On Friday night, Phish headed to Rosemont, IL’s Allstate Arena for their first of three nights in the Chicago area this weekend. Following a chilly outdoor performance in Nashville on Wednesday night, the move back indoors was surely a favorable change for those on tour. But while the roof and walls of the arena helped keep out the cold, it was Phish that brought the heat to Rosemont to kick off the weekend’s festivities.

The band dove in with a “Punch You In The Eye” opener featuring shimmering keyboard swells from Page McConnell alongside out-of-the-gate lighting magic from Chris Kuroda and company. Trey Anastasio was noticeably “on” from the start, bobbing and weaving as he executed the song’s “The Landlady” bridge near-flawlessly. Out of the mist of “Punch You In The Eye”, Page began to pepper in chopped-and-screwed snippets of the “Martian Monster” narration before blasting off in earnest, Mike Gordon leading the galactic funk groove with his chunky bass tones.

Phish – “Punch You In The Eye” [Pro-Shot]

[Video: LivePhish]

Phish – “Martian Monster“

[Video: Jordan Gibrick]

As “Martian Monster” faded out, the searing “Axilla” crashed in to take its place. The set continued in exciting fashion from there with “Reba”, maintaining the string of tour debuts that opened the show. Like all good “Reba” jams, this one saw each member of the band add patient yet integral layers to the blissful vamp before building to a fiery peak. A well-crafted “Reba” is always a highlight of any show in which it appears, and this version surely fits into that satisfying category. It’s a testament to this show’s quality that it wasn’t even the high point of the first set…


Phish took a beat to deliberate after a short and sweet “My Sweet One” before launching into “Mercury”. While this marked the first song of the set that had already been played this tour, this extended voyage was significant for making its return to the first set after appearing exclusively in set two following its first two performances in the summer of 2015… Ok, that’s not really why this “Mercury” was special. It stood out so starkly for the fantastic improvisation it prompted, moving through multiple distinct sections and cycling between darkness and light behind spacey sonics from Page. This “Mercury” easily holds its own among the 14 others the band has played, and is one of multiple songs from this show that’s worth a relisten (or several).

The band kept up the planetary vibe from there as they moved into David Bowie‘s “Moonage Daydream”, marking their third performance of the song after its debut during the 2016 Ziggy Stardust Halloween costume set and the compact and highly potent rendition from the opening night of the Baker’s Dozen. A typically ripping “Walls of the Cave” finally brought the excellent first frame to a close.

But speaking of Halloween costume sets… A theory has begun to float around the Phish ‘net about some subtle Halloween nostalgia that’s continued to lace this tour as the band’s return to Vegas for All Hallows Eve approaches. Over the course of the brief tour, Phish has sprinkled in songs by an increasing number of artists whose albums they’ve covered on Halloweens past. We’ve gotten Talking Heads (“Crosseyed and Painless“), The Velvet Underground (“Cool It Down“), The Rolling Stones (“Shine A Light“, “Loving Cup“), Little Feat (“Skin It Back“), Chilling Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House (“Your Pet Cat”, “Martian Monster“, “Shipwreck” quotes) and, of course, several tracks from the Wingsuit (Fuego) set. They’d even check the Beatles box before the show was done (more on that later). That just leaves a song from The Who‘s catalog to complete the checklist, and with two more shows before Halloween in Rosemont—the same venue where Phish performed their Quadrophenia costume set in 1995—that doesn’t seem all that unlikely. Whether it’s intentional or just a classic case of Phish nerds Phish nerd-ing, it only serves to stoke the growing excitement for this year’s Halloween surprise.

Back to the show… Set two was highlighted by thrilling improv and tasteful song selection. “Tweezer” got things moving, quickly breaking out of its shell and pushing into uncharted territory for a 20+ minute ride—easily one of the tour’s best. Kuroda shined once again on this standout jam, a fact corroborated by multiple moments of cheers from the crowd that are clearly audible on the soundboard recording. As “Tweezer” began to come to a close, notes of “Golden Age” began to bubble up within the jam. Before long, the band re-routed into the fan-favorite TV On The Radio cover in earnest. “Golden Age”, too, featured some outstanding improv, contrasting the sinister rendition from night one in Hampton with a brighter reading.

Phish – “Tweezer” [Pro-Shot]

[Video: LivePhish]

After more than 16 minutes, the jam dissipated into “Frost” for a well-placed mid-set ballad. The selection from Trey’s 2012 solo album, Traveler, was dusted off for the first time since the Baker’s Dozen and just its third time ever in the Phish arena. The pace picked right back up from there with the first “Limb By Limb” of the tour, Jon Fishman rock-solid as always on the rhythmically complex number. A raucous “Sand” followed as Anastasio helped build the song to a towering peak with a barrage of angry, unhinged riffs. A crowd-pleasing “A Day In The Life” came next (there’s your Beatles cover, for those keeping track) before a “Possum” dance party brought the set to a close. Phish returned to the stage for their encore with “Wilson” before closing the show with “Tweezer Reprise”, whose placement at the tail end of a “Tweezer” show was, oddly enough, a departure from several recent renditions.

At this point, it seems safe to say that this tour is shaping up to be a memorable one, and with two nights in Rosemont and four nights in Vegas on the horizon, there’s more than enough room for even higher highs before all is said and done.

Phish fall tour continues with the band’s second of three performances at Allstate Arena. For a full list of Phish’s upcoming dates, head to their website here.

Below, you can check out a gallery of photos from the show courtesy of photographer Matthew Rea.

Setlist: Phish | Allstate Arena | Rosemont, IL | 10/26/18

SET 1: Punch You in the Eye > Martian Monster, Axilla, Reba, My Sweet One, Mercury > Moonage Daydream, Walls of the Cave

SET 2: Tweezer > Golden Age > Frost > Limb By Limb, Sand, A Day in the Life > Possum

ENCORE: Wilson > Tweezer Reprise

A full soundboard recording of the show is available to stream via LivePhish.