(Andy Tullis/Bulletin file photo)

The most genuine — and quite possibly defining — moment of Phish’s first of two shows at Les Schwab Amphitheater on Tuesday came deep in the second set.

It wasn’t a classic Phish song by any means, but it had the makings of becoming one by the end of this tour. The song, “No Men in No Man’s Land,” was one of three new songs the band debuted this night, and provided the backdrop for the band’s meatiest jamming toward the end of the second set.

At one point, guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell looked at each other as they traded lick after lick, building the song to a frenzied climax. Their grins were ear-to-ear, mirroring those of the masses of fans only yards away on the ground.

Anyone in the amphitheater could tell: These musicians are still in love with what they’re doing, after 30-plus years of playing together. And the sold-out audience of 7,715 — which was beaten by Wednesday’s record crowd of 7,787, according to Director Marney Smith — was certainly in love with the band, turning into a sea of writhing bodies from the first song to the last.

Enthusiasm can make or break a show, and at this show, the opening date on Phish’s summer tour, it’s one to remember.

The Phish foursome may have been shaking off the cobwebs a bit to start, however. Taking the stage shortly before 6:30 p.m., the group — Anastasio, McConnell, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman — kicked things off with the bouncing grooves of “Sample in a Jar,” a short (by Phish standards) hit to ease in. The next two songs also kept things short and sweet with Gordon getting his first vocal spotlight on the dark “555.”

Set one was all about the interplay between Gordon and Fishman. The two locked in tight on “Rift,” keeping Anastasio’s and McConnell’s noodling in focus until the song exploded in the final, ascending chord run. Fishman stole the next song, “Halfway to the Moon,” with barely contained fills that powered the song from one complicated section to the next.

The first new song of the evening, “Blaze On,” was a highlight of the first set, as the band finally opened up to a longer jam led by McConnell’s punchy piano and Anastasio’s jazzy runs. “Tube” built the energy higher, and the band hit a sweet spot with “Wolfman’s Brother.” Unfortunately, this was the end of the first set.

On the plus side, the band took nowhere near as long to hit that sweet spot again in the second set, which began a little after 8 p.m. and lasted nearly two hours.

While some fans may have hoped for longer jams, the stretching done by the band was nothing to sneeze at.

“Ghost” into “Birds of a Feather” started the set out on the right notes, while Gordon’s second vocal spot of the evening, “Mike’s Song,” took its time winding complex riffs and sections into a barely-contained whole.

“Fuego,” from last year’s album of the same name, was the busiest song the band played, building from lilting jazz and winding riffs into the anthemic choruses. The almighty jam returned to end the set, with “No Men in No Man’s Land” flowing into “Weekapaug Groove” and then “Boogie on Reggae Woman.” Each band member got a solo here. Judging from the slap bass freak out Gordon laid down, he at least should have been given more time in the spotlight throughout the set.

Between this extended jam and “Fuego,” the band debuted “Shade,” a gentle, almost vulnerable slow-build that deserves special mention. However, many in the audience didn’t seem to have the patience for it. It provided a nice break in the set, and gave Anastasio a chance to pull some interesting colors out of his guitar palette.

I did not attend Phish’s second show at the amphitheater, but Bulletin reporter and Phish fan Dylan Darling did. Here are his thoughts on the show:

“Phish continued to bust out new songs while also playing fan-favorite staples.

“The four new tunes for the band all came in the first set, which ran for about an hour and a half. The new music featured songs that bassist Mike Gordon, keyboardist Page McConnell and frontman Trey Anastasio had performed with their side projects in recent years (‘How Many People Are You?’, ‘Heavy Rotation’ and ‘Scabbard’). Phish also unveiled a brand new song, ‘Mercury.’

“The second set was heavy on Phish standards, with ‘Farmhouse,’ ‘Simple’ and ‘First Tube’ closing out the string of six songs. For an encore, Phish ended its two-night stand in Bend with ‘Bathtub Gin,’ one of the band’s many songs dating back to the 1980s. Like Tuesday night, when the encore was ‘Theme from the Bottom’ off 1996’s ‘Billy Breathes’ album, the band capped its performance with a classic and fans lingered afterward hoping for at least one more song.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7814, bmcelhiney@bendbulletin.com