Phish Deep-Dishes Out The Jams & Rarities On Night 1 At Chicago’s United Center

Phish has a history with Chicago that’s as rich and deep as the city’s (in)famous pizza. From the celebrated UIC ‘94 shows to the stormy 2013 set to a weekend stay at Wrigley Field in 2016 — the same year the Cubs finally broke their century-plus World Series drought — the Windy City brings out something special in the band. That’s what made the six-year gap between 2017 and 2023 so painful. But after almost three dozen shows from the smallest bars to the city’s biggest arena, Phish has no issue finding their comfort zone — and their flow — when they’re back in town.

On the back leg of a tour that’s seen more than its fair share of bustouts and beasty jams, expectations were high heading into Friday’s opening show of a three-night run at the United Center. If this summer’s tour (not to mention last year’s shows) has taught us anything, it’s to never underestimate the band even 40-+ years into their careers. Tempos may not be as lightning fast as they were during those heady 1.0 days, but 4.0 Phish is still damn good, buoyed on a (ruby) wave of blissful jams of love and light. Only the most jaded vets of the scene would turn their nose up at this heat.

Case in point: this Chicago run opened with “Harry Hood,” one of only a few times in the band’s long history the song has been the curtain-raiser. With bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman locked in the groove, it was keyboardist Page McConnell who had clearly had his vitamins, driving the song forward and paving the way for guitarist Trey Anastasio’s closing flourishes.

Gauntlet thrown, the band shifted gears into Evolve track “Oblivion,” which featured a compact jam segment with a few major chord shifts and some nice licks from both Anastasion and McConnell. “Heavy Things” continued the eclectic opening run of songs, getting its 100th performance (per Phish.net) and, as always, propelled by Fishman’s chugging beat.

With the throat clearing done, “Bathtub Gin” was rolled out, hot and steamy with a “Tequila” tease from Anastasio — a fun pairing with the Mann Night Two “Macarena” tease. Gin is always a good time and with Chris Kuroda’s lights undulating behind them, the band found an uptempo groove to stretch their legs without really going deep — it’s only the first set, after all.

The night’s bustout (over 520 shows) was next with McConnell taking the lead on “On Your Way Down,” the bluesy Allen Toussaint song that’s better known for the Little Feat version. Giving the band a chance to slow things down a touch without losing too much momentum, it struck the right note for a blues town.

A sprightly, if short, “Limb by Limb” got fans moving again before giving way to “Hey Stranger,” the set’s second Evolve track. McConnell again flexed his organ and synth muscles, adding layers to Anastasio’s pedal work while Gordon and Fishman remained as locked in as ever, the rhythmic glue that holds everything together.

A by-the-numbers “Character Zero” brought to a close a solid, if a bit odd, first set. While many of the songs had nice singular moments in them, particularly the McConnell-Anastasio interplay on “On Your Way Down” and “Hey Stranger,” the set never quite reached the promise of Stratosphere Phish that a rare “Hood” opener seemed to hint at and never quite found its rhythm.

I should know better by now, though, than to let the spoiled fan side of me come out and question Chicago Phish.

The band opened the second set with “No Men in No Man’s Land” with the Austin Night One version still fresh in a lot of folks’ minds. During the early segment, Fishman showed why he’s one of the best in the game – propulsive drumming with thrilling fills — and Gordon’s melodic thumping laid an important foundation for McConnell and Anastasio to go exploring. About 12 minutes in, Anastasio dropped out, letting McConnell quietly push into a new segment before easing back in with layered riffs and Page’s shimmering synth waves.

Just as the band seemed ready to ride out on an ambient, dreamy ocean to deep space, Anastasio pivoted to the now-familiar chugs that open “What’s Going Through Your Mind.” A new favorite jam vehicle for the band, a spacey jamming segment gave way around the 13-minute mark to a major chord shift and a steady build. Anastasio circled upward like a handglider in the jetstream, looping around the groove set by his bandmates until the 20-minute mark when the technicolor peak hit. Not done yet, though, the jam stretched on into an “Izabella”-adjacent riff-heavy straight-rock good time as the song passed the 25-minute mark.

Just shy of the 30-minute mark, the band dropped into “Crosseyed and Painless” on a dime, a perfect pivot that kept the set rolling into its 45th minute. Anastasio’s smile while banging away a few discordant hits early in the song was the tell: the band was locked in as ever. Kuroda striking the Bulls logo with the lights was just icing on the cake as the song barreled past the 10-minute mark and into a vacuum cameo courtesy of Gordon. After nearly an hour, the band wound down, wrapping a memorable three-song heater

“Farmhouse” brought the band and the fans a quick cool down. Having caught their breath, the band launched into “Light” to get things revved back up and a solid “Backwards Down the Number Line,” a song that gets a lot of hate in the community. But you won’t hear that from me, especially after tonight’s fun barburner, hitting all the right uplift notes. Fun Phish is fun, as evidenced by “Cavern,” which closed the whopper of a set.

“The Horse > Silent in the Morning” was up first for the encore, a fan-pleasing table setter to transition from the rambunctious set closer to the amped-up “46 Days” finale.

With two more shows to come in this run, it’s too early to say that second set run will be the highlight of the weekend. If nothing else, though, it’s another standout from an incredible summer tour and a worthy entry into Chicago Phish lore.

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Livestream Phish’s Summer Tour 2025 concerts via LivePhish.com.

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