Phish Open Tour With Throwbacks in Chicago

It might take a couple of hours to get to the gigantic Toyota Park from downtown Chicago -- that is, if you took public transportation -- but it took absolutely no time for Phish to get back on their game last night. Starting the first show of their summer tour off with 'Down With Disease,' the beloved Vermont quartet was content to take the crowd back through its quarter of a century history with songs old and...old.

In fact, Trey Anastasio and company only played one recent tune ('Light,' from the group's latest, 'Joy') and one totally new one, 'Show of Life.' (That song ended the second set as something of a slowdown from the rambunctious proceedings of 'Run Like an Antelope,' and, for its part, began the fulfillment of a promise that there would be new material on this tour.)

The atmosphere was reminiscent from the get-go, with Anastasio remarking that he had been a Philadelphia Flyers fan for some 35 years -- as he placed the city of their tour opener squarely in irony -- but had to tip his hat to the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks, who had bested his team and staged a parade earlier in the day.

As for Phish, their greatest hits march was extremely bluesy and groovy including a further Windy City nod with ZZ Top's 'Jesus Just Left Chicago' and the super funky 'Maze.' By the time the encore rolled around, many in the audience thought a repeat of the last tour was imminent: a cover of Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones and then off to the lots and probably bed. Not so. The four men -- encased in the ever-improving glow of Chris Kuroda's stream of lights -- busted out a loopy 'Cavern' followed by a chant-along 'Julius.' Sometimes, it seems, the best way to go forward is to take a look back.

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