After putting up Ws at United Center on Friday and Saturday, Phish returned to the home of the Chicago Bulls on Sunday to complete a weekend three-peat with yet another standout performance.
The summer’s first “Cars, Trucks, Buses” and a compact “AC/DC Bag” got the night started before Michael Gordon riled up the crowd at the helm of a smoking-hot “Funky Bitch”. Another tour debut, “Alaska”, shifted the climate but maintained the intensity to round out a strong first quarter.
I say “first quarter” here not just to force a gratuitous Michael Jordan reference (that’s coming, don’t worry) but to point out that the ensuing “Mike’s Song” tipped off a “Mike’s Groove” that stretched through the rest of set one and across the whole second half before reaching its “Weekapaug Groove” resolution during overtime (read: encore). In fact, the only song not included within “Mike’s Groove” the rest of Sunday night was the “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” that closed the encore—maybe to remind attendees where they were (“the house that Jordan built”) and what it smelled like (space) when the jam heroes executed one of the most impressive “Mike” stretches since the TuneSquad toppled the MonStars (see, I told you it was coming).
In truth, the “let’s put most of the show inside of a stretched-out ‘Mike’s Groove'” approach didn’t seem to have much effect on the performance beyond setlist nerd-ery. The show ebbed and flowed in the meantime as the band worked through a serene “Horn”, a lofty “Reba”, a soaring, cinematic “Leaves” (a song with plenty of unrealized potential on the court), and a sweet, satisfying “Taste”. Pulling one more from Phish’s deep bag of live tricks, Trey Anastasio tapped into the six-string hellfire of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Izabella” for the first time since Mondegreen ahead of the halftime buzzer.
“Gotta Jibbo” opened set two with a confident bounce that quickly broke into a sprint toward white lights and Anastasio sustain. The lengthy “Fuego” jam that came next pitted jagged tones from Trey against pretty piano from Page McConnell, floated through bioluminescent currents, slipped into staccato dissonance, and re-emerged from the gurgling depths as an “Izabella”-tinged funk vamp en route to a big, screaming finish just past the 19-minute mark.
After a quick “Sparkle”, the grimier-than-usual tone of the “Scents and Subtle Sounds” intro could have tricked you into thinking that the ensuing take would veer into darkness. Instead, the opposite was true as tasteful Jon Fishman backbeats, sparing synth swells from Page, and a melodically ambitious Gordon wandered into a gorgeous, flowing jam that seemed to use the song’s title as a sonic mood board.
As the subtle “Scents” veered toward the shadows just over 14 minutes in, Anastasio changed course toward “Twist”. The relatively brief yet creatively expansive take unfurled as a smokey, slinky, Baker’s Dozen-reminiscent groove, Trey (on tasteful blues licks) and Page (on electric piano) trading film noir quips in a dark room with one bare, swinging bulb. After hinting at a melodic rock modulation, the band turned on a dime and dove once more into a dreamy haze of reverb. McConnell’s synths joined a choir of unplaceable effects as this “Twist” eventually executed a slow, purposeful march toward fretboard glory. Totally unique, totally thrilling. Woo!
Phish – “Scents and Subtle Sounds” -> “Twist” [Pro-Shot] – 7/20/25
Gamehendge favorite “The Lizards” showing up at any point in any show tends to mean that the band is feeling it (a few flubs notwithstanding). Ditto when the late-second-set sing-along “ballad” is The Rolling Stones‘ Exile on Main Street classic “Shine a Light”. A patient and eventually explosive “Kill Devil Falls” worked so well in the “exclamation point rocker” role that it came as a surprise that it had never before closed a second set.
When the band returned for the encore, Anastasio reached for his megaphone—and prompted a chorus of cheers from the United Center crowd—ahead of the first “Fee” since Dick’s 2024. “Thank you, thank you very much,” he said through the megaphone in an Elvis-style sneer before catching the “Mike’s” lob from the middle of set one and throwing it down with “Weekapaug Groove”.
Check out the setlist and a selection of fan-shot videos from Sunday night at United Center below.
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. 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!]
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | United Center | Chicago, IL | 7/20/25
Set One: Cars Trucks Buses, AC/DC Bag > Funky Bitch, Alaska, Mike’s Song > Horn > Reba [1], Leaves, Taste, Izabella
Set Two: Gotta Jibboo, Fuego > Sparkle, Scents and Subtle Sounds -> Twist > The Lizards, Shine a Light > Kill Devil Falls
Encore: Fee [2], Weekapaug Groove > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
Notes: [1] No whistling ending. [2] Trey on megaphone. Trey and Mike teased Fire (Ohio Players) in Scents and Subtle Sounds. Trey sang the verses of Fee through a megaphone.
Phish – “Izabella” (Jimi Hendrix) [Partial] – 7/20/25
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Phish – “Fuego” [Partial] – 7/20/25
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Phish – “Fee”, “Weekapaug Groove”, “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. – 7/20/25
[Video: Ricky]