Phish Rock for the Resistance in San Francisco and Hollywood

Extended jams like the 30-minute “Tweezer” feel like Phish and the audience are on a collective ride to a utopian sonic landscape of peace and harmony.

It’s a surreal time for America in the spring of 2025, with the Trump regime’s fascist assault on the republic feeling like a dystopian sci-fi movie come to life. However, the psychedelic rock counterculture will never yield to authoritarianism, being a movement that has long stood as a beacon for peace, freedom, and personal liberation. So it’s a great time to have Phish back on the road for a West Coast spring tour. The Vermont rockers started with two nights in Seattle and one in Portland before arriving here in San Francisco for two nights at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on April 22-23, to be followed by three nights at the famous Hollywood Bowl.

San Francisco is where the psychedelic rock counterculture was largely forged in the 1960s, thanks to the trailblazing music of the Grateful Dead and a handful of contemporaries. It was such a heady time in music history that a rare hand-drawn poster from the first publicly attended Acid Test on 4 December 1965, in San Jose, with a performance by the newly coined Grateful Dead, recently sold for $37,500 at Heritage Auctions.  

The formula of blending music, light, color, and higher consciousness would become a template for Phish, who, by some mix of fate, talent, and a similar affinity for musical adventure, became Gen-X heirs to carry the torch for the movement. They have also continued to push the envelope by not allowing themselves to become a nostalgia act. Phish continue to write strong new material while also continuing to develop their jamming style with fresh sonic pathways that keep fans clamoring for more each year.

“There’s a ‘Ruby Waves’ from 2019, in Alpine Valley, that I’d put up against any jam from the 1990s,” guitarist Trey Anastasio recently told The New Yorker in a feature story about the band. “There’s no question to me that we’re playing better now. So much has happened—we grew up. Modern-day Phish exists in a realm that none of those years can touch.”

That 38-minute “Ruby Waves” jam was such a peak multi-dimensional sonic journey that the band used it to launch their “Live Phish on Long Play” vinyl series. Some cynics may dissent, but most fans will concur that the golden age of Phish is here and now. Anticipation thus runs high for Phish’s return to San Francisco.

The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is one of those older, no-frills arenas that lack some modern amenities, but it’s the type of building Phish has a long history of destroying across the nation. Local fans have come to revere these performances after memorable multi-night stands at the venue in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018. 

Night 1 in San Francisco – Tuesday, 22 April

“Mike’s Song” gets things going as a heavy hitter that raises the energy level early in the first set. The group seems to falter on the companion “Weekapaug Groove”, though, with a slower, disjointed tempo and a missed change that impedes the sonic flow. It seems like they’re not hooked up. However, that’s how it goes sometimes with Phish – every show isn’t always going to be played perfectly like groups that play the same set each night. Phish are walking a musical highwire at each show, and sometimes they’ll slip. 

Anastasio seems to call for a reset with the straight-ahead blues rock of “My Soul”, before launching into the classic “Halley’s Comet”. The quartet’s legendary chemistry syncs in around the ten-minute mark when the melodic direction shifts. Bassist Mike Gordon pushes the low end in a deeper direction, while Anastasio’s guitar melodies start to flow with that signature “hose” quality. Page McConnell’s piano melds with Jon Fishman’s drums as another percussive force, as the hose flows for an uplifting jam of nearly 20 minutes.

A fan on Phish.net later suggests that it’s the longest performance of the song since 1999, which speaks volumes about what a special moment has manifested. Just like that, Phish are firing off historic jams at full sonic power, and the rest of the show soars. 

The opening hour of the second set features seamless top-shelf improvisation, with stellar jams on the hard-rocking “Carini”, the funky “No Men in No Man’s Land”, and the majestic “Ruby Waves”. The lyrics of “No Man’s Land” seem to hint at the 22 April Earth Day theme, as Anastasio sings, “And the truth will rise above, And fiction lies beneath, And though the lies may bite, The truth has all the teeth.”

Debuted in 2015 during the same summer in which Fishman campaigned openly for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign for political revolution, the song quickly became an anthem for modern times. Closing the set with the ever-inspiring rock power of “Down with Disease” is another winning move, before a big “Fluffhead” encore cranks the vibe further for a triumphant conclusion to a sensational set.

Night 2 in San Francisco – Wednesday, 23 April

Phish signal a special night to come by opening with the anthemic sing-along of “Simple”, before moving into the electrifying “Punch You in the Eye”. The song from Anastasio’s “Gamehendge” saga (written for his Goddard College music school thesis in 1988) opens a portal into that mythical land. It’s a fan favorite for its invigorating harmonic arrangement, as well as lyrics that speak from the point of view of a rebel protagonist in defiance of an evil king. Trey seems to sense the audience is extra stoked here, as the feedback leads him to embellish the chords and riffs that seem to make this the song’s most vibrant performance in recent memory. 

The vibes are off the charts, and one can start to sense why some fans say they prefer “indoor Phish”, with how the energy in the room builds in a vortex fashion. Trey steers that energy into a hot jam on the funky “Gumbo” that has some flashing back to the late 1990s again, before a run through the classic “Reba” with its peak melodic bliss. “The Well” is an obscure newer song that turns into another highlight with a funky intro that gives way to a “Dark Phish” minor key jam. 

The second set opens with the infectious “Sample in a Jar” before igniting with a monster “Tweezer” jam that goes off for 30 minutes of groovy sonic glory. The quartet’s chemistry is on full display with moments where it feels like each band member is soloing simultaneously, yet syncing in harmonic unity. It’s jams like this where it feels like Phish and the audience are on a collective ride to a utopian sonic landscape of peace and harmony, and it feels so good.

The ballad “Lonely Trip” provides a breather before Phish launch the set back into the stratosphere with their incendiary version of Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed and Painless”. The track from 1980 is as relevant as ever, as Fishman voices the angst-ridden lyrics that express an alienated paranoia about the modern age. The new “Pillow Jets” has developed into a reliably uplifting melodic jam vehicle of its own. However, it’s cut short here for a climactic performance of the classic “You Enjoy Myself”. A double encore concludes with the scintillating instrumental “First Tube”, as Phish leave no doubt about winning this one going away.

It’s been one of those special, flawless nights where Phish have dazzled from start to finish. A stop by the band’s charitable WaterWheel Foundation table afterward yields extra goodies, with “Save Gamehendge” fridge magnets now available. There’s also an alternate event print from artist Ryan Jerzy that depicts a rabbit with a jet pack riding a fish through the air. The endearing image captures the sense of how a great Phish jam, such as tonight’s “Tweezer”, can make fans feel like they’re soaring on a blissful ride through time and space. 

Night 1 at the Hollywood Bowl – Friday, 25 April

It feels special to have Phish back at the renowned Hollywood Bowl after a triumphant three-night run to close the April 2023 spring tour, and even more so after the dire events of January 2025. The horrific wildfires that burned in the region for three weeks included an early moment where the Hollywood Bowl itself was briefly under threat of a potential evacuation notice. This was around the same time that horrifying pictures appeared of the Santa Monica Pier with smoke and flames of the Palisades Fire in the background. 

The possibility of losing iconic locations like the Hollywood Bowl and Santa Monica Pier to the wildfires seemed to be in play for a brief time, further dramatizing the apocalyptic level of horror for the City of Angels. Numerous bands have participated in various benefit shows to raise money for Los Angeles wildfire relief, and Phish have joined in by pledging to utilize these shows to raise $300,000 for the cause.

There’s a festive vibe along Highland Avenue in Hollywood in the late afternoon, with fans filling the Power House Bar at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard for pre-show libations. Established in 1947, it’s one of those throwback joints where one can easily imagine being a character in a film noir flick. The cheap happy hour drinks are a hit, but so too are the higher quality cocktails like “the tiki drink” with rum, orgeat, orange, lime, and pineapple.

The weather for this year’s shows ironically gets rather chilly after the sun sets, with temperatures dropping into the 50s throughout the weekend, in contrast to the balmy climate fans enjoyed at the 2023 shows. The cold can make it more challenging for the band to get the audience revved up, but such are the cards Mother Nature has dealt. There’s still some good beer to be had, though, with the Hollywood Bowl again featuring the Wilson IPA from Roadhouse Brewing in Jackson, Wyoming, with a lizard image on the can that seems a clear tribute to the Gamehendge battle between the rebel lizards and the evil King Wilson.

Friday’s first set features a handful of Phish classics and the newer gem “Evolve”. However, it feels like the group is dealing with another reset, being at a much larger venue in surprisingly cold weather. Lighting director Chris Kuroda is at the top of his game, though, utilizing the unique structure of the Bowl as his canvas to create rainbows of colors that enhance the music in masterful fashion.

Phish step it up in the second set with a marvelous trifecta similar to the first night in San Francisco that again uses a “Carini” jam to crank up the energy level, before continuing to jam out on a trippy 20-minute “Light” and the coveted sonic journey of “Mercury”. Trey is really going for it in the “Light” jam, and so is “CK5”, as the interplay between the four band members and their unofficial fifth member pushes the jam into truly luminous territory.

Night 2 at the Hollywood Bowl – Saturday, 26 April

Saturday’s first set features a “Martian Monster” blast of cosmic funk and an always fulfilling “Divided Sky” that taps back into the Gamehendge vibe, being a song the lizard people sing as a sacred hymn in nature. But the peak moment of the set is a surprising 18-minute jam on the newer “Ether Edge”, a tune from 2024’s Evolve album that’s really coming into its own. The playful song turns into a vehicle for a deep jam as Gordon gets the hose going with a flowing bass line, catalyzing a jam that goes well beyond the parameters of the song, including a freaky peak that could even lead to forgetting what music is being played.

A minor calamity occurs at setbreak when the Hollywood Bowl runs out of the Wilson IPA and out of IPAs altogether! One might expect this kind of fan problem when a rising band like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard play in a smaller town like Paso Robles, but not at the venerable Hollywood Bowl! The fact that the Bowl’s wine bar is no longer serving local craft brews, as in 2023, seems to be the culprit, with fans left to turn to bland light beers or red wine. 

Phish seize the moment by opening the second set with another Gamehendge classic in the form of “AC/DC Bag”. Playing the song here feels like a re-connection with the heady vibe of “Punch You in the Eye” from Wednesday night in San Francisco. When the song’s protagonist sings “Brain dead and made of money, no future at all, pull down the blinds and run for cover, no future at all,” it seems like a commentary on the greedy fossil fuel paradigm causing the climate change crisis that’s making west coast wildfires stronger and more frequent.

The set also features a crowd-pleasing jam on the classic “Run Like an Antelope”, but what’s really interesting is how most of the set features high-level playing on newer material.

The hard hitting rock of “Life Saving Gun” from Evolve features McConnell crushing piano on a hot jam, before “The Howling” from 2021’s Sci Fi Soldier launches a dance party with fans literally howling in unison on a song that’s actually about mitigating a looming global environmental disaster by transforming the collective consciousness (as detailed in the “Sci Fi Soldier” comic book handed out to fans on Halloween 2021 in Vegas).

“Oblivion” is a song from Evolve that also seems to comment on Earth’s fossil fuel problem, with a chorus of “I crash through shale and splash in oil (Oblivion awaits)”. There’s a beautiful spacey interlude on “Beneath a Sea of Stars” from Anastasio’s 2019 Ghosts of the Forest, before a killer jam on “Everything’s Right” from 2017. Phish wins again, even while featuring newer material.

Night 3 at the Hollywood Bowl – Sunday, 27 April

The Sunday funday spring tour finale has arrived, and festive vibes are everywhere, including anticipation of news that Phish will be accepted for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in an announcement on a live episode of American Idol shortly before showtime. The TGI Fridays inside the Hilton Garden Inn on Highland Avenue does a brisk business, as friends gather to enjoy the $5 happy hour drinks just down the street from the Bowl. However, the news came down that Phish had inexplicably been denied entry into the Rock Hall, despite running away with the fan vote.

Many fans consider Phish to have already been de facto inducted for more than 20 years, ever since the giant hot dog that the quartet rode to the stage on New Year’s Eve 1999-2000 was hung in the atrium of the Rock Hall in Cleveland. The gesture seemed to recognize Phish for playing the largest new millennium show, drawing 80,000 revelers to celebrate the occasion with a legendary all-night show at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation.

The idea of playing a show that celebrates induction into the Rock Hall quickly fades away, but Phish just come out and delivers another instant classic. An early sequence of “Llama”, “Sand”, and “The Lizards” seems to make a statement that acknowledges the wildfires and the fascism, setting the tone for a high-level show. The furious “Llama” documents a rebel fighter’s aerial attack on the evil King Wilson’s forces in Gamehendge.

The darkly groovy “Sand” enhances the insurgent theme as the protagonist laments the actions of the powers that be – “If you can heal the symptoms but not affect the cause, then you can’t heal the symptoms…” The rare and coveted “Lizards” cements the theme, taking the audience back to Gamehendge for a tale of how the lizards “had become practically extinct from doing things smart people don’t do…” 

Playing these three songs together suggests an intention that demonstrates how Phish are ever attuned to current local events. They’re not going to come out and say “Fuck Trump” like King Gizzard & the Lizard were doing on their American tour last year, though drummer Jon Fishman rips Trump and his minions regularly on social media. Phish are a band that lets the music do the talking, and the “Llama-Sand-Lizards” trio speaks volumes to those paying attention. An unusually melodic type two jam on “Timber” is another treat, before a mesmerizing take on McConnell’s EDM tune “Most Events Aren’t Planned” to close the first set in groovy style.

The second set becomes a spring tour victory lap as Phish open with “More”, an inspiring anthem that speaks deeper existential truth when the band sing of how “In a world gone mad, There must be something more than this…” Debuted in 2016 at the tail end of the Obama era, the song’s timely relevance grows with each passing year as it taps into a big picture question rock ‘n’ rollers have been asking since the 1960s, wondering as the Beatles’ John Lennon did in 1968 about what the insane powers that be think they’re trying to accomplish?

Phish sing of “vibrating with love and light” as a response, another theme with origins in the 1960s counterculture before ramping up the energy to the max with the seminal prog-rock funk of “You Enjoy Myself.” Typically placed as a set closer (as in San Francisco), the epic song is showcased here as a tour de force. The song receives extra jam treatment when the quartet cuts the signature vocal jam short, going back for an extra helping of blissful musical magic for a stunning 27-minute performance of what’s generally considered the quintessential Phish song. It seems like the group are asking fans if they’d like “More” of “YEM” and the audience responds with ecstatic delight.

It’s all gravy from there with other highlights including a vibrant jam on the bluesy “Kill Devil Falls” and a spiritual moment on the forlorn “Lifeboy”, before a cosmic funk dance party on the anthemic “2001”. There’s a magically uplifting vibe here that never fails to ignite, as the energy level soars again. The raucous “Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” drives the space jam theme home to close the set, before Phish return like an Energizer bunny to throw down a 22-minute jam on “Fuego” in the encore slot.

Phish win again, and so does Los Angeles with the $300,000 wildfire relief donation. In continuing to use music to help inspire fans and heal the Earth, Phish proudly carries the flag for the psychedelic rock counterculture movement that remains as needed as ever as America faces 2025’s world gone mad in overdrive.