Words by Phillip Zerbo. Photos by Parker Harrington.

We’re back! Five months and change since they kicked off 2012 at Madison Square Garden, Phish returned to the stage in Worcester, home of so many classic Phish performances over the years. The MSG New Year’s run met mixed reaction among fans, though that seemed long forgotten when the lights went down on Thursday. Let’s recap...

A punchy “Buried Alive” opens, followed by “Runaway Jim” – their second performance of the song in Worcester since the all-time classic “Runaway Jam” of 11/29/97. The fifth-ever Phish performance of The Stones’ “Torn and Frayed” was next, one of the few Exile on Main St. songs to stick in the repertoire after their performance of the album in full on 10/31/09. Standard but enjoyable renditions of “Funky Bitch,” “Moma Dance” and “Rift” were next. The only mild surprise song selection of the night was the Anastasio/Marshall composition “Nothing;” this was the fifth Phish performance ever and the first since 6/24/10 in Camden (78 shows). A typically languid “Ocelot” brings the set back into a more predictable pattern, followed by Page’s “Beauty of a Broken Heart,” the obligatory “Possum,” and we are capped off by “Rocky Top.”

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