On Wednesday, July 28, Phish took the stage at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, celebrating their first show in 521 days, marking off their first-ever show in Arkansas, and debuting their first-ever “I Needed You Like This Before.”As previously stated, the band opened with their live debut of “I Never Needed You Like This Before,” which guitarist Trey Anastasio wrote and recorded in his NYC apartment during COVID-19 lockdown.
From there, Phish offered a straightforward, yet rocking, “Tube” followed by a cathartic “Free.” (The latter’s “feel the feeling I forgot” lyric elicited cheers from the music-deprived crowd.)“Thank you, thank you for being here with us. Thank you for having us here. Thanks for saving our lives,” Anastasio told the crowd before launching into “Bouncing Around The Room.”
From there, the quartet took “46 Days” for a nice walk before digging further into a theme of reformation with “Limb By Limb.” As the amphitheater got dark, “Wolfman’s Brother” provided ample opportunity for Anastasio and company to hit some nice crescendos.
