Week in Rock: Animal Edition

Hitchhiked to the Beach

They're baaaack, brah! After officially breaking up totally forever five years ago (and going out with a disastrous farewell concert that drummer Jon Fishman accurately described as "one of the great train wrecks in live concert history"), those alternately loathed and beloved Clinton-era road hogs are on tour again. Phish will wrap up a 3-night stand at Jones Beach tonight—it's their first performance in the New York City area since playing for a half hour atop the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater back in June, 2004. Thursday night's show unfolded under a light, misty rain, with a welcome ocean breeze sweeping in with it, and the band started off with their a cappella song "Grind," which features lyrics gleefully tabulating the exact number of days each of the four band members' have been alive. And the crowd goes wild.

For Phish fans, the first set was an exhilarating romp through some of the best of Phish's geeky back catalog, executed with a well-rehearsed tightness often missed during the sloppy years preceding the band's breakup. Set II, which featured a blistering cover of The Who's "Drowned" and a well-chosen encore of Velvet Underground's "Rock and Roll," was more subdued, starting with a down-tempo, weather-appropriate rendition of "Water in the Sky," and later the rather twisted ballad "Waste," preceded by Phish's most insipid, cringe-inducing ditty: "Meatstick." Parts of a new number, "Time Turns Elastic," may have potential, but at 15 minutes long, someone needs to take some scissors to it. Of course, "less is more" has never been Phish's maxim, and their epic, set-saving performance of timeless fan-favorite "You Enjoy Myself" was certainly proof of that. Here's the whole set list. —John Del Signore