Phish Bring Bust-Outs, Setlist Surprises and Type 2 Exploration to Austin

June 28, 2025
Phish Bring Bust-Outs, Setlist Surprises and Type 2 Exploration to Austin

Phish, photo by Dave Vann

Last night, June 27, Phish touched down in Austin, Texas, for the fifth show of their already exhilarating Summer Tour. With their latest stop, the foundational jamband continued to elevate the style’s standards with a litany of rarities, surprising placements and electrifying jams that made the first of two nights at Moody Center a nonstop thrill ride. The Vermont quartet’s clear emphasis on easter eggs for close listeners and deep Type 2 improvisation in the series so far is marking a trend and cut above their outstanding but relatively stable Spring Tour; as they continue to find the rhythm of their second 2025 tour, their appetite for unpredictable performances just keeps getting bigger.

Phish’s first performance in Austin since 2010 commenced with the surprising inclusion of “Crowd Control,” only the Undermind gem’s 23rd performance in 22 years since its debut and its first since August 2022. Fans roared at the subsequent arrival of “Mike’s Song” as the evening’s first proper jam vehicle, then were met with another surprise as the group eschewed its traditional segue of “I Am Hydrogen” and instead merged into their cover of Talking Heads’ “Cities.” 

Instead of turning back around to hit the expected “Weekapaug Groove,” the band came to a full stop, then flew into the tour’s first “Divided Sky,” followed by the eighth staging of “The Well” to date and a bust-out of the quick-picking traditional “Daniel Saw the Stone” for the first time since August 2017. A tight “Taste” led into the group’s first rendition of Farmhouse odd-end “Dirt” this year, then finally steered them into the anxiously awaited bookend of “Weekapaug Groove,” featuring a tease of Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m a Man” from Trey Anastasio, which brought the first set to an exuberant close.

Phish returned to the spotlight for their second set with the 10-year fan favorite and reliable intermission ender “No Men in No Man’s Land,” which saw the group already building steam into a second set that could reach improvisatory depths that the first skirted. Any attendees longing for the sort of ambitious and expansive jamming that’s shined on the Summer Tour so far–see the Pittsburgh’s 42-minute “What’s Going Through Your Mind” and the “Tweezer” extravaganza in New Hampshire–wouldn’t wait much longer as the band barreled into “Fuego” with the sort of red-hot ferocity that’s made it a cornerstone of the Phish catalog. Friday’s version upheld its reputation for springboarding dynamic jams, with all four members adding embellishments that built to a general abstraction, locked into an ascendant tone by bright shared chords.

Phish’s first Type 2 outing of the evening reached past the 23-minute mark before the band slowly incorporated the notes of TV On The Radio’s “Golden Age,” a track they’ve rebuilt from the ground up since its 2009 debut and which continues to spur inventive performances. The quartet did just that in Austin with a gleefully eclectic rendering, following an electrified and choppily propulsive groove to peak after peak for a captivating 27 minutes. A relatively stable cool-down of “The Squirming Coil” and “Sand” brought the second set to a finale of “Character Zero,” then the band finally signed off with an encore of “A Life Beyond the Dream” and “First Tube.”

Phish will return to Austin’s Moody Center for their second show tonight. The Summer Tour will continue through late July with standout stagings like two nights at Queens, N.Y.’s beloved Forest Hills Stadium on July 22 and 23, a series-closing three-night return to Saratoga Springs’ Broadview Stage at SPAC from July 25-27 and a three-show Independence Day series at Boulder, Colo.’s Folsom Field from July 3-5, which will replace their traditional Labor Day weekend run at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. Following their Summer Tour, the band will embark on a seven-stop fall series from Sept. 13-21.

Find tickets and more information here.

Phish
Moody Center – Austin
6/27/25
Set I: Crowd Control, Mike’s Song > Cities, Divided Sky, The Well, Daniel Saw the Stone, Taste, Dirt, Weekapaug Groove
Set II: No Men In No Man’s Land, Fuego > Golden Age, The Squirming Coil, Sand, Character Zero
Encore: A Life Beyond The Dream, First Tube