Phish Return to Hampton Coliseum with Revivals and Homages
Phish, photo by Dave Vann
Phish rolled into Hampton, Va. on Friday night for the highly anticipated last stop on their late-summer tour. After winding through the Southeast with five satisfying shows in Louisville, Ky., Birmingham, Ala. and Alpharetta, Ga., the Vermont quartet returned to Hampton Coliseum to commence a three-night series that will finish off their final tour of 2025. For the historically attentive band and fan community, the arena affectionately known as the “Mothership” holds a significance that few other venues can match. In last night’s performance, Phish reflected on 30 years of stagings with a performance packed with homages and surprises.
Phish’s return to Hampton Coliseum last night marked their 22nd show to date at the arena and first since 2018. The Mothership’s special place in the hearts of Phish and their followers is based not only on its continued relevance over three decades, but also for the fact that the storied stage hosted some of Phish’s most important moments–most notably serving as the site of their reunions in 2003 and 2009. Hampton Coliseum was also the source of 1999’s landmark live collection Hampton Comes Alive, their third-ever live album and first full-show live recordings. With all its history to draw from, the question hanging before Friday night’s show was not if Phish would acknowledge that legacy, but how.
An early answer arrived with “Fluffhead.” Phish’s familiar show-opener famously set off the band’s 2009 resurrection performance in an unforgettable statement of their creative reinvention, a message which resounded again as the band delivered a 17-minute treatment of the 40-year-old track. The quartet maintained a focus on certified classics through “46 Days,” a segued pairing of “My Friend, My Friend” and “Rift,” and “Gumbo,” then switched gears with the Round Room rarity “Pebbles and Marbles.”
While Phish’s recent touring has been defined by a tight rotation of well-traveled tracks, the group threw a gem to setlist archeologists with “Army of One,” performed for the first time since July 2023. The Page McConnell-penned and helmed Undermind track merged into “Ya Mar” before the band closed the first frame with “Walls of the Cave.” When they returned from the set break, Phish resurrected another long-dormant track, covering The Apples in Stereo’s indie-psych romp for the first time since August 2023. The second set opener arrived with “Army of One” as the first tracks in Phish’s September series not previously played during their summer tour.
Phish’s second set on Friday was an uninterrupted seven-track medley, stitched together with bold, shape-shifting jams. The highlight in the mix was “Tweezer,” which appeared for the first time in the late-summer tour to a roaring response from the audience and stretched out to 28 minutes. After “Ruby Waves,” “No Men in No Man’s Land” and an exhilarating return to “Tweezer,” the band cooled down with “Waste,” then closed out the set with a riotous cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll.” An expansive encore of “Prince Caspian,” “Bug” and finally “Tweezer Reprise” sent the crowd out into the lot, ready for more excitement tonight.
Phish will return to Hampton Coliseum tonight and tomorrow. Find tickets and more information at phish.com.
Phish
Hampton Coliseum – Hampton, Va.
9/19/25
Set I: Fluffhead, 46 Days, My Friend, My Friend > Rift, Gumbo, Pebbles and Marbles, Army of One > Ya Mar, The Wedge, Walls of the Cave
Set II: Energy > Tweezer > Ruby Waves > No Men In No Man’s Land > Tweezer > Waste > Rock and Roll
Encore: Prince Caspian > Bug > Tweezer Reprise
Notes:
Army of One was last played on July 26, 2023 (107 shows). Energy was last played on August 2, 2023 (102 shows). Ruby Waves was unfinished. Trey teased Manteca in the second Tweezer.
