Phish finished off a three-show, two-state weekend run on Sunday with the band’s second of two nights in Birmingham, AL. The first Phish run at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater (RIP Oak Mountain) came to a climactic finale with a non-stop second set, capping off the opening weekend of the band’s eight-show mini September tour [get tickets].

Looking at the box score, there was plenty to like in Sunday’s show. Aside from “Ocelot”, the remainder of the nine-song first set was entirely composed of 1.0 songs, starting with a one-two of “Punch You in the Eye” and “Mike’s Song” that ran for nearly half an hour (more on that later). Looking at the 18-song show as a whole, Sunday’s concert had as many double-digit-minute songs as single-digit-minute songs, as Phish spread the love around with six 14+ minute songs rather than one or two huge jams.

Now, about that opening “Punch You in the Eye” and “Mike’s Song”. Rather than easing in with typical set one, type II jamming, Phish dove straight in with a deeply psychedelic PITYE. The 14-minute “Mike’s” that followed took off with that same inertia, blasting Phish through a wormhole of Page McConnell‘s swirling clavinet and a whirling dervish of Jon Fishman‘s snares and toms. The jam passed by some wonky low-register synths reminiscent of Saturday’s gloriously Brown, atonal “Life Saving Gun”, guided throughout by Trey Anastasio‘s soaring prog-rock leads that stayed singularly focused among the bedlam all around this “Mike’s”.

Out the other end of the wormhole, Phish landed in an “Ocelot” that was a necessary breather at less than half an hour into the show. A positive portend of things to come, Phish seemed unable to disconnect the hose as “Kill Devil Falls” couldn’t help but open up into a peppy 12-minute jam. The rustic roots of “Ginseng Sullivan” grounded the band before they craned their necks skyward—past the glow of the third-quarter moon over Birmingham—for a quick “Halley’s Comet” and “Weekapaug Groove” combo to complete an elongated “Mike’s Groove”.

Sunday’s next major landmark was “Stash”. After some already chaotic jamming in the first set, this 15-minute version found its sweet spot in Trey’s experiments with long, sustained notes, all framed within the pitter-patter of Fishman’s constant hi-hat, which gave even some of the more exploratory passages a firm rhythmic confinement ahead of a “Cavern” first set closer.

Taking off, “A Wave of Hope” had all the feel of a first set. Fishman kept things steady, Trey hacking away at repeated multi-string riffs high up on the neck, Page bouncing along on the grand, and Mike Gordon churning underneath. Pressing on with some wah-wah and Wurlitzer combo, “A Wave of Hope” built energy as Fishman gradually dialed up the tempo, rising to a classic type I peak as lighting designer Chris Kuroda flashed the white lights for a quintessential instrumental climax.

The tail end of “Hope” began to get a little murky thanks to Trey’s low-octave pedal, while Fishman eased back on the throttle before his double kick announced the move into “What’s Going Through Your Mind”. Riffy and repetitive, the jam built around Fish’s hard downbeats, giving Mike ample space to walk around on basslines and occasionally cross paths with Trey’s spiraling leads. This one carried along on a more relaxed undercurrent than the set opener.

Rising from the murk, Trey rattled off his walkdown to “Mercury”. Page’s twinkly Wurlitzer took over for one of those laid-back, open-ended Phish jams that pair well with outdoor summer evenings. As Phish trucked through the second set, the band picked up something from each jam that the members carried with them into the next one, making the second set a mosaic of all the different moods and textures Phish can embody from song to song or even minute to minute.

“Golden Age”, the last of the double-digit-minute songs, put all those puzzle pieces together. The song’s central downbeats provided the jam’s foundation (“Going Through Your Mind”), Page’s playful synth continued to shine like the starry night sky (“Mercury”), and Trey bounced between his envelope filter, low-end pedal, and choppy riffs (“Wave of Hope”) for a little bit of everything. Rather than any towering peak, the song devolved into atonal evil, morphing into the Floydian instrumental bliss of “What’s The Use?”.

The crashing psych-rock set up a classic rock one-two, as Phish got the Led out with “Good Times, Bad Times” to close the set. After putting up back-to-back-to-back-to-back deep jams, stoking smoldering rock ‘n’ roll embers was a fittingly climactic way to walk off stage.

Phish — “Good Times, Bad Times” (Led Zeppelin) — 9/14/25

[Video: JJ Hoover]

As Phish returned for the encore, Trey stepped to the microphone with megaphone in hand for a blissfully nostalgic “Fee”. Though the encore opener took fans back, Phish followed it up by breaking new ground with its first-ever “Twist” encore. While the jam vehicle kept to a lean eight minutes, the surprise was enough excitement before Phish closed out its Birmingham run with one “More” song.

Check out a gallery of images from Sunday’s Phish show in Birmingham courtesy of photographer Robert Francis. Up next for the band is a two-night, midweek stop in Alpharetta, GA on Tuesday and Wednesday before closing out the mini September tour with three nights at Hampton Coliseum. Find tickets here or stream the shows on LivePhish. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering your Phish summer tour 2025 webcasts via the links on this page helps support our work covering the world of live music. Thanks for reading!]

Revisit Live For Live Music‘s coverage of Phish Friday at Bourbon & Beyond and Saturday in Birmingham.

Setlist: Phish | Coca-Cola Amphitheater | Birmingham, AL | 9/14/25

Set One: Punch You in the Eye, Mike’s Song > Ocelot, Kill Devil Falls, Ginseng Sullivan, Halley’s Comet > Weekapaug Groove, Stash, Cavern
Set Two: A Wave of Hope > What’s Going Through Your Mind > Mercury > Golden Age > What’s the Use? > Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin)
Encore: Fee[1] > Twist, More

[1] Trey sang verses through megaphone.

Fee featured Trey on megaphone.