Phish Serves A Winner At Forest Hills Stadium Debut

Phish summer tour reached its penultimate stop last night with the first of two shows at New York City’s Forest Hills Stadium, marking the band’s debut at the venue and the first full non-MSG shows in the Big Apple since 2014.

With a summer largely dominated by indoor arenas, the intimate setting and relatively small 13,000 capacity of the tennis stadium — not to mention the early start time — made for one of the more unique settings for any venue on the run.

Taking the stage just before 6:30 p.m., the band eschewed the trend of first-set rarities that had stuck through the previous couple of shows in Chicago and opened up with “The Moma Dance,” starting to get used to Forest Hills with something familiar. A well-played “Rift” came next, leading into the set’s jamming highlight within “Sigma Oasis.”

Guitarist Trey Anastasio led the way initially with some peppy lead work, the upbeat nature of the solo accentuated nicely by drummer Jon Fishman’s fluid work. Keyboardist Page McConnell locked in with the melodies for some nice interplay for a bit before Anastasio decisively took things into a minor-key direction.

McConnell hit the Wurlitzer electric piano alongside some of the signature “Sigma” synth pad as things began to drift into a Type II space, bassist Mike Gordon dialing in some deep synth effects for a percussive, darker groove. Contrasting nicely with the dreamy nature of the setting sun, the band meshed together beautifully in the moody groove.

Swirling Moog One textures from McConnell accompanied the ensuing major key modulation, hinting at the possibility of continuing the improv — but Anastasio led the band into a rollicking “Possum” instead.

“Wolfman’s Brother” dipped its toes back into jam territory with some patient funk, McConnell’s clav work meshing with Gordon’s buoyant bass lines to cultivate a patient peak as the sun peeked its head out from the clouds to bathe the band in bright light.

The run of first-set classics continued with a “Stash,” the band making up for an early miscue with a solid jam ahead of a bouncy “Blaze On” that never quite took off, despite hints at more extended jamming. Cooling down with “Monsters,” Anastasio unleashed some blistering guitar work ahead of a set-closing “I Am The Walrus,” marking the Beatles cover’s shortest gap between performances since 2016 — much to the delight of the crowd.

Now nicely settled into the space, Phish opened the second set with a statement “Carini,” marking the longest performance of the song in the band’s history (the third major jam vehicle to have that milestone surpassed this summer after “Down with Disease” on July 11 and “Sand” on July 15).

Guitarist Trey Anastasio started the jam with some probing leads, a few minutes of relaxed Type I play leading to him landing on a melancholy riff. Though the band smoothly transitioned into a major key, Gordon picked up Anastasio’s earworm pretty quickly and began to work off of it, the guitarist following his lead and leaning on some buttery rhythm work within the same realm.

McConnell gently introduced some Moog synth pads, using the grounded nature of the Wurlitzer to anchor things while the floating textures added some beautiful depth to the jam. Fish picked up the pace smoothly, Anastasio’s nimble melodies touching now and again on his centerpiece riff as the synth textures continued to swirl, now anchored by the brighter piano sound.

Transitioning now fully into a major key, the band played a jam perfectly suited to the humid summer evening as the sun finally began to set, Anastasio landing on a new melody that spurred a second fantastic modulation.

Eschewing the build to a big peak in favor of continued improv, McConnell went more heavily into his synth textures, the stereo panning effect swirling across the crowd as Anastasio dialed back the intensity in favor of a more democratic approach. Some beautiful interplay between guitar and keys came forth next, McConnell really shining on some gentle Wurli play in between his dense Moog pad work.

Anastasio pushed to the forefront with some lead melodies, though still largely retaining the laid-back vibe of the “Carini” jam thanks to the continued swirl of the synthesizer. Following the guitar’s lead, the band broke into a sunny jam and upped the intensity through a fantastic peak as Anastasio continued to alternate between rhythm and lead work.

Soaring through the blissy zone, Anastasio committed to his lead role with some Whammy-infused phrases, McConnell jumping around him on some insistent piano and filling in all the gaps with his own insistent play every time Anastasio dove into some loops.

Descending from the peak, the band was far from finished with the improv as McConnell subtly re-introduced some synth as Anastasio initiated a transition into a rocking minor key. Fish’s work on the ride cymbal’s bell became the focal point as Anastasio moved from chords to gritty wah soloing.

Emerging back into a laid-back and upbeat space, McConnell worked in some thick Rhodes, laying down a soft bed of electric piano as Anastasio produced melody after melody, the band in no hurry at all as they patiently worked through a final blissful section before segueing PERFECTLY into “Tweezer.”

Continuing the “power-hour” segment that kicked off the second set, the band picked up the thread of improv where “Carini” had left off, McConnell going right back to some supportive synth work as Anastasio began to build toward a rocking peak almost immediately.

Backing off from the build, the guitarist briefly went minor before returning to soloing, then executing a smooth, grounded peak filled with conversational interplay. The crowd went wild for the final build as lighting designer Chris Kuroda lit the band up nicely, leading to a brief flirtation with a return to “Tweezer” before Phish instead faded things out and rolled into “What’s Going Through Your Mind.”

Contrasting to the laid-back and clean play of the set’s first two songs, “WGTYM” went directly into some space-funk, Gordon emphasizing the song’s hypnotic two-note bass line while McConnell and Anastasio went wild overtop, hearkening back to some 1999-style rhythmic jamming.

Anastasio peppered in some silky delay work as things progressed, aggressive clavinet play from McConnell chopping things up over the steady drumbeat. Gordon finally deviated from the driving groove with some wild, dense synth effects – paving the way for a really cool role reversal where McConnell held down the low end on Moog while the bassist went into some wild synth textures.

Breaking from the wild and funky zone, Anastasio’s chirping loops continued to swirl as the band broke into a calmer space, seemingly poised to take off into more jamming but instead fading into “A Life Beyond the Dream.”

Moving past the cooldown, Anastasio led the band through a fantastic “Harry Hood” closer, the gorgeous nature of the song only accentuated by the intimate bowl setting of the stadium as the pent-up energy of the second set was released in a big way at the song’s final peak.

A triple encore of “Slave to the Traffic Light,” “More” and the obligatory “Tweezer Reprise” brought the show to a close with time to spare before the rigid 10 p.m. curfew, Anastasio bouncing around the stage like a kid in a candy store during the big finale and even hitting a big balloon back and forth with some fans in the front row during the song.

While Phish didn’t pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne during their performance last night, the Forest Hills crowd sang along boisterously to the “Mama, I’m Coming Home” walk-out music in honor of the Black Sabbath vocalist who passed yesterday.

Phish returns to Forest Hills tonight for their second of two sold-out shows.

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

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