Phish on Tuesday returned to Alpharetta, GA’s Ameris Bank Amphitheatre to begin the penultimate run of its brief September 2025 tour.
Kicking off relatively early at 7:28 p.m., the age-old instrumental fire-starter “Buried Alive” and a spirited “AC/DC Bag” got Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, and Page McConnell‘s first of two Atlanta-area shows on the road at a sprint.
A rare early-show rendition of “Slave to the Traffic Light” (perhaps a nod to the many attendees whose drives to the venue were complicated by that famous Atlanta traffic) gave way to yet another song choice fans were quick to chalk up to the location: a Georgia “Peaches en Regalia”, the first Phish rendition of the Frank Zappa instrumental since Mondegreen.
Phish – “Peaches En Regalia” (Frank Zappa) – 9/16/25
[Video: Chad Sclove]
Clearly feeling it already, the band dug into a funky, murky, subaqueous “Tube” groove that exploded to the surface and into the atmosphere with a soaring, sustained-out peak. (That Trey sustain is really hitting hard these past few nights, huh?)
Yes. #phish
— DidTheyJamOutTube (@tubejamupdate.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Phish – “Tube” [Pro-Shot] – 9/16/25
A “555” breather and a quick but explosive “My Soul” gave way to “Reba”, which dutifully built to an airy, dramatic apex before skipping its whistling ending and landing in the ominous thump of “Maze”—a song whose McConnell-led organ build-up and release remains one of the more reliable thrill rides in rock and roll. (P.S. Anyone else notice a strange volume surge in the mix right about there?)
A pretty “Horn” finally set up a set-closing “Squirming Coil”, giving Page one last opportunity before intermission to grace the spotlight with his grandiose walk-off piano meditation.
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Set two began promptly at 9:15 with the ethereal “Oblivion”, easily one of the strongest songs from the latest batch of “new” Phish. After churning and toiling under white-accented primary-color squiggles from the lighting rig above, the quartet pushed the jam through a major-key meadow en route to a white-light mountain peak. Great stuff.
Much like the “Slave to the Traffic Light” during set one, perennial closer “David Bowie” got an early call next and benefitted from the shed’s unusually tall ceiling as Chris Kuroda and Andrew Giffin‘s lights sprawled and spread across the expansive space, painting in pastels. A little taste of “Manteca” from Trey, a little major-key chunking from Mike and Page, and it was on to “Fuego”, another reliable crowd sing-along that ballooned to a frantic, howling peak after 17+ thrilling minutes. Don’t miss this one.
Speaking of “howling,” after blowing through “Leaves” and a funky strut through the alley on “Sneakin’ Sally”, the band directed its momentum toward Sci-Fi Soldier vamp “The Howling” and turned it loose on Alpharetta, allowing the song’s simple structure to evolve into hair-raising, Haunted House “Dogs”-barking, Phish sound-bath pandemonium. Save some extra time for this one, too.
With enough time for a couple more, the band opted for a pair of sentimental selections—”Backwards Down the Number Line” and “Drift While You’re Sleeping”—to bring set two to a conclusion with more heroic guitar sustain.
“Monsters” proved a perfect selection in its first run as an encore as Trey lured the Alpharetta audience into his vaguely Floyd-ian, demon-filled dreamscape before propelling them home with their souls in high gear via a show-stopping “Run Like An Antelope”.
Phish – “Monsters” [Pro-Shot] – 9/16/25
Below, view the full setlist and check out a gallery of photos from Phish’s first of two nights in Alpharetta, GA, below via Christian Stewart.
Phish returns to Alpharetta tonight, Wednesday the 17th, before closing out its brief September tour with three nights at Hampton Coliseum on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Find tickets for upcoming Phish here or livestream the shows on LivePhish. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering your Phish summer tour 2025 webcasts or audio downloads via the links on this page helps support our work covering the world of live music. Thanks for reading!]
Revisit Live For Live Music‘s coverage of Phish’s September 2025 tour stops at Bourbon & Beyond on Friday and in Birmingham, AL on Saturday and Sunday.
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre | Alpharetta, GA | 9/16/25
Set One: Buried Alive, AC/DC Bag > Slave to the Traffic Light, Peaches en Regalia, Tube, 555 > My Soul, Reba[1], Maze, Horn, The Squirming Coil
Set Two: Oblivion, David Bowie, Fuego > Leaves > Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley > The Howling > Backwards Down the Number Line, Drift While You’re Sleeping
Encore: Monsters, Run Like an Antelope
