Show Review - Phish 4/19/25 Seattle, WA
Chalk Dust Reprise (but not the one you think)
Phish continued spring tour last night in Seattle, picking up right where Friday’s heater left off with another show jam-packed with improvisational highlights, excellent flow, and more mid-tour energy for a band that feels like it’s still just getting started.
The first set began innocently enough with a quick “Free,” the band easing in with some breezy funk before jumping right off the deep end with a surprise early call for “Bathtub Gin.”
Guitarist Trey Anastasio confidently took the lead early on, picking out some familiar-sounding riffs overtop of keyboardist Page McConnell’s soft Wurlitzer work. Drummer Jon Fishman began a gradual ramp-up of the intensity as the band developed the sunny “Gin” motif, Anastasio and McConnell passing a melodic phrase back and forth.
Finding a new riff, Anastasio locked in and began to depart “Gin” proper as Fish slowly continued to pick up the pace, teetering on the edge of Type II as McConnell continued to play a leadership role in the improv.
Alighting on a “Manteca”-like theme, the band continued to drive forward as Anastasio dirtied his tone and threw in a slick “San-Ho-Zay” tease, giving things a real 2.0 feel with the driving jam.
Almost out of nowhere, McConnell and Anastasio both went into some wild tension-filled sounds, switching from driving rock to a wonderful cacophony of sounds on a dime. Chirping guitar loops swirled as Fish kept his foot firmly on the gas, coming into some stop/start power riffing with McConnell going onto some gritty organ.
Anastasio took the lead from there, bassist Mike Gordon throwing some of his own synth textures into the mix as the powerful jam continued to grow in energy. It’s incredible to hear how smooth and confident the guitar playing has been on this tour so far, a sure product of the extensive spring solo acoustic tour that just wrapped up a couple weeks ago, and the practice continued to be evident as Anastasio blazed through an “Oye Como Va”-like section.
Without missing a beat, Anastasio soared through some sustain leads before modulating back down and blazing through the ending of “Gin,” the answering cheers from the arena deafening at the conclusion of the surprise first-set centrepiece.
The smooth guitar leads continued through “Evolve,” Anastasio’s dextrous soloing taking a few extra turns around the upbeat track before settling into “Stash.”
Anastasio and McConnell mused around each other’s melodies early on, Fish’s quick hi-hat work propelling things forward for some excellent telepathic jamming. Featuring an all-too-brief foray into some power-chord darkness, the band exploded back into “Stash” proper with Anastasio utilizing some dive-bomb delay effects to accent the peak.
For the ensuing “Pebbles and Marbles,” Anastasio switched to his Koa 1 guitar, which gave us a really cool live A/B test for tones – the newer pickup configuration in Koa has a certain smoothness to it whereas Mar Mar has a bit more bite. The buttery and warm tone was on full display through the “Pebbles” solo, Anastasio hitting a whirlwind run of arpeggiated riffs to soar through the peak.
Cooling down with “Farmhouse,” the band built a tender and emotive jam before a blazing hot 1-2 punch of “Suzy Greenberg” and “Walls of the Cave” closed out the first set with another round of fireworks – McConnell’s piano solo on the former setting the arena especially alight before Anastasio took us into the break with a flamethrower of a solo.
There was purpose to the band when they re-emerged for the second set and kicked into “Chalk Dust Torture,” always an indication that they are ready to jam.
Taking the song at a pretty laid-back tempo, Anastasio wrapped up his brief guitar solo (featuring another “San-Ho-Zay” tease) in eagerness to get to the jam, shooting out of the end of “CDT” proper into a peppy groove.
Anastasio strummed low-key chords as Fish peppered in splash cymbal work, a very fluid motif taking shape as they modulated up into a bright major key. McConnell laid down a soft bed of electric piano as he sparred with the guitar. Gently infusing some synth pads underneath, McConnell continued to lead the way as Fish’s rolling tom work and dynamic play seemed in perfect melodic lockstep with the rest of the band.
The speed continued to ramp up as the synth became more present, Fish upping the intensity as Phish opened the portal. Anastasio augmented his tone with some octave-up sounds, toying with some dissonance before decisively pushing forward into a more rocking motif. The band then flirted with some stop/start themes largely led by Fish, skipping a path to “woo” action in favour of some strong melodic interplay.
Atop another perfect modulation, the band continued to push forward through an extended passage of musical conversation, all four musicians finishing each other’s phrases in harmony and a way that will make your head spin.
Heading for peak land from there, Anastasio broke back into the lead role with some strong leads, Fish right on his heels with some aggressive fills. McConnell got aggressive on Wurli, laying down dizzying runs before switching to piano.
Exploding into pure glory, Anastasio’s classic combination of Mesa Boogie amp and Languedoc guitar getting right into an extended passage of screaming sustain to complete the journey of “Chalk Dust” before the band settled nicely into “Light.”
Opening up the jam almost immediately, McConnell led with some sparkling piano work, Anastasio running alongside with some angular rhythm work and Fish continuing in his flow state with some rumbling snare.
Diving into a space somewhere between major and minor, Anastasio activated some delay to send his riffs echoing from the rafters, playing off of his own repeated notes. Locking in on a rocking motif, the band continued forward as McConnell went to Rhodes and Fish dropped into a more low-key beat.
While largely absent on Friday night, this next segment was right at home with the groove-based motif that Phish had been developing over the recent MSG and Mexico runs, Anastasio’s growly envelope-filtered tone and subtle loops meshing with the rest of the band while Gordon made his presence known with some effects-laden bends.
Chilling out completely for several minutes, the blissed-out groove eventually came up for air as the band modulated up, McConnell taking to some bouncy Moog One work as Fish seemed to be everywhere on his kit at once. Anastasio threw in a slick “Dave’s Energy Guide” tease as things started to pick up speed, delayed wah guitar scratches shooting around the room as Gordon got synthy and the jam threatened to go robo-funk.
Dark Phish reared its head as the patented 4.0 dissonant robot jam took shape, everyone throwing deep effects into the air while Fish’s absolutely monstrous drumming kept centre stage for me. Out of nowhere, the band emerged from the murk and Anastasio found himself back in “Chalk Dust Torture,” the song’s power riff taking shape out of the jam like it was meant to be.
Blazing through a reprise of the song’s ending at a fast pace, the band closed out an exemplary 35-minute segment of “CDT” and “Light” on a high note.
“Fuego” got the crowd raging with some singalong moments before dipping back into jamming, Anastasio battling some feedback issues that got a little bit piercing, but he luckily recovered and made it his own, generating clouds of noise by way of reverse-delay and the dive-bomb reverb effect.
Continuing in the darker, noise-based vein for a spell, the band eventually wound up in a brighter space, Anastasio using his octave-up Whammy effect for some chirping leads. Just as the jam felt like it was primed for serious liftoff, Anastasio opted to pull the band into a “Monsters” cool-down – a great choice for this slot that unfortunately came at the expense of promising improv.
Going full guitar god mode for “Monsters,” Anastasio had the arena in the palm of his hand for the blistering solo before starting “Piper.”
Not quite a slow build – but definitely more patient than normal – led to a lower-key jam than we had been hearing earlier in the set. Emerging from the improv came a sunny “Backwards Down the Number Line,” closing out the second set with yet another blazing hot solo from Anastasio.
A classic “Sleeping Monkey” began the encore ahead of the first “My Friend, My Friend” in that slot since 1993. While many – including myself – were expecting something like “Harry Hood” or “Slave to the Traffic Light,” the blistering wall-of-sound approach Anastastio took in the brief “MFMF” jam was a really unique and amazing way to close out the night.
Phish heads down the coast to Portland tonight for their first one-off date since Syracuse in 2023, celebrating Easter, 4/20, National Live Music Day, and a can’t-miss Sunday show – so it’s bound to be yet another heater if the last two nights in Seattle are any indication to how this tour is going to turn out. Webcasts are available via LivePhish.com.