[We would like to thank @VermontCowFunk a.k.a. Oliver Pierson for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]

Summer Phish, no make that Summer Tour Opener, in New Hampshire? When’s the last time that happened? I was one of the many New Englanders who was thrilled to learn that Manchester was on the list for some live Phish in summer 2025, and immediately took to planning a Manchester Phish Adventure. At that stage of the summer tour planning process, I am always reminded of a quote from Jerry Garcia in a 1980 Relix Magazine Interview, in which he’s asked about whether following the Dead on tour is a healthy thing:

Jerry: Well, it’s obviously very important to them. And more than that, it’s giving them an adventure. They have stories to tell. Like, “Remember that time we had to go all the way to Colorado and we had to hitchhike the last 400 miles because the VW broke down in Kansas.” Or something like that. Y’know what I mean? That’s giving them a whole common group of experiences which they can talk about. For a lot of people, going to Grateful Dead concerts is like bumping into a bunch of old friends.

I had actually had one Phish adventure in NH prior to Sunday night’s show, when I saw Phish open for Santana on 7/22/1992 at Holman Stadium in Nashua. The drive to and from that show was a decent adventure; a buddy of mine and I drove down from a Northern New Hampshire summer job, flying as fast as possible after completing a late afternoon shift, and somehow it took almost three hours to get to the Venue while never leaving NH in what is supposed to be a small state. This was my third Phish show, first Santana show, and I can’t tell you much about how the music was as no tapes circulate of this show and my memories are faded. But I do remember that we had a 6 AM shift the morning after the show, so when Santana wrapped up, we drove an hour north, found a town park to sleep in for a few hours, and finished the drive with lots of yawns, arriving at 5:58 AM for our shift. So, not quite hitchhiking 400 miles to get to the show, but a great memory all the same.

My 2025 Phish New Hampshire adventure was unfortunately also limited to one show, as I have a few more commitments now than I did at the age of 18 back in 1992, but the Sunday show was not to be denied. After finishing the last kids sports game, I hopped in the car and drove from Burlington VT to Manchester NH, arriving in town at 4:30, just enough time to transition into show mode and get downtown. I was instantly impressed with how the City of Manchester embraced the Phish long weekend, with a bustling shakedown on the closed street directly in front of the venue, local businesses working hard to serve the masses on a very hot afternoon, and a relaxed but expectant vibe on the lawn in front of the venue. After strong outings on nights 1 and 2, folks were hoping that the Sunday show would be a launchpad for greatness, and the preferred song selections were swirling around lazily in the hot afternoon sun. One member of our crew had "Mercury" at the top of their “what I want to hear list,” and another was hoping for a bunch of tunes from Rift, which both turned out to be great calls.

Getting into the small-ish venue was a breeze, and after some fun conversations with vendors who weren’t busy yet and who generally were raving about the polite phish fans, we settled into our seats, in the 2-seat front row of section 218, directly above “old mike - new fish side.” The room was nice and cool, and I didn’t hear too much complaining about indoor summer Phish yesterday. We’d heard they went on a bit before 8 PM on Saturday, and sure enough they followed suit last night. As the welcome opening notes of “Runaway Jim” broke out, the room filled up quick, and I appreciated their nod to one of their staple early 1990s tunes, a great fit for fans in the region that got this band going. The gravely tone found in Trey’s voice on Friday was nowhere to be heard, and the sound on our side of the room was crisp.

Jim was short but gave way to an unexpected “Oblivion,” one of my favorites of the circa-2023 new tunes, and it was great to get a potential jam vehicle in the two-spot. As I looked at was now a fully packed room, the lights kept shining on a large American flag in the back corner of the Venue, and it occurred to me that seeing Phish in the summer is a proud American tradition that I hope we can all continue for many years - more adventure! Page was coming through loud and clear in the mix, layering on some effects, and we were treated to a short jam that saw trey alternating from lead to rhythm and the boys hooking up for a relaxed but infectious groove that culminated in a great high sustained note from Trey, which was accompanied by a perfect shift from cool reds and blues to a flashy yellow blast. The band seemed relaxed, very happy to be on stage, and while "Oblivion" only got a short walk, the writing was on the wall for a great show.

The opening riff of “The Curtain” rang out over the room, and we were treated to a technically proficient, crisp, and upbeat Curtain. The band was communicating well through all the changes, showing how quickly they had settled into their new (old) onstage set-up. Page was lighting the room up with the warm sound of the organ, and Trey seemed pretty nimble, perhaps a result of all that acoustic solo playing earlier this year. They gracefully moved into the “With” section, and we were treated to some almost-expected soaring and melodic guitar solos with Fish pushing us forward… And that drive persisted as Mike quickly took off his jacket and they broke next into a fiery “Llama.” The crowd really made their presence known on this one, and the band was loving it… Page stood up for the first time and you already know what happens after that.

The white strobes and deafening roars that accompanied Trey’s blistering solo in "Llama" were met with a mini-bustout of “Fast Enough for You,” the first of 3 tunes off of the album “Rift,” which came out in early 1993 when Phish was frequently running up and down interstates 93 and 89. I’ll be honest: I didn’t love this tune when I first heard it but it has really grown on me over the years, and Page’s playing on the grand piano was a perfect foundation for Trey’s somewhat melancholy but pretty guitar lines over the top. “The Wedge” gave us tune #2 off of Rift, and in what would be a common theme all night, the boys started the song almost gently, slowly building anticipation before really ramping up. The vocal harmonies really sounded good (thanks for the effort there, boys!) and we were treated to a little extra mustard at the end of this one, but not much more.

But, from this point out, we had a stellar run to close the set. I loved the call of “Pebbles and Marbles,” a beautiful tune that launches into really inspired instrumental playing. Trey and Page shared the heavy lifting on this one, full of pleasant major key playing with trey finding some ascending lines matched with Page’s descending chords on the grand piano, and I felt like this version was that marble in dust that the band left for us.

The Rift sandwich was completed with “My Friend My Friend” and I had to laugh at the juxtaposition between around 10,000 fans grooving in friendly harmony while the maniacs on stage were bathed in bright red light, screaming about “he’s got a knife.” The band worked through the composed bit patiently and then about six minutes in, a grinding and ultimately cacophonous jam broke out, giving those that like their Phish on the “evil” side plenty to work with. Fishman’s playing was amazing as were the high keys from Page, and after pushing some boundaries, they weaved into only the 5th version of “Egg in a Hole.” which rose up out of the depths to keep our heads banging and give us a taste of the playful “phishiness” that the band seems to relish when they are having a good time. So we didn’t get the epic "MFMF" I was hoping for, but I caught my first "Egg in a Hole" and the craziness continued as they weaved screams about knives into the eggy goodness. The commitment to the lyrics was impressive and this song landed hard (but in a good way), showing the confidence of a team playing on their home turf. “Fluffhead” was next, leading to much applause, and closed out a very long first set with a fine and uplifting version that sent us into setbreak with our jaws on the floor, trying to contemplate the last 75+ minutes of music and an amazing second quarter.

Set break was amazingly pleasant as there were hardly any lines up in the 200 section and we were back in our seats after a quick run for the essentials with plenty of time to spare. “Axilla (Part II)” got us going, and the frenetic rocking gave way to the coda, which was explored to the fullest, with the stage bathed in black, perhaps a precursor to the sound explosion that was to come.

“Tweezer” started out quietly, which just trey lightly strumming the main riff, but did it ever get going. Making sense of the next five tunes isn’t super easy as the musical ideas were swirling quickly and moving from one idea to the next but suffice to say that the “Manch-Tweezer-Fest” was over an hour of incredibly creative and inspired playing with three different "Tweezer" sections circling around great versions of “Mercury” and “Pillow Jets.” "Tweezer" section I brought the funk, with the band laying down a tight groove that they all took turns working off to pursue short melodic adventures before coming back to the fold. The place was shaking, smiles abounded, and really, all is great in that moment when Phish launches into a "Tweezer" jam. No place I’d rather be! Trey started using that crunchy filter and found a ponderous riff that was heavy but not overbearing. Page eased away with some light high chords, more guitar wizardry, and we got into a pink Floyd-esque sound with power chords and synth, as this section decomposed into…wait for it…a light fishman drumbeat…leading to…

Somehow “Mercury” comes out of the ether. Love this tune, so happy to hear it, especially to see if the extra sauce they added in Albany last fall was still part of the mix. As usual, I eventually became convinced that the net really wouldn’t break, and we got launched into a upbeat jam with Page on clavicle and Trey playing some plinko style reefs as beautiful purple and green lights spun around this now-intimate feeling venue. Mercury cascaded into a wonderful major key bliss jam, that simply rocked out in a manner I sometimes attribute to Saturday night Phish!

But it turns out, the "Mercury" lyrics weren’t as accurate as promised, as the safety net offered by this delightful version was pierced and eventually torn open as the Band landed on the "Tweezer" riff again, almost on a dime, and the place exploded with the delight that only this kind of sandwich can bring. "Tweezer" Section II gave us some crazy effects from Page with Trey and Fish leaping things forward; I noticed Trey make a few glimpses over his left shoulder, perhaps making sure he knew exactly where Fish was going to be on the one. A phish-style EDM groove perked up, with Mike probing new depths with a super clear foundation, with Page and Trey working frantically to get this one to lift off. Peak and then things began to wound down, into a meandering and delicate outro, with Page using the synth to create a wash of sound with undulating harmonies. It is impossible to do it justice.

More Phishy fun was in store with a segue into “Pillow Jets,” which was an intriguing call but more than delivered. At this point in the night, details were a but hazy but I found the phrase “epiphany of sound” in my notes, as the jam from "Pillow Jets" slid into "Tweezer" III. This section started slowly, but Page and Fish helped it move along and modulate upwards. Next came the “insect jam” with humming cicadas and other crazy sounds that built up a high major chord riff that Trey repeated to bring this Manch-Tweezer-Fest to a triumphant close.

“Golgi Apparatus” closed out a really outstanding set two, and in the encore we were first sent off with a tender “Bug” in which Mike’s playing really shone through over the keys, and then the celebratory “Tweezer Reprise.” It delivered as expected, and the band really let their music do the talking. Hardly any banter and no three-song encore tonight either, but it wasn’t necessary to put the cap on an amazing night and a very promising 3 show summer tour opener in Phish’s old Northern New England Stomping Grounds.

A super fun night, with an appreciative crowd, a mellow and welcoming host city, a great setlist, and top notch playing from a band that, after a two-month break, has no business sounding this good (maybe it’s the new-old setup?). But, to our shared delight, they sound phenomenal and tight already, and a summer tour ticket seems well worth the price of admission. And that adventure I was seeking by going to see a summer show, well this second set delivered a musical adventure that met my needs and more, and has helped keep me going as I ease back into the work week on little sleep, with thoughts of the Mann and SPAC floating around for the next phishy adventure. See you there!

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