Phish wrapped up a two-night, tour-opening stay in Seattle on Saturday with a couple impressive jams on classic songs. The band opened its spring tour on Friday at the Climate Pledge Arena, kicking off an eight-show run through the West Coast.

After floating in the blimp a lot with a soaring “Free” opener, Phish got down to business with “Bathtub Gin” in the two-slot. While tour-opening shows/runs can often serve as a ceremonial dusting of the cobwebs, Phish showed on nights one and two in Seattle that the band’s muscles had not atrophied in the two-and-a-half months since stepping off stage at Riviera Maya in Mexico. The “Gin” jam was crisp and cohesive, with Trey Anastasio charging ahead on engaging lead playing as Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman locked into a groove early on. At the same time, Page McConnell provided colorful brush strokes on grand piano throughout. Around the 11-minute mark, Trey began experimenting atonally to give the jam a bit of risk, quickly establishing that Phish wasn’t playing it safe at this tour-opening run.

Phish — “Free” [Pro-Shot] — 4/19/25

Phish — “Bathtub Gin” — 4/19/25

[Video: Blanks&Postage]

The rest of the first set saw some strong playing on “Stash” and the set-closing “Walls of the Cave”, but the show’s other major highlight came with the second-set opening “Chalk Dust Torture”. As opposed to the “Bathtub Gin” jam, “Chalk Dust Torture” was light and airy, though both clocked in around 19 minutes in length. Trey spent considerably more time contributing rhythmic chords, giving the improvisation a more cohesive group feeling. While Fishman experimented with polyrhythms, Trey cycled through various effects and Page explored his vast menagerie of synths, his Fender Rhodes, and other keyboard gizmos. The rhythm-centric jam rode a slow but undulating tide to a satisfying final peak, with the last three-ish minutes arriving as pure bliss, with the crowd roaring its approval.

Phish — “Chalk Dust Torture” [Pro-Shot] — 4/19/25

Phish rode the “Chalk Dust Torture” momentum into a proceeding 14-minute “Light”, followed by a “Chalk Dust Torture” reprise (but not “Chalk Dust Torture Reprise“). Other highlights included an incendiary “Fuego”, slow-burning “Piper”, and a jovial “Backwards Down the Number Line” to close the set. The band then sent everyone home (on the train) with “Sleeping Monkey” followed by a final fatal blow of “My Friend, My Friend”.

Check out videos from Phish night two in Seattle by Blanks&Postage. Stream the shows on LivePhish or find tickets to upcoming Phish shows on Ticketmaster. The band’s spring tour continues tonight, April 20th, with its first Portland, OR show in 25 years. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering a webcast or purchasing a LivePhish+ subscription via the links on this page helps support our work covering Phish and the live music world as a whole. Thanks for reading!]

Phish — “Fuego” — 4/19/25

Phish — “Piper” — 4/19/25

Phish — “Sleeping Monkey” — 4/19/25

Phish — “My Friend, My Friend” — 4/19/25

Setlist [via Phish.net]: Phish | Climate Pledge Arena | Seattle, WA | 4/19/25

Set One: Free, Bathtub Gin, Evolve, Stash, Pebbles and Marbles, Farmhouse, Suzy Greenberg > Walls of the Cave
Set Two: Chalk Dust Torture > Light > Chalk Dust Torture > Fuego -> Monsters, Piper > Backwards Down the Number Line
Encore: Sleeping Monkey, My Friend, My Friend

Trey teased San-Ho-Zay in Bathtub Gin and Free in Stash. Light contained a Dave’s Energy Guide tease from Trey and a Tweezer tease from Page.