Phish Packs SPAC Show With 29-Minute 'Chalk Dust Torture' & 20-Minute 'Bathtub Gin'

SPAC isn’t just a venue. It’s a living thing — with memories and echoes of Phish's past performances of “Piper” still breathing through the trees. On Friday night, the band lit candles at the altar of their own history, then set the whole pavilion ablaze.

They opened with “First Tube” — a statement that they were all systems go. In the two-slot, they lit into “Bathtub Gin.” We talk a lot on the Helping Friendly Podcast about the reliability of this song. It delivered again. Up to about seven minutes, it had the driving, uptempo jam typical of “Gin,” but then Trey pushed it into a landscape of psychedelia, and at 10 minutes they blew past “Gin” proper, into a more dark, rocking blues groove.

Like many jams this summer, guitarist Trey Anastasio was out front, leading the charge, but the band was completely in sync. Drummer Jon Fishman never let up on the rhythm. Then around 12 minutes Trey found a hopeful riff and started the long journey toward a peak — a patient build to a trilling, exhilarating finish.

With this “Gin,” it felt like they knew that they had all night to let the latest chapter in SPAC history unfold.

The middle of the set was an assortment of songs that worked flow-wise, but were mostly just a sparkling, leisurely walk through the state park — observing the plants and trees, letting the shady paths provide some respite from the sun.

From the uplift of “Devotion To A Dream” to a groovy “The Well,” to a “Birds Of A Feather” with a little stretch. “Strawberry Letter 23,” “Lawn Boy” and “The Old Home Place” followed, and then a nice, laid-back “Hey Stranger,” which has developed into a midtempo, effects-driven, almost lo-fi ambient groove. The closer, “Walls Of The Cave,” spoke directly to all those silent trees that hold the decades of Phish history at the venue.

Set two kicked off with “Set Your Soul Free,” going right away into a chord vamp groove from Trey, with Mike Gordon driving the bass line. Page started hitting spooky, almost chanting effects, creating a real dark soundscape, reminiscent of monks wandering the grounds of SPAC after midnight.

Trey continued the trilling but Page never let off those effects until he shifted to piano around 15 minutes into the jam. This satisfying opener ended with a little upbeat groove, and a really graceful segue into “Chalk Dust Torture.”

Only the third “Chalk Dust Torture” from SPAC to certainly end up on the Phish.net jam chart, this one blasted off from a fast, bumpy jam out of the song, and turned introspective quickly but Fishman did not let up on the tempo. This is where the foursome started to dip into history, as it continued into a dissonant, descending jam reminiscent of summer ’95. That grew into a quiet, blissful build halfway through.

This really did remind me of earlier eras when they kept going back into more discordant soundscapes in the middle of the jam, and I was wondering if they were feeling that too, especially as they went into an industrial noise jam at around the 20-minute mark.

But what was truly notable was the patience they showed by coming back into a dark blues build after that noise. When it finally wound down, the band segued again into “Beneath a Sea Of Stars Part 1” — the middle of an 82 minutes of music that never stopped. Literally!

Is this Phish’s “Dark Star?” Not unless they push it for 30 minutes (this is an open invitation). A nice, serene break, and then another hell of a segue into “Piper.” The third “Piper” of this tour, it brought the mayhem back with a vengeance — a hot, raving jam that went straight into “Everything’s Right.” In this one, there was a wide-open, set-closing blues jam. This is what the fourth quarter is all about.

A terrific pairing of “Loving Cup” into “Run Like an Antelope” for the encore sent attendees back into the silent trees, armed with another story to add to the SPAC legend.

The ghosts of SPAC are alive and well, delivering one of the best shows of 2025, with a mix of dreamy, ethereal jams and white-hot, dark, raging music. Can’t wait to see what they do next.

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

The Skinny

The Setlist
Set 1: First Tube, Bathtub Gin, Devotion To a Dream, The Well, Birds of a Feather, Strawberry Letter 23, Lawn Boy, The Old Home Place, Hey Stranger, Walls of the Cave Set 2: Set Your Soul Free > Chalk Dust Torture -> Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1 -> Piper > Everything's Right Encore: Loving Cup > Run Like an Antelope Following Lawn Boy, Trey introduced Page as "The Chairman of the Mound."
The Venue
Name	Broadview Stage at SPAC [See upcoming shows]
Capacity	25,100
Previously	24 shows 7/27/1992, 7/10/1994, 6/26/1995, 6/19/2004, 6/20/2004, 8/16/2009, 6/19/2010, 6/20/2010, 7/06/2012, 7/07/2012, 7/08/2012, 7/05/2013, 7/06/2013, 7/07/2013, 7/03/2014, 7/04/2014, 7/05/2014, 7/01/2016, 7/02/2016, 7/03/2016, 7/02/2019, 7/03/2019, 8/25/2023, 8/26/2023
The Music
Second Set & Encore	7 songs / 9:49 pm to 11:29 pm (100 minutes)
Total Songs	17 songs 14 originals / 3 covers
Average Vintage	2003
Average Song Gap	12.47 [Gap chart]
Debuts	None
Tour Debuts	Lawn Boy
Biggest Bustout	Lawn Boy LTP 07/31/2024 (56 Show Gap)
Longest Song	Chalk Dust Torture 29:09
Shortest Song	The Old Home Place 3:04
The Spread	Lawn Boy - 3, A Picture of Nectar - 1, The Story of the Ghost - 1, Farmhouse - 2, Round Room - 1, Fuego - 1, Sigma Oasis - 1, Evolve - 1, Misc. - 3, Covers - 3
The Rest
Weather	77° and Cloudy at Showtime
Guitar	Koa 1.5