Photo by Dean Budnick

Phish kicked off their spring tour at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena last night. It was the group’s first Seattle appearance since 2023, though Mike Gordon opened for Vampire Weekend at the arena last June.

The night commenced with some modern Phish standards, “Sand” and “Kill Devil Falls,” before the outfit offered their first segue of their spring outing between “Theme From the Bottom” and “Back on the Train.” The later Farmhouse tune ended up going unexpectedly long and deep, stretching past the 18-minute mark. From there, the group turned their attention to the Hoist ballad “If I Could;” the tune has gone through a number of periods of dormancy since being debuted in the mid-’90s, but the band usually tends to revisit it after Trey Anastasio plays it during his solo acoustic runs, as he frequently did this spring. A compact “Tube,” the Gordon solo original “Mull” and a 12-plus minute take on “Wolfman’s Brother” rounded out the set.

The Vermont quartet’s second set commenced with an extended, exploratory run from “Blaze On” into a 23-minute cover of TV on the Radio’s “Golden Age” and an 18-and-a-half-minute take on “What’s Going Through Your Mind.” Anastasio brought the latter number over to Phish last summer after trying it out with Classic TAB and has mentioned in several interviews, including a recent high-profile New Yorker article, how the song represents how new music keeps the band current. Another run from the Page McConnell-led “I Always Wanted It This Way” into “Ghost” closed the second set. For an encore, Phish offered a final brief segue, this time from “Bug” into “Possum.”

Phish will return to Climate Pledge tonight.

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via Phish.net

Friday, April 18, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Set I: Sand, Kill Devil Falls, Theme From the Bottom > Back on the Train, If I Could, Tube, Mull, Wolfman’s Brother
Set II: Blaze On -> Golden Age -> What’s Going Through Your Mind, I Always Wanted It This Way -> Ghost
E: Bug > Possum