Phish Headline First Austin City Limits Festival - Spinner

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After headlining Bonnaroo 2009, Phish made their Austin City Limits Festival debut as one of Friday's headliners, churning out a set of mainly Phish classics, with a few twists here and there. Aside from 'Backwards Down the Number Line' and 'Light,' their two-hour set drew heavily from the early days, including a nearly 20-minute version of 'You Enjoy Myself,' an unfinished version of 'Harry Hood' and the group's favorite song regarding roadkill, 'Possum.'

Also in the mix were a few covers, including a funky take on Talking Heads' 'Cities' and a nearly 10-minute version of the Velvet Underground's 'Rock and Roll.' For those unfamiliar with the band, energetic rock songs like 'Chalk Dust Torture,' 'Cavern' and 'Suzy Greenberg' eased in those afraid of or skeptical of the jamming nature of the band.

But for the hardcore fans -- and it was a bit hard to tell just how many there were at Zilker Park -- Phish's ACL set seemed a bit reserved as far as improvisations go. There were certainly moments with great potential -- as the 'Harry Hood' segued seamlessly into 'Light' and the instrumental 'First Tube' showed moments of Trey Anastasio's command of the guitar, but the overall, the set might seemlike standard fare to the faithful.

Phish's ACL set was the first in about six weeks, since concluding a lengthy summer tour; they're currently gearing up for a fall tour with a high-profile gig in Atlantic City on Halloween, so by all standard measures, this could've served as a nice warm-up for the rest of October.

Watch video from last night's performance