, Train Song, Wilson, McGrupp
Encore: Driver, Talk, Secret Smile

Set 2: AC/DC Bag, Rift, Gotta Jibboo, Heavy Things, Reba, The Wedge, Guelah Papyrus, Undermind, Sparkle, Split Open and Melt

Set 3: Tweezer -> Maze, Free, Sugar Shack, Limb By Limb, Theme From The Bottom, Mike’s Song > 2001 > Light > Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: Grind, Esther, Tweezer Reprise

DOWNLOAD: Phish - Slave to the Traffic Light (Live at Lakewood Amphitheatre - 7/4/99) (MP3) or Follow us for more Phish MP3s (Twitter)

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