Phish performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on April 17, 2023. Matt Pang/STAFF.

BERKELEY — Legendary jam band Phish returned to the Greek Theatre for the first time since 2010 as the quartet kicked off a three-night stand on Monday. Due to the city’s 10 p.m. curfew, the free-wheeling rockers started early to give themselves time to improvise.

Phish kicked off the performance with 1987 classic “The Curtain With” and squeezed in more than a dozen songs full of electrifying extended solos, with attendees singing word for word.

The set included “Carini,” “All of These Dreams,” “Stash” and “Halfway to the Moon,” the melodic jams coming naturally. Guitarist Trey Anastasio dedicated “Carini” to popular Phish fan Tim Gazaille, known as Frenchie within the band’s fan community, who had passed away the day before from lung cancer.

A light drizzle began to fall, which seemed to heighten the excitement within the crowd as the first set came to a close with Mike Gordon solo song “Mull,” from his forthcoming album Flying Games, as well as “Undermind” and “Theme from the Bottom.”

Gordon, Anastasio, Jon Fishman and Page McConnell returned for a second set that began with a cover of zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier’s “My Soul,” as well as an extended rolling combination of “Tweezer” (at about 40 minutes in length!) and “Simple.” Phish concluded the main set with a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll.”
The two-song encore consisted of “Miss You” and then “Sand.”

The Monday show, as well as the band’s appearances on Tuesday and Wednesday, are being broadcast on SiriusXM Phish Radio (Ch. 29). A replay of the Monday show will be broadcast at 9 a.m. on April 18.