Pillow Jets
| Originally Performed By | Trey Anastasio |
| Original Album | Evolve (2024) |
| Appears On |
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| Music/Lyrics | Anastasio |
| Vocals | Trey |
| Phish Debut | 2023-07-21 |
| Last Played | 2025-07-19 |
| Current Gap | 6 |
| Historian | HarpuaPrograms |
| Last Update | 2025-07-16 |
History
Over just two years “Pillow Jets” quickly became a staple of the Phish repertoire. Often serving as a breather song after heavy jams (08/16/24, 07/19/24), but also occasionally finding its way into the first set (08/26/23, 04/20/24), or even used as a jam vehicle itself (notably 08/29/24), “Pillow Jets” is a rare song where it can be found almost anywhere in a Phish show. Yet, somehow it still works wherever it’s placed. It can range from 6 to well over 20 minutes or it can be the second song or the second to last song in a show, and that is part of what makes it special. But let’s start at the beginning, the history of Pillow Jets is quite interesting.
07/18/23, Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park in Wilmington, NC was a relatively standard Phish show for the time. Phish wished Jim Pollock a happy birthday, and played a 20 song show headlined by a particularly well played “Simple” opener and second set “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing.” Some fans groaned about the song choices but the optimists said the differences were fun. They were scheduled to play a second show at the same venue on the 19th, and they did! But if you were a bit of a sleuth, you may have found yourself listening to the soundcheck at that show, as Phish performed an unfamiliar song, with mystical lyrics.
During preparation for the soundchecked “Pillow Jets,” Trey started spewing what seemed to be nonsense. Saying things like “We are the conjurors of thunder, from Burlington, Vermont,” as loud, strange, spacy noises play and Trey introduces the song. They kick off playing the song and Trey fumbles the lyrics a couple times, an uncommon occurrence, as the spacey noises continue and people start to get an idea of what this song is doing. Continue the verses and choruses for a couple minutes, and then they start to experiment. Trey puts a bit of style in his tone, and they keep going for a bit. Then at roughly 8 minutes in, Trey starts talking as Fish makes odd noises. Trey babbles for a while about a horse? It’s unclear and very strange but they keep the music going and it remains interesting. Somebody has probably transcribed it but some sections are unintelligible. After about 13 minutes, it ends and people are left dumbfounded and confused.
Very few people likely saw that soundcheck but you could infer that Phish was maybe planning on debuting the song at the 07/19/23 show. We will likely never know because, unfortunately, the show was cut short four songs into the second set due to weather. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t take long for “Pillow Jets” to return. The following show on 07/21/23 at Star Lake in Burgettstown, PA, Phish soundchecked “Pillow Jets” once more, and officially debuted it live as the third song in set two. It was the third straight modern song played in that set but certainly a highlight. There were more spacey sounds and some that resembled a jet taking off. These sounds would be present in the first few performances but have since beenretired for the most part. The 07/21/23 version mostly kept the same idea around for the whole jam, but was very solid and Fishman especially killed it.
You could definitely take a guess that this song was either gonna be officially named “Pillow Jets” or “Pillow Jets of Sound,” but it ended up being the former. Which begs the question, what exactly is a pillow jet of sound? Some have interpreted it as something like a thunder cloud. Pillow jets of sound. (sound = thunder, the pillow “jets” out sound or the jets are symbolic of the air.)
In addition to calling it his favorite track on the Evolve album, Trey explained in a Relix interview with Dean Budnick on August 29, 2024 that the song “Pillow Jets” comes from an awe-inspiring art exhibit. During the COVID-19 pandemic, large sculptures of women created by Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu were put up on display in front of The Met. Trey Anastasio states in the interview “They’re coming down on clouds to save us from ourselves and the conjurers of thunder are not so psyched about it. They’re kind of mad. Then the jam to me is like they’re conjuring thunder.”
Additionally, you can make a connection to a certain, memorable performance of “Pillow Jets” that would occur at MSG on 12/31/24. This version was very unique for its theatricals, guest performances, and many other things found in no other past version of “Pillow Jets.” Immediately, when the third set started, gagness was in the air. The band walked up in matching blue attire and they kicked us off with “Character Zero,” which was short and had little to nothing to do with the gag. But then Pillow Jets started.
It only took until about a minute in until it was clear something was different. In the chorus, Page’s synths were a bit strange, it was 80s-esque, like that “Dreams” by Van Halen tone that you’d find in a 100 in 1 keyboard. There were big sheets flying above the stage, this had to be the gag, right? But wait… what’s that? Who are those people? Those people in gold dresses and gold masks? They started doing weird, almost erotic dances as they slowly made their way across the stage and spread their dresses. All the while, Phish kept playing as fake thunder clouds were shown above them. The jam itself was patient, well constructed. Then, Phish went nuts, there was a chorus singing “PILLOW JETS OF SOUND!” and “AHHH.” Then, a giant, dismembered mask appeared above the stage and started swaying and eventually coming down and combining as the song came to a close and we rang in the new year.
That Pillow Jets remains engraved in infamy. There was even a small group of people who accused the 2024 NYE show as a cult. And honestly, you can sorta see where they’re coming from. It was jarring, and very different from anything else that has been played since. But it was memorable, and took us into a similarly one of a kind performance of the new song “What’s Going Through Your Mind.”
One other major Jamcharted version of “Pillow Jets” is the longest version of it yet, the second set banger from 08/29/24. It earns its title through its many sections. Starts off normal, but it takes just over four minutes for it to get dark, crunchy, and chaotic. It’s a great example of modern “evil” Phish. It pokes around for a while with several different sections, but settles near the end, and before you know it it’s been over 20 minutes and showing no signs of stopping. Even in the final 30 seconds of the jam it feels like they could keep going forever but then Fishman rocks and rolls and plays the opening beat of Also Sprach Zarathustra. LivePhish officially clocks this “Pillow Jets” in at 23:06, making it by far the longest one they’ve played yet.
As of July 14th, 2025, “Pillow Jets“ has been performed live by Phish 13 times. Three have been placed in the first set, nine in the second, and once in the aforementioned third NYE set on 12/31/24. Six of them have exceeded 10 minutes in length, two exceeded 15, and one has exceeded 20. The song’s infinite possibilities are just a testament to how unique this song and band is.
Last significant update: 7/14/25
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