To celebrate the longest days of the year and the start of summer, Phish, the improvisational rock quartet, kicked off its highly anticipated 2025 summer tour on Friday night at Southern New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester, NH.
Attendees were quick to notice a change to the band’s longtime stage plot. Jon Fishman’s drum kit is now positioned at stage left, echoing the arrangement they used throughout much of the ’90s, with bassist Mike Gordon to his right, followed by guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell holding their usual spots.
Trey was slinging his “new” axe, Koa 1.5, which he debuted on Instagram this week. It’s safe to say this guitar can sing, yell, and spit, and we’ll be hearing from it all summer long.
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Another thing to note, Phish has moved away from X (formerly Twitter) and is now posting real-time setlist updates to the Phish from the Road BlueSky account.
The foursome opened the night with the can’t-miss, always-feels-good first set staple, “The Moma Dance”, followed by another one often found early, a breezy, bouncy “Back on the Train” that briefly left the track to rise to a nice little peak.
The “Wolfman’s Brother”/”Theme From the Bottom” combination that followed saw the band stretch out for the first time of the night. “Wolfman’s” was relaxed like “Moma” and “BoTT” before it, but it veered away from the expected funk and into a more traditional, soaring, major-key Phish jam. “Theme” took the baton, and a few minutes into the jam it was clear this would be a first set standout.
A quick pass through “The Old Home Place”, the bluegrass tune originally performed by The Dillards in 1963, landed fifth, appearing in a Phish setlist for the first time since 8/7/24.
Short versions of three heavy hitters followed to put a cap on a very solid, fluid first set full of familiar first-setters. “46 Days” and “Birds of a Feather” did what they do, which is quickly deliver the brand of tension/release guitar rock the band should have patented long ago. Plus, “I wish they didn’t end that set with Slave to the Traffic Light” continues to be a phrase never uttered by a Phish fan.
You could’ve plucked this setlist right out of 2003. No surprises, no monsters, no let downs, and no complaints.
Set two opened with the surprising one-two punch of “Bouncing Around the Room” and “Sample in a Jar”, but the standard offerings only served as an amuse-bouche for the Life Saving Twist that followed.
Immediately pushing out of its composed structure, it was clear the band was steering Evolve‘s “Life Saving Gun” off the exit marked “Jam.” This one went beyond stretching as Trey, Mike, Page, and Fish moved through a handful of distinct sections, layering each with its own personality before sliding into “Twist” just past the 19-minute mark.
Ethereal and brooding, this “Twist” became centerpiece of the night. Early on, it floated along a dub-style groove that was easy to get lost in before melting into dark, cosmic murk. The band drifted beautifully through the astral gloom for 18 minutes before “Piper” awoke from the stormy, velvet abyss. Dark, spacey Phish at its finest.
Related: Phish Says No More Tarps (Or Else)
Though a pleasant, upbeat yang to “Twist’s” darker yin, “Piper” ran for a bit but didn’t break new ground. At this point, Trey had started losing his voice, but powered through valiantly, ending the set with a straight-ahead Everything’s Right that lacked the bang you’d expect from a set closer.
The encore saw some surprises, with the peaceful “Strange Design” showing up in this slot for only the second time ever in its 30-year history. The ever-blissful “Harry Hood” followed and seemed the obvious show-closer, but Phish still had a rousing “Suzy Greenberg” up its sleeve. This has always been one of the most special things about Phish: Every once in a while, you’re sure they’re done, that the set is over, or the show has ended, they lay one more on you. Gotta love it.
All in all, I don’t think you can ask for more from a tour opener. The band looked and sounded relaxed and connected, even if they didn’t take on anything too ambitious or complex. We heard lots of early 1.0 staples. Fun was certainly had.
Were they pacing themselves? Perhaps. But I can’t imagine anyone in the building complaining. The four musicians kicked the tires, took the car out for a test drive, and quickly found that everything was in great shape.
Phish takes the stage again on Saturday night for the second show of a trifecta at the New Hampshire arena. If you can’t attend, you can tune into a webcast of the performance (and the rest of Phish’s 2025 summer tour dates) via LivePhish webcasts. Order single-show webcasts, multi-show weekend bundles, or full-tour I Saw It Again webcast packages here.
[Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Purchasing your webcast or audio download via the links on this page helps support our work covering Phish and the world of live music as a whole. Thanks for reading!]
Below, check out the setlist from the night and a selection of videos from the opening show of Phish summer tour 2025 in New Hampshire.
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | SNHU Arena | Manchester, NH | 6/20/25
Set One: The Moma Dance, Back on the Train, Wolfman’s Brother, Theme From the Bottom, The Old Home Place, 46 Days, Birds of a Feather, Slave to the Traffic Light
Set Two: Bouncing Around the Room, Sample in a Jar, Life Saving Gun[1] > Twist[1] > Piper > Everything’s Right
Encore: Strange Design > Harry Hood > Suzy Greenberg
Notes: [1] Unfinished; Trey teased Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 in Back on the Train. Life Saving Gun and Twist were unfinished.
Phish – “The Moma Dance” [Pro-Shot] – 6/20/25
Phish – “Slave to the Traffic Light” (Partial) – 6/20/25
[Video: Sailing Chronicles]
Phish – “Bouncing Around The Room” [Pro-Shot] – 6/20/25
Phish – “Back on the Train” (Partial) – 6/20/25
[Video: Josh Schultz]