WXRT welcomed Phish to the 37,000 capacity Alpine Valley Music Theatre for two shows this past weekend. The fourth and fifth Midwest shows and fourth in a row after spending Thursday and Friday at Deer Creek was highly anticipated after Phish skipped Alpine Valley in 2011.

The temperature was in the high 90′s both days delaying the band from hitting the stage till the sun managed to dip behind the steep hill that rises up from the stage creating a back drop for the band that can’t be matched. Saturday nights show was certainly a warm up to Sunday. The band played well but didn’t expand or take allot of chances. Timber and Kill Devil Falls highlighted the first set. The second set featured a nice run with Carini, Wilson and Golden Age but fell off a little after that. Sunday night was certainly a highlight of 2012.

Covers of “Soul Shakedown Party,” “Lonesome Cowboy Bill” and “Frankenstein” saw the stage for the first time this year, and Phish originals, “Vultures,” “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” and “Meat” made their 2012 debut as well. Both sets felt like a second set. Out of “Fee” and into “Maze” the band roamed the hillside. A great transition followed by “the Squirming Coil” that had Page finish up solo with his Piano. The improvisational feeling held true in the second set as the crowd settled in for a 25 minute “Light” into “Ghost” segment that may will be talked about for years to come. The band wrapped up the Midwest leg of this journey by having a few Phans join them on stage for Meatstick. It could be the dance craze of the summer!

Saturday, 06/30/2012
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI

Set 1: My Soul, Daniel Saw the Stone, AC/DC Bag > The Moma Dance, Runaway Jim, Let It Loose, Reba, Kill Devil Falls, The Sloth, Ocelot, Poor Heart, When the Circus Comes, Timber > The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg

Set 2: Backwards Down the Number Line > Carini > Wilson > Golden Age > Also Sprach Zarathustra> Rock and Roll > Steam > Piper > Quinn the Eskimo, Harry Hood > Character Zero

Encore: Good Times Bad Times

Sunday, 07/01/2012
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI

Set 1: Soul Shakedown Party, Lonesome Cowboy Bill, Vultures, Gotta Jibboo, Dirt, A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Access Me, Meat, Frankenstein, Fee, Maze, The Squirming Coil

Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > No Quarter > Light -> Ghost -> Back on the Train, Farmhouse, 46 Days, Heavy Things, Joy, Julius

Encore: Meatstick

Story by: Stephen Wright

Enjoy “Simple” From Phish ’94 Chicago Box Set [Free Download]

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For… Bonnaroo Ice Cream!

Trey Anastasio Covers Outkast At The Riviera