Phish Serves Longest "Carini" To Date In Debut Match At NYC's Forest Hills Stadium [Photos/Videos]

Phish headed to the outer boroughs of New York City on Tuesday for the band’s debut performance at Forest Hills Stadium, the tennis stadium tucked away in a residential area of Queens that formerly hosted the U.S. Open.

While the news of Ozzy Osbourne‘s passing dominated the pre-show conversation as fans filed into the venue, the novelty of Phish’s first New York City performance in more than a decade not to take place at Madison Square Garden proved to be a more telling storyline for Tuesday’s show.

Even beyond the “remote” (read: not in midtown) location of this new destination for the active NYC fanbase, a “we’re figuring this out as we go” energy permeated both the stage and the audience early on. As the show got started just before 6:30 p.m. with “The Moma Dance” and “Rift”, the band appeared to squint out at the audience as a slowly setting sun glared back at them. Meanwhile, in the crowd, New York fans used to frequenting MSG took a few moments longer than usual to settle in, breathlessly recounting stories of inventing doctor’s appointments to get out of work early and sprinting through subway stations to make the show’s early start time. Oh, you’re in section 901? I have no idea what that means. Where are the spicy chicken sandwiches in this joint, anyway? Ah, looks like the light rig isn’t going to move here…

Both band and fans seemed to find their groove as the third song, “Sigma Oasis”, tested textures for a few engaging minutes before toppling into “Possum”. The “Wolfman’s Brother” that followed started methodically but finished with flair. Solid renditions of “Stash” and “Blaze On” got the audience involved, even if they remained relatively unremarkable.

An unlikely high point of the mostly straightforward set followed with “Monsters”, the eerie, aching Anastasio tune that continues to evoke full-hose guitar heroics whenever it appears. On this one, the sight of a plane streaking across the sky as it took off from the nearby airport compounded the emotional impact of Anastasio’s spotlight moment. The band’s second cover of The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus” this month brought Phish’s first-ever Forest Hills Stadium set to a close.

The early hour was all the more noticeable as set break came and went with the sun still hanging over the coliseum-like stadium, but as night fell—and the winged gargoyles on either side of the stage became illuminated—the band true colors similarly started shining through.

To start set two, Phish dove into “Carini” and never looked back, following the setting sun from cool, breezy air to smoldering, sunset color palettes. After hinting at “Mountain Jam” during a late flourish, this “Carini” teetered into dissonance, then dripped smoothly into another familiar riff…

By the time the Forest Hills “Carini” dripped into “Tweezer”, more than 28 minutes had elapsed—making it not just the longest “Carini” ever but a starkly different take on the tune than the compact but riotous version from last Tuesday’s take in Philly. But with plenty of well-earned momentum, there was no time for a breather as the standout “Tweezer” checked all the important boxes: creative detours, engaging build, relentless Trey/Page interplay, melodically adventurous low-end navigation from Mike, endless adaptable backbone from Fish… the works.

Phish – “Carini” [Pro-Shot] – 7/22/25

Energizing. Energized. “It’s almost dark out,” a woman in the crowd noted to laughs from her friends as the “Tweezer” jam after the longest-ever “Carini” continued rocking.

A quick note on that whole “longest-ever” thing: We’ve been seeing a lot of that this summer. Longest “Sand” ever last Tuesday. Longest “What’s Going Through Your Mind” ever the Tuesday prior. 30- and 40-minute improv sessions have become somewhat commonplace this summer (not that we’re complaining), and the sheer volume of super-long jams inherently makes those numbers less significant. What has really made this tour so special is content, not length: For the most part, these long jams aren’t ambling or excessive. They’ve all been purposeful, ambitious, melodic, and thrilling in their own ways—less like the band is trying to “take this song long” and more like they’re settling into one long, unassailable, tour-long groove and directing that momentum at different subjects each night. It’s an exciting time to like the Phish.

While the “Carini”/”Tweezer” segment was surely the night’s highlight, “What’s Going Through Your Mind” offered more conventional improvisational fireworks than its EDM-ified visit to NYC on New Year’s Eve, “A Life Beyond The Dream” was ultimately gorgeous and rewarding once everyone got back from the bathroom, and a beautiful, patient, set-closing “Harry Hood” put a feel-good stamp of approval on the evening.

The encore (“Slave to the Traffic Light,” “More,” “Tweezer Reprise”) came and went without a nod to Ozzy, and I’ll admit it was a little hard to vibrate with love and light when I was (wishfully) prepared for an homage to the Prince of Darkness—but the crowd sing-along that accompanied the “Mama, I’m Coming Home” blaring from the P.A. as the lights came up certainly helped scratch that itch.

The first Forest Hills Stadium Phish show was bound to be an adjustment for a fanbase ~~spoiled by~~ accustomed to the World’s Most Famous Arena, but after a great warm-up run on a mild summer evening, the crowd buzzed with praises of the serene setting’s intimacy and anticipation for a rematch on Wednesday night as they streamed out. Plus, if Tuesday’s second set is any indication, Trey, Mike, Fish, and Page now have things more than dialed going into night two in NYC. Game time. See you out there.

Below, view the full setlist from the first-ever Phish show at Forest Hills Stadium. Scroll down to a selection of crowd-shot videos and a gallery of photos from the night via Andrew Blackstein.

Phish returns to Forest Hills Stadium on Wednesday evening to round out the two-show NYC run. Tune in to the livestream via LivePhish here.

Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Forest Hills Stadium | Forest Hills, NY | 7/22/25
Set One: The Moma Dance > Rift, Sigma Oasis > Possum, Wolfman’s Brother, Stash, Blaze On, Monsters, I Am the Walrus
Set Two: Carini -> Tweezer > What’s Going Through Your Mind > A Life Beyond The Dream, Harry Hood
Encore: Slave to the Traffic Light > More, Tweezer Reprise

Phish – “Wolfman’s Brother” – 7/22/25

[Video: Chris Connelly]