Phish returned to the Chicago area for the first time in five years on Tuesday when they played to a record crowd of over 30,000 fans at Toyota Park in Bridgeview. The quartet made up of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman and keyboardist Page McConnell played for more than three hours mixing new songs and old favorites managing to show they still have their chops and can still produce a rocking good show.

The first set kicked off with the rocking and new “Kill Devil Falls” from the forthcoming album Joy, which quickly gave way to one of their better known classics “Sample in a Jar” from the 1994 album Hoist.  While both those tunes fired up the gathered masses, the rest of the set struggled with maintaining the heightened energy. The bluegrass ditty “Paul and Silas,” not played in more than a decade, was a treat to hear as was the perfectly executed “Curtain With.” The debut of the aptly named “Windy City” seemed to loose the attention of the crowd even as Anastasio provided interesting licks between McConnell’s lead vocals.

The set closed out with the multi-part composition “Time Turns Elastic” which also appears on Joy, marking the fourth new song (along with Ocelot) the band played in the first set. Judging by the crowd reaction, “Time Turns Elastic” allowed many to start their b-line for the toilets and concessions a little early. Perhaps it was the lack of improvisational jams or the number of new songs but the set didn’t seem to have a lot of cohesion or energy.

“Backwards Down the Number Line” the band’s first post-break-up single, started the second set with the fifth and final new song of the evening. Anastasio lead an inspired jam stretching the tune out further than anything in the first set. By now the audience could appreciate the full effect of Phish’s impressive lighting rig, run by lighting director Chris Kuroda, that enhances the experience immensely. At times even the improvised sections seemed to be linked up to the choreography of the lights — a true testament to Kuroda’s skills behind the board.

Alternating between heavy rock and groovy rhythms dominated the second half of the show. The distorted and loud “Carini” gave way to the dance groove “Gotta Jibboo” followed by “Theme From the Bottom” and a heavy and dark “Wilson.”  The funk returned with “2001″ featuring nice interplay between Gordon and Fishman, followed by the pure rock and roll of “Chalkdust Torture.” Back and forth, back and forth, rock to funk to rock to funk. This rotation made the set interesting but like the first set felt disjointed, never finding its stride. Rounding out the set was a relatively tame but exploratory “Harry Hood” and “The Squirming Coil” that concluded with a beautifully melodic grand piano solo with only McConnell left on stage. The encore, a crowd pleasing cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup,” capped off a night of solid playing that never quite found the right mix of energy and focus.

Phish did not produce an awe inspiring and jaw dropping performance but that’s not to say they disappointed. You never know what you’re going to get when you attend a Phish show and in this case it was a rather standard evening. Jaded veterans might not be thrilled with the amount of new songs that were played, but at least they were played well and featured some exploratory improvisation. But all and all its hard to point out many flaws in the show as Phish continues to prove it’s place at forefront of live touring acts.

If you want to listen to the show yourself, you can download it here, a complete set list follows:

Set One
Kill Devil Falls
Sample In A Jar
Ocelot
Paul and Silas
Windy City
The Curtain With
Train Song
Gumbo
Heavy Things
Time Turns Elastic

Set Two
Backwards Down the Number Line >
Carini >
Gotta Jibboo
Theme From The Bottom
Wilson
2001 >
Chalk Dust Torture
Harry Hood
The Squirming Coil

Encore
Loving Cup