Last month, Vermont and upstate New York were hit by devastating flash foods that took lives and wrecked businesses in a way that they may never recover from. Relief efforts immediately sprung up in response, including a call to action from the Green Mountain State’s favorite sons, Phish.

America’s second favorite jam band rolled in for two special benefit concerts for the Waterwheel Foundation at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, a.k.a. SPAC, a favorite venue for those in the ‘jam band’ scene.

Night 1 opened with a first set that featured solid versions of fan favorites such as “The Moma Dance,” “Ocelot,” and “Punch You in the Eye,” as well as the fairly rare Gordon solo number “Mull.” Coming off the summer tour, Phish sounded relaxed and well oiled, but nothing in the set harnessed the ‘X’ factor where the jams really go to the next level; the exception was a 14 minute “Sand” where Anastasio really cut loose, taking a long extended solo that included a long interpolation of the “Munchinkinland” theme from The Wizard of Oz.

Set 2 was more of the same: solid, but the jams were largely mannered and reserved. That all changed, however, with a 22 minute version of the blissful “A Wave of Hope,” an appropriate number for the evening given both its aquatic motif and its message of recovery from hard times. The set ended with a white hot “Chalk Dust Torture,” which featured Trey once again returning to Oz for his ending solo. 

The encore began with the poignant “Wading in the Velvet Sea,” another number that encapsulated the reason for the evening; it was the emotional high point of the evening despite sounding a tad hesitant musically. The show closed with a solid but perfunctory “Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”

Night 2 began with “Free,” and it was immediately that the band was ready to show up this night: the jam was winding, freewheeling and totally unpredictable in the best possible way. The fan favorite “Tube” shot out like a pressure bullet and had the entire band hitting psychedelic pay-dirt as they funk-strutted their way into “Twist” and “Harry Hood.”

“Maze” lived up to its title, with a twist-y, turn-y jam that explored a variety of kaleidoscopic landscapes, leaving the audience just enough time to take in each excursion before the band pivoted towards the next destination.

The previously discussed ‘X’ factor was fully captured in set 2, which featured some of the band’s most beloved songs delivered in exquisite fashion. “Down with the Disease” is a contender for the ‘top of the pile’ as far as the band’s most beloved exploratory vehicles, and this was a pantheon version that led into an equally magnificent and unpredictable “Ghost.” The band’s instrumental take on “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) bridged a special appearance from jam band royalty Derek Trucks, who meshed beautifully with Trey throughout excellent versions of T.V. on the Radio’s “Golden Age,” a sublime “Everything’s Right,” a beautiful “Life Beyond a Dream,” and finally an epic “First Tube,” capping a truly triumphant set that blew away every second of the previous evening.

For an encore, the band brought out another fan favorite, “Possum,” and it was the perfect cherry on top for a show that ranks among the finest shows the band has pulled off in recent memory. Both nights are worth listening to, but the second one encapsulates so much of what makes Phish’s appeal so uniquely special and unpredictable in the best possible way. You never know what you’re going to get with this band, except a good time is guaranteed and that it is impossible to leave without a smile on your face.

To donate to victims of the flooding, go to https://www.waterwheelfoundation.org/