Fresh off two standout shows in Seattle, Phish returned to Portland, OR for the first time since 1999 and kept the momentum going with yet another smoking performance on 4/20 at the Moda Center.
Even before the band took the stage, the atmosphere was electric, the crowd hyped after not having a visit from Phish for so long. Some fans made the three-hour drive down from Seattle along with the band’s caravan of tour buses, while others were eager to see Phish for the first time since the band’s last Portland show.
Once they finally emerged, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman, and Page McConnell seemed equally excited to be there as they busted out of the gate with a monster “46 Days”. Clocking in at 13 minutes, the extended jam exuded the kind of intense energy typically reserved for later in the night, but skipping the warmup has been the running theme of the tour so far. Chris Kuroda seemed to get the memo too, unleashing the full power of his ever-evolving light rig without hesitation.
Phish – “46 Days” – 4/20/25
It would prove difficult to top the opener, but Phish nearly did with a second solid jam on “The Moma Dance”. The band members blended beautifully and made masterful use of space, especially Jon Fishman, as they settled in with a funky exploratory jam.
The crowd sang along during Talking Heads‘ “Cities” and cheered with knowing approval when the band segued directly into “Plasma”. The buzzing energy seemed to settle a bit during the third memorable jam of the set, which built from an atmospheric soundscape to a triumphant crescendo accompanied by bombarding strobe lights. Despite a somewhat clunky ending, the crowd erupted when the sequence came to a close.
Trey bobbed gleefully during a short but sweet “Bouncing Around the Room” before shifting gears with “Sigma Oasis”, which would turn out to be the longest jam of the night. Trey and Fishman locked in with each other at the start of the improvised section before the first of multiple key changes. Trey also interacted with Page, who echoed his ideas with unison melodies. The audience reacted appreciatively when Mike took the lead and then roared as Trey guided the jam to its climax around the 20-minute mark.
After a brief pause, Mike bounced playfully around the fretboard during the intro to “Run Like an Antelope”. The light trusses descended, nearly touching the band as the song intensified and Fishman picked up the energy with a double-time beat. CK5’s new spinning LEDs helped whip the crowd into a frenzy, culminating with deafening cheers when the band dropped down to just drums and the lyrics finally kicked in with those poetic lines, “Rye, Rye, Rocco / Marco Esquandolas / Been you to have any spike, man?”
You could hardly hear Trey over the roar of the crowd as he started “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”, which capped off a first set that felt more like a full show, but Phish was only getting started.
Phish – “A Wave Of Hope” – 4/20/25
“A Wave of Hope” and “Twist” set the tone for an experimental second set, clocking in at 16 and 12 minutes, respectively, and were followed by a standout “Scents and Subtle Sounds” jam. It was the next sequence of “Everything’s Right” > “Boogie On Reggae Woman” > “Also Sprach Zarathustra” that proved to be the highlight of the set, though. The band sped up and slowed down to smoothly segue between songs, which is an unusual approach for Phish. The audience cheered when Fishman pushed the tempo and changed grooves for “Boogie On Reggae Woman”, which was in a different key than normal, and erupted again when he slowed back down for the always-epic “Also Sprach Zarathustra”.
The loudest applause came at the end of the sequence and didn’t relent as Trey waited to sing the opening line of “Life Beyond a Dream”. After calming the energy down a bit, the band picked it right back up with one last uplifting jam on “Harry Hood” to finish off the set.
As if that weren’t enough, Phish returned to the stage for a two-song encore starting with a truncated “Wilson” and ending on a high note with “Slave to the Traffic Light”.
Phish’s highly anticipated return to Portland proved well worth the wait, delivering moments of pure magic and setting a high bar for the rest of the tour. Trey joked that the band wouldn’t wait another 25 years to return, telling the crowd, “I hope we come back sooner than we did this time after last time.”
Phish’s West Coast spring tour continues with two nights at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The entire tour is available to livestream via LivePhish. Subscribers will receive a 15% discount, while those who bundle their individual show livestream purchase with a new LivePhish subscription will get 50% off the webcast. Click here for more details. Find Phish tickets and tour dates on Ticketmaster.
Check out some photos from Phish in Portland by photographer Dave Vann.
Phish – “Run Like An Antelope” – 4/20/25
[Video: Brandon K]
Setlist [via Phish.net]: Phish | Moda Center | Portland, OR | 4/20/25
Set 1: 46 Days, The Moma Dance > Cities -> Plasma, Bouncing Around the Room, Sigma Oasis, Run Like an Antelope > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
Set 2: A Wave of Hope > Twist > Scents and Subtle Sounds > Everything’s Right -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Also Sprach Zarathustra > A Life Beyond The Dream > Harry Hood
Encore: Wilson > Slave to the Traffic Light
Notes: Trey teased If I Only Had a Brain in Harry Hood.
