Phish Begins North Charleston Coliseum Run With A "Disease" Worth Catching [Videos]

Phish returned to Charleston, SC on Friday for the first time since 2022 looking to add a new chapter to the band’s decades-long history in the Southern city.

Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Page McConnell, and Mike Gordon‘s Charleston resume dates back to 1990 when they played a small local watering hole, Myskyn’s, as the opening act for a rising Athens, GA band named Widespread Panic. Just five years later, they were headlining the 13,000-capacity North Charleston Coliseum, where this weekend’s run is taking place.

But while Phish has periodically returned to Charleston since then—and turned in a handful of memorable showings while in town—many local fans felt that the last two runs at the Coliseum, in 2016 and 2019, had left something to be desired (case in point: both runs got “Petrichor’d”). The quartet’s solid but relatively unremarkable two-night debut at the outdoor CreditOne Stadium three summers ago did little to buck the trend. With Phish coming in hot amid a standout summer tour, would this weekend serve as the band’s shot at Holy City redemption?

The band settled into its 2025 Charleston visit with a “Free” that saw Fishman throwing in a few punches in the usual Mike-Trey duel. The four musicians were all smiles as they moved into “Rift”.

Little Feat‘s “Spanish Moon” made only its third appearance since its Halloween 201 debut, the first of several rarities in the set. Page took over on synth, taking the song into the cosmos before landing at “Reba”. The composed section was well-played, followed by a lofty Fishman-fueled jam. “Devotion to a Dream”, a staple of Fuego era first sets, came off the shelf next for the first time since 10/15/16 (also in Charleston) before Kasvot Vaxt centerpiece “The Final Hurrah” face-planted into rock first time since last year’s Deer Creek run. The once heavily rotated bluegrass cover “My Mind’s Got A Mind Of It’s Own” re-entered the fold next for the first time in 149 shows, with Gordon shining in the role of Western troubadour.

From there, the swamp funk of “hey stranger” gave way to the one-chord clatter of “Taste” before Page’s piano heralded a set-closing “Walls of the Cave”. The run’s opening frame had already erased any past historical blemishes, as even the rarely played songs sounded spry and focused,

An atypical “Llama” arrangement got set two started, its tempo not quite dipping to past “Slow Llama” paces but certainly never approaching the song’s original breakneck speed.

Gordon’s bass growl diagnosed “Down With Disease” as the next patient, and the band proceeded to treat it with every trick in the book. The jam took turn after turn, with Trey leading a couple of dark sections before Fishman sculpted the groove with driving percussion, pushing the operation past the 20 minute mark. The jam quieted and relaxed but never relented as it mutated again and again. By the time the half-hour mark hit, the band had explored a number of themes, each transfiguring into the other—a communal “Disease” with no one member taking over. The nebulous “DWD” finally found its way back to its origins as Trey brought back the classic riff, reminding us of all the wonder the band had just unwound over the course of 34+ thrilling minutes in Charleston.

“Twist” emerged from the reprised “Disease” chorus, with the band locking in behind Trey’s slinking chords. Page took over the jam, trading off Cavinet and synth until Trey hit back with the spacey squawk of his Mutron guitar pedal. Mike asserted his presence here with robotic riffs (while wearing a getup that looked like he borrowed it from MonoNeon’s closet).

Now in its junior year, “The Well” was grown to be a heavy-hitter of the new class of Trey songs, especially with its head-bobbing outro (hippie head-banging, for those of you not in the know). Trey did the song justice on guitar, smiling at Fishman as he howled out the titular lyric.

Trey’s Ghosts of the Forest were summoned next for the fourth-ever Phish appearance of “Sightless Escape”, which made a strong case for continued second-set explorations of the psych jam. “Chalk Dust Torture” rocked hard, but not hard enough to close the set, prompting Trey to count off “Suzy Greenberg”. The band fed off the crowd energy, with both raising their voices together to sing the simplest of Phish sing-alongs.

A Phish encore is often a statement in contrasts, and the band nailed the two-tiered approach Friday.

Los Lobos’ “When The Circus Comes To Town” is all about Trey’s vocal delivery and his execution of the subtle, mournful guitar solo. The applause at the song’s end was a pretty good indicator that he was successful in both. When Fishman and Gordon dropped into the familiar thump of “First Tube”, Anastasio turned up the heat, commandeered the front of the stage, and gleefully stared into the faces he was melting.

Friday night laid to rest any question that Phish’s best Charleston shows are a thing of the past with a new chapter featuring one set stacked with rarities and another marked by a deadly “Disease”. As the band said farewell, Phish and crowd alike seemed extra happy knowing that there were still two chapters to be added to the Charleston Phistory books this weekend.

Below, check out the setlist and a selection of photos and videos from the first of three Phish shows at North Charleston, SC’s North Charleston Coliseum this weekend. Stream or download audio of the show here.

Phish returns to Charleston on Saturday and Sunday night. Tune in live via LivePhish’s nightly webcasts here.

Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | North Charleston Coliseum | North Charleston, SC | 7/11/25
Set One: Free, Rift, Spanish Moon, Reba[1], Devotion To a Dream, The Final Hurrah, My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own, Hey Stranger, Taste, Walls of the Cave
Set Two: Llama[2] > Down with Disease > Twist, The Well, Sightless Escape -> Chalk Dust Torture, Suzy Greenberg
Encore: When the Circus Comes, First Tube
Notes: [1] No whistling. [2] Performed in a slow, funky arrangement. Reba did not contain the whistling ending. Devotion To a Dream was played for the first time since October 15, 2016 (322 shows), and My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own for the first time since May 28, 2022 (149 shows). Trey teased Mr. P.C. in Hey Stranger. Llama was performed in a slow, funky arrangement.

Phish – “Spanish Moon” (Little Feat) – 7/11/25

[Video: Blake Jefferson]