A phenomenon hit children’s literature in the late 80s into the 90s called Where's Waldo? An illustration of a thin, bespectacled Waldo would be placed in a crowded scene: a circus, or ballgame or school function. The reader, probably in elementary school, could spend hours turning the pages trying to locate the man in the red and white striped sweater.

Phish played its own version of Where’s Waldo? Sunday night in Chicago. After dropping “Mike’s Song” as the fifth song of the opening set, and not following it up with “I Am Hydrogen” for the classic “Mike’s Groove”, the audience kept wondering “Where’s Weekapaug?”

As is usually the case, there was no way of knowing how the band would play on their third night at the United Center. The first two nights had been good, but hadn’t delivered the consistency of the Charleston run or the tentpole jam to stake the run on like the Mann “Sand”.

“Cars Trucks Buses” kicked things off and was played clean and tight. “AC/DC Bag” followed and things are already starting to feel old-school. “Let’s get this show on the road,” indeed.

“Funky Bitch” continues the trend of songs that debuted thirty-plus years ago. Do all of these tunes from yesteryear give a clue that another big bustout is coming? Shreddy Trey takes center stage and puts this version of “Funky Bitch” over the top. Maybe this one will end up on the Phish Jam Charts, but that’s for those Jam Chart nerds to figure out (I can only call them nerds because I am one of said nerds).

A brief pause on stage allows for the band to reset. A man with outstretched arms pleads towards the rafters, “Reba???” Alas, it’s “Alaska” making its yearly (or so) appearance. Is the song enough of a rarity that it’s not loathed like it was in the nascent days of latter-day Phish? Not if you judge by the race out of the lower bowl. The man pleading for “Reba” reluctantly plops down in his seat.

The opening notes of “Mike’s Song” get everyone rushing back to their seats for the old classic. It was a fine but not revelatory version of “Mike’s." As noted above, the classic “Mike’s Groove” was eschewed, but another old-school song came next with the appearance of “Horn”. It was only the second time that “Horn” has been played immediately after “Mike’s”, the first instance being 6/29/2016. Trey struggles a bit to keep up during his solo, but quickly recovers.

“Reba” Man pops up with enthusiasm as Trey begins the fan favorite. The traditional “Mike’s” is long gone, but the old-school vibe remains with the setlist choices. As quick as the song starts, the band has stopped on a dime and moved on without the whistling ending.

"Where’s Weekapaug"? Would it show up soon? Close the set? Did Trey have some antics up his sleeve?

“Leaves” follows and is played again in Chicago, the city where it debuted eight years prior. “Taste” is next and is highlighted by Mike’s thunderous bass echoing off the walls of the United Center. The first set was winding down and “Weekapaug” would be a perfect, high-energy set closer.

Trey asks, “Oh, you want a high energy set closer?” and then rips off the opening riff of “Izabella” sending the crowd into a frenzy. Even though it’s not the rarity it once was, it’s clearly still a song that the fanbase loves to hear.

Set 1 has concluded and the mid-set “Mike’s Song” remains unfinished. How long would the band have us keep guessing, “Where’s Weekapaug?”

“Gotta Jibboo” opens the second set and keeps the old-school feel going, but is certainly not “Weekapaug”. The band finds a nice groove, but doesn’t get too deep. “Fuego” drops in next and is another stellar version to go along with all the other stellar versions of the song over the last couple years. “Fuego” is a big arena song. It needs room to breathe. It’s loud. Page does the thing where he sounds like Ray Manzarek and all is right with the world.

Is the time for “Weekapaug” after the near-twenty-minute “Fuego”? It is not, as the band goes into the first “Sparkle” in almost two years. The mini-bustout is followed up by a dark and demented intro to “Scents and Subtle Sounds”. The jam immediately goes to an ethereal place.

No one can even wonder if “Weekapaug” is coming after “Scents” because Trey segues right into “Twist”. “Twist” can be a tricky choice in this spot. Will it be a perfunctory version to kill eight minutes? Or, like some other recent strong versions played later in Set 2, would it provide some inspired jamming? The latter was most certainly the case. “Twist” and “Fuego” are easily the two highlights of the night.

It’s late in Set 2 and everyone’s still wondering “Where’s Weekapaug?” but Trey just keeps on playing. “The Lizards” is the choice and the arena agrees with the choice. “Shine a Light” receives its annual play next. Few will argue with a Stones cover.

The set is clearly wrapping up and we still haven’t found “Weekapaug”. Was the band going to blow it out to close out the set? Negative. An inspired choice in “Kill Devil Falls” was given its first ever shot to be a Set 2 closer. Yet again, Mike’s play stood out during “KDF”.

The question remained during the Encore break, “Where’s Weekapaug?” Was Trey saving it for Forest Hills or SPAC to close out the tour? Was he going to make a multi-show “Mike’s Groove” that spanned 50+ songs?

Trey kept us on our toes as “Fee” began the extra session. Trey busted out the megaphone, because some things play in both the Roxy Theater and the United Center. “Fee” also gives us the rare look at the greatest lounge band on the planet: Phish without Trey playing guitar.

Those asking “Where’s Weekapaug” would have to wait no longer. The opening notes to “Weekapaug Groove” rang out and the crowd popped. They’d been waiting for this and Trey knew right when to give it. There are some drum shenanigans before Mike takes over. Guys, we found “Weekapaug”! We win.

Just when everyone thinks the show will surely end with the “Weekapaug” we’ve all been waiting for, we get the icing on the cake with another arena rock anthem in “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”. It had everything you want in “SANTOS”: it was loud, it had high energy and it was a kick-ass way to end the weekend.

Trey kept us guessing most of the night, but we finally got our “Weekapaug” and a solid show with it. We’ll see how the tour continues when it picks up Tuesday night in Forest Hills.

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