Trolling winds up a SPAC flood benefit with Derek’s massive picket trucks

On Saturday night, Phish took the stage at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, for its second and final performance benefiting recovery efforts in Vermont and upstate New York after severe weather caused flooding and damage in July. After showing off their musical prowess the night before, the band was ready to re-emerge and shut down their Upstate platform. To the audience’s surprise, Phish arranged for a special guest to help conclude their run. Derek Trucks made it three songs into the second set and helped with the final melodies of the final frame and the encore of the evening.

Before their guest arrived, Phish went through countless musically satisfying moves, beginning with the aptly played “Free,” which was a loose, open composition created specifically for the tone’s defining built-up. A follow-up to “Wolfman’s Brother” provided a short but rousing jam, met with layered lyrics from the core four. Jon Fishman directs “Maze” next, adding its signature beat to kick off the fan-favorite song before Trey Anastasio’s guitar solo elevates the number to new heights.

Phish eventually worked on “Sigma Oasis”, which produced a quirky, melodic jam on “Pillow Jets”, giving Page McConnell time to show him his work on the keys before a quick demo on “Tube”. A brief jam creates an excellent “twist” led by Fishman’s backbeat before the final song in the frame: “Harry Hood.” The band returned, ready to take part in the second half of the night. Mike Gordon initially got his start on bass, working a partial overture on “Down with Disease”, which merged into the up-tempo “Ghost”, which clocked in at about 14 minutes.

Fishman witnessed the beginning of “2001” by shuffling the numbers. The cover of the “Golden Age” TV show on the radio called for the trucks’ arrival – resulting in a standing ovation from the crowd. Once located, Trucks’ slide guitar skills began to bounce effortlessly off Anastasio’s riffs as the two brightened the night with an effortless display of musical power. Spanning 16 minutes, “Everything’s Alright” produces guitar virtuosity and blended vocal moments that show what this group of greats can do. “A Life Beyond The Dream” continued to hint at the group’s combined strength – Trucks’ slide guitar added a squiggly finish, which sounded like a mockery of pedal steel at times.

For the final song of Last Frame, the Vermont Quartet and their special guest closed the set with “First Tube” before returning and cutting the evening’s encore, “Possum,” which again sounded soaring with Trucks’ signature slide adding a squiggly whine touch to the jammed number. Watch the full ceremony below.

Visit Phish’s Official Website To find out more about their upcoming concerts. The Tedeschi Trucks Band will take part in the upcoming event Garden parties This fall at TD Garden in Boston on September 27, followed by Madison Square Garden in New York on September 29. During the journey between the two cities, the band will welcome Lukas Nelson + POTR and a few friends. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased here.