Phish first played The Mann in Philadelphia, PA in July of 1992 as the opening act for Santana. As the band notched its 16th and 17th overall shows at the scenic amphitheater in Fairmount Park this week—33 years later—all of that history was surely going through Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Page McConnell, and Mike Gordon‘s minds.
Anastasio told us so, in so many words, as Wednesday night’s sold-out show at The Mann was drawing to a close: When dewy-eyed Joy track “Twenty Years Later” arrived just before 11 p.m., he adjusted its specs in accordance with the familiar setting: “33 years later, I’m still upside down,” he sang, more than a hint of brotherly love in his rosy grin.
What followed in the limited time remaining benefitted from that longstanding connection: a galloping “Run Like An Antelope” set-closer (this one definitely had spike, Mann) and a “You Enjoy Myself” encore.
That encore, in particular, underscored the “33 years later, I’m still upside down” nostalgia: While it was ultimately a rewarding rendition of the band’s magnum opus, it came with its share of drama.
As the composition reached its first big peak—one of the most recognizable guitar moments in the Phish canon—Anastasio’s gear malfunctioned. More than 600 times dating back to to mid-’80s, those eight measures have been the sweet release to the song’s well-honed tension. On Wednesday, during the encore of Phish’s 17th Mann show, that moment came and went with no audible guitar. The discomfort was palpable in the audience and onstage. This is the guitar riff. Where’s the guitar? Where’s the release?
But what reads like a Murphy’s Law moment on paper became a boon for this Philly “YEM”: That passage comes around a second time, after all, and the added tension from the technical difficulties translated to an exponentially amplified release on round two. Redemption—even before the band tacked a howling instrumental extension onto the end of the vocal jam to balance the books. Bonus encore “You Enjoy Myself” improv? Boy, Mann… that’s a Hell of a way to end a Hell of a run.
Thirty-three years after Phish’s debut at The Mann, Trey, Fish, Mike, and Page still aren’t immune to obstacles, but they’ve gotten pretty good at getting around them. At least Trey was on the ground this time and not dangling over MSG…
Phish – “You Enjoy Myself” – 7/16/25
[Video: SEPA LIVE]
…and we’ve only talked about the last three songs. Set one started hot with Haunted House track “The Dogs” and went on to feature “Evolve”, an early “Fluffhead”, a “Gumbo” that exploded out of the pot with arguably the most interesting improv of the night, and meditative takes on “Pebbles and Marbles” and “Roggae”. “Ginseng Sullivan” added a shot of bluegrass, a rare take on “Guelah Papyrus” gave Trey and Mike (another) chance to dance, and the “Julius” that followed could have held its own as a closing number. Instead, the band turned in a standout “Split Open and Melt” that dissolved into robotic tension, lurked in rainbow darkness, and turned itself in to the machine overlords before dripping back to reality.
While set two may not have reached the highs of Tuesday’s show (it was bound to be an uphill battle after that one), there were certainly magnetic moments. “The Curtain With” opened a second set for the first time since the ’80s. “A Wave of Hope” followed with some interesting improv featuring Mike Gordon experimenting with Fishman’s vacuum on his bass.
“Simple”, which landed in the middle of the set, featured one of the evening’s Phishiest (read: weird but very fun) passages: Several solid minutes of Anastasio (and, eventually, McConnell) playing the melody from early-’90s global dance sensation “Macarena”—and eliciting the requisite “hey, Macarena!” response from the crowd. Whether that idea arrived via thematic nostalgia (“Macarena” came out soon after Phish’s first show at The Mann), a recent affinity for songs with choreographed dances (look at the last three setlists—”Meatstick”, “TITC”, “PYITE”, “Guehla”, etc.), or something else entirely, the way Trey laughed his way through it seemed to say, “It doesn’t matter, we’re having fun.” Treyyyyy, Macarena!
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You can stream or download audio of this show—and every Phish show dating back to 2003—via LivePhish here. LivePhish is also offering nightly pay-per-view webcasts of Phish’s ongoing summer tour, which is set to resume this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 18th, 19th, and 20th at Chicago, IL’s United Center. Order your LivePhish webcasts for night two in Philly here. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering a webcast/download or subscribing to LivePhish+ via the links on this page helps support our work covering Phish and the rest of the live music world. Thanks for reading!]
Find tickets for this weekend’s three Phish shows at United Center here. Below, check out the full setlist from Wednesday’s Phish show at The Mann and view a selection of fan-shot videos from the performance.
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | TD Pavilion at The Mann | Philadelphia, PA | 7/16/25
Set One: The Dogs, Evolve, Fluffhead, Gumbo, Pebbles and Marbles, Roggae, Ginseng Sullivan, Guelah Papyrus, Julius, Split Open and Melt
Set Two: The Curtain With, A Wave of Hope -> Mercy > Simple > Ether Edge -> Maze, Twenty Years Later > Run Like an Antelope
Encore: You Enjoy Myself
Notes: Trey teased Manteca in Gumbo. Simple contained extensive Macarena teases. Trey changed the lyrics of Twenty Years Later to “thirty-three years later” in reference to the band’s first show at The Mann Center on July 18, 1992. You Enjoy Myself contained teases of the Theme from Speed Racer from Page and Manteca and Jean Pierre teases from Trey. During Mike’s bass solo in You Enjoy Myself, Trey quoted She Drives Me Crazy (Fine Young Cannibals), changing the lyrics to “he drives me crazy.”
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