Show Review - Phish 7/18/25 Chicago, IL
Jimi Zeppelin Jams
Phish arrived in Chicago last night to kick off the final indoor run of their summer tour with a show that fit right in with this year’s trend of incredible music. With a huge bustout, unpredictable setlisting, and an hour of exceptional jamming in the second set, it’s got pretty much all you could want from a Phish show.
The night got underway with a “Harry Hood” opener, the iconic song kicking off a two-set show for the first time since 12/2/03 and signalling that this would not be a night where the band needed to ease into things.
The packed out United Center was amped from the first notes and went wild for the gorgeous peak, guitarist Trey Anastasio executing the patient build and then explosive finale with a series of lightning-fast trills.
Tapping “Oblivion” next, the band stretched their improvisational legs a little bit within the slinky funk groove with keyboardist Page McConnell laying down some bouncy Wurlitzer electric piano work. He and Anastasio riffed off each other and moved through a smooth full-band major modulation to some sunny bliss. Bassist Mike Gordon added in some nice melodic counterpoints through the brief Type II foray, pushing things into a more emotional direction.
Dipping back and forth between major and minor another time, Phish opted to end “Oblivion” after a relatively brief 11 minutes and worked through “Heavy Things” before opening things right back up with a big call for “Bathtub Gin.”
Drummer Jon Fishman started the jam with a more percussive motif that inspired a fun full-band tease of “Tequila,” much to the delight of the audience. Anastasio confidently led the band through the next section of airy play, coming into the realm of “Low Rider” for a bit before continuing in a relatively standard “Gin” zone.
Hitting a nice peak, the band smoothly pushed into the next minor-key space thanks to Fish’s insistent driving, Anastasio augmenting his tone with some octave-down growling as he picked out some melodies. The quartet developed a nice theme here somewhere between a major and minor key, not quite committing to either mode but still playing in a really smooth way.
Anastasio began to build a renewed peak, the trills returning with ease – but the band flipped back to minor as Fish continued to push the pace and McConnell introduced a slick descending riff. The energy began to ramp up once more with Anastasio now building around the descending riff introduced on piano as the band slammed strongly back into “Gin” proper to end the first-set highlight.
Allen Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down” made an appearance for the first time since August 6, 2011 (522 shows), giving McConnell his second week in a row with a bustout blues crooner tune after last weekend’s “Jesus Just Left Chicago.”
“Limb by Limb” made its second appearance of the tour next for some more nimble play – breaking a personal gap of 62 shows since I had seen my last one, all the way back to my first Phish on 6/24/12.
The first set wrapped up with a nice pairing of “Hey Stranger” and “Character Zero,” the former still somewhat annoyingly refusing to break free of its form despite massive potential and hints – maybe someday.
Returning for the second set, Phish was ready to get right down to business as they laid down one of the best 60-minute stretches of the year to get things going. A peppy “No Men in No Man’s Land” was tapped as the opener and quickly began to open up improvisationally, Gordon really driving things with some aggressive melodic work early on.
Anastasio looped some sustain as McConnell pivoted to Wurlitzer, leading the band through a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it transition from the driving funk to a buttery major key. The guitar melodies began to soar over the soft bed of electric piano, though Gordon’s lightning-fast runs were the easy focal point here.
McConnell turned back to piano as things raced forward, a brief foray into a more fragmented jamming style resolving back into some mellow, upbeat play. Anastasio utilized his rotary effect for some depth and texture as he began to build a renewed theme. Taking some of the intensity out of the jam, the band painted through a laid-back bliss section before Anastasio took things down into a spacier minor key.
Fish drove the jam forward as Anastasio went full minimalist, leaving McConnell to colour the space on gentle Wurlitzer. With some gritty guitar riffing coming through, the keyboard really shone forth as a cool melodic counterpoint to the otherwise very rhythm-centric jam.
McConnell began to introduce some sinister Moog One synth tones as things blasted off into outer space, Gordon joining him on synth effects of his own before Anastasio jumped right in with them. Breaking apart before reaching full orbit, the band thumped into the beginning of “What’s Going Through Your Mind” to begin the massive jamming highlight of the night.
We were cleared for liftoff immediately as the band opened up the jam, McConnell sparkling on some beautiful Rhodes work from the jump. Fish and Gordon kept the groove humming along as the band waited for inspiration to hit.
Gordon suggested a minor turn as Anastasio went into some textural mode, the guitarist then flipping things to brighter pastures, as has been the trend as of late. In an almost “Weekapaug Groove”-like move, the tempo and intensity increased as Anastasio’s insistent rhythm work and then lead riffs poured out.
Staying in a rhythm-centric zone, the band almost lazily drew the next section out, some low synth tones from Gordon anchoring things while the bright and floaty textures from both Anastasio and McConnell acted as the main focus. Anastasio then threw in some sustain before finishing up the short peak and driving into some propulsive chords.
Drifting closer to a rock zone, Phish quickly moved back to the conversational and melodic mode that has been such an incredible focal point of this summer’s jams, Anastasio winding his way around McConnell’s soft Wurli with some beautiful mind-reading. Gordon emerged from the insistent low tones into some melodic play, Fish taking his foot off the gas as the jam floated up into the clouds on a dime.
McConnell turned to some dreamy Moog One tones as Anastasio began to play with some delays, he and Gordon taking charge and whipping up a borderline cacophonous theme. Patience continued to be the name of the game as Fish kept up a steady and flowing beat – Anastasio beginning to craft a series of drawn-out, beautiful riffs around a theme.
Gordon quickly joined in on the riff, augmenting his tone with some deep-impact funk effects as McConnell continued to colour on his synth. The band eyed an incoming peak as the intensity began to grow, the very deliberate and anthemic interplay between guitar and bass getting the ante upped when Fish pushed into double-time.
Anastasio took the signal and ran with it, delivering some beautiful trills to bring a melodic peak forth as McConnell rode underneath on some aggressive piano work.
Coming down from there, Gordon made another attempt at a darker shift as it seemed as though Anastasio was ready to hit into some murkier territory at last. He and McConnell found a new, slightly sinister riff to build off of as Fish tightened up the groove into a more driving rock mode.
Bright piano work continued through this section as the band continued to lean into the driving rock motif, slipping into a chunky groove reminiscent of “Moby Dick.” The band began developing an ascending progression akin to “Izabella,” clearly leaning into the classic rock vibe as the elevated interplay continued to dominate things.
Anastasio began to work in full guitar god mode, unleashing fretboard fireworks on the arena as the intensity grew. Not just in the lead work, but the driving rhythmic play really showed off the band’s prowess at fluid improv. McConnell hit the B3 for some chunky tones, some percussive work leading to some more soaring play as all four members continued to commit to building in this classic rock-style jam.
The crowd went wild for the ensuing peak, the band blowing through it and dropping into some nice driving funk akin to a “Mike’s Song” jam. A path to an “Izabella” segue was there, but the band opted instead to somewhat unceremoniously drop into “Crosseyed and Painless.”
Always reliable for 15 minutes or so of high-quality play in the middle of a second set, the band jumped right into the propulsive groove of the song with some aggressive interplay with McConnell leading on clav.
Anastasio quickly took control of the jam and began to deviate from the song proper, he and McConnell darting around each other’s play smoothly for a bit before committing back to the heavy, fast-paced “Crosseyed” vibe. Fish and Gordon pushed from there as McConnell began to dial back the intensity of his play, going for some phased-out clav chords.
McConnell hit the Wurli for some low-key play as the band brought everything down into a minimalist zone, leaving Fish at the forefront with some thunderous tom work, Anastasio suggesting some cool dynamic play as the drummer refused to lose a drop of momentum.
As Anastasio went into some loops and textures, McConnell brought in a low wave of Moog synth for some cool layering over the continued open sonic space. Anastasio then played, looped, and continued to work off a quick bout of haunting leads, things getting into a deep-space and evil-tinged zone. Gordon went full haze texture there as McConnell toyed with some different progressions on his subtle synth work, Fish all the while aggressively continuing to push the jam, throwing back in some eerie quotes of “still waiting.”
Gordon brought in some deep, dark tones of his own, very deliberately hammering some phrases as the jam threatened to fade away. Continuing in the very cool and unique minimalist zone, Gordon picked up Fish’s vacuum and used it to create more eerie space textures, getting the suction sound through the bass pickup and several effects as Anastasio leaned into that layered sound himself.
Fish leaned away from the snare and went into some light taps on the bongos as the jam finally let go into a transitional space, the band cooling down after a nonstop hour of music with a tender “Farmhouse.”
“Light” hinted at the possibility of another big second set jam, but the second version in a row (see Folsom) had some very promising improv cut off by a segue, the expanding and beautiful major-key space resolving itself somewhat smoothly into “Backwards Down the Number Line” – played for artist Jim Pollock’s birthday.
The tour’s first “Cavern” brought the second set to a close in raucous fashion, the arena continuing to match the band’s eager energy. Beginning the encore with the year’s first “The Horse” > “Silent in the Morning,” I broke another personal 62-show gap on a song last seen at my first show, much to my delight.
With a show-closing rip through “46 Days,” Phish put the cap on a massively successful first night in Chicago – despite whatever issues some may have with the latter part of the second set, we were more than spoiled with the opening hour plus the great first set.
We’re back for round two at the United Center tonight – and at this point in the tour, I have no doubt that we’re in for a real treat! Tune in from home via LivePhish.com.