Show Review - Phish 8/1/26 Boston, MA

Phish brought the main portion of their 2026 Summer Tour to a close last night in Boston, returning to Fenway Park for another show brimming with improvisation, putting the cap on their most consistently great tour in years with a high note.

Opening a show for the first time in two years, “My Friend, My Friend” got the night started. As the jam began, guitarist Trey Anastasio opted to pull the band into a surprise early “Tweezer,” eliciting a big cheer from the stadium crowd.

Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell linked up on an ascending motif almost immediately, bassist Mike Gordon joining up with them as they worked the typical funk. Departing into Type II space before too long, McConnell turned to some mellow Wurlitzer work as Anastasio looped a bit of sustain, adding some nice textures as Moog One synth entered the fray next.

A bliss motif developed as drummer Jon Fishman took to a fluid tom-centric beat, laying a foundation for Anastasio’s crisp melodic phrasing that hinted at the Top Gun theme. Executing the night’s first of many smooth segues from there, “Sigma Oasis” emerged and acted as a brief stopover in the improvisational nature of the first set.

Anastasio augmented his tone with both wah and distortion, throwing a curveball into the melodic “Sigma” sound that the rest of the band followed along with. A thick and rocking chord-based motif came up as the guitar continued to dominate, Fish’s insistent beat keeping things tightly together. McConnell hit the Moog as the intense jam pivoted back to a brighter melodic zone, the propulsive drumbeat really taking centre stage as the melodic musicians swirled around overtop.

Gently lifting off, Anastasio and McConnell both meshed their patient and layered play, neither one taking too much of a lead role. Spacing out with some subtle delay work, Anastasio moved over to his percussion mini-kit with lots of cowbell emphasis, leaving McConnell to continue his bright and hypnotic synth work.

Picking up a little bit of speed along the way, the “Sigma” jam continued in that vein for a couple of minutes before Anastasio returned to guitar and steered things back toward “Tweezer,” beginning the second “fest” in the span of a week. Dancing around some anthemic funk for a bit, the guitarist next hit into “Chalk Dust Torture,” keeping the hits coming in the strong opening set.

McConnell hit the B3 for the outro jam, adding some thick, percussive notes. Gordon flipped on some hard-hitting effects as things transformed into a greasy pocket, not quite funk but highly danceable. Anastasio then hinted at some “Plasma”-esque rhythmic riffs but ignored that in favour of a whirlwind and perfectly-executed segue into “Stash” out of NOWHERE.

Continuing the set without stopping, the brief jam dissolved into the night’s third “Tweezer” (though this one was under a minute in length) before Anastasio called for a “Sand” to wrap the frame. While this segue wasn’t nearly as smooth as the earlier ones, it quickly became clear that the band wanted to deliver a big peak after the more exploratory jamming that had come in “Tweezer” and “Sigma.”

Taking their time in the initial Type I space, Anastasio utilized some searing guitar tone to push the band into an anthemic major key, riding the wave of McConnell’s buttery Rhodes to raise up a gorgeous and extended peak full of nimble play. Building higher and higher for several minutes, this expression of euphoria brought the stadium crowd together in a rising cheer that is incredibly difficult to pull off in this setting – with people so much further apart, harnessing energy isn’t nearly as easy as in smaller arenas or sheds.

The second set began with a ripping “Mike’s Song,” continuing with the revival of the trampoline segment from the last version played at MSG. Anastasio confidently shredded through a peak and the ending of the song – though still no second jam – before beginning the night’s longest jam next in “Ruby Waves.”

Anastasio led the way into the improv with a murky and delay-heavy vibe, Fish keeping up a quick pace underneath. Reaching a well-built peak, Anastasio threw in a “Dave’s Energy Guide” lick as Gordon drove in aggressively, helping boost the energy from the low end. Moving past the apex, Anastasio built up a wall of screaming delays over McConnell’s Rhodes, cultivating a psychedelic vibe that only intensified as synths crept in.

Shimmering waves of Yamaha CS60 contrasted nicely with Anastasio’s grounded rhythm work, the guitarist then lessening that gap by going back into a screaming delay motif similar to where he’d been earlier in the jam. Landing from there in some solid rocking, the quartet eschewed a peak and instead let the jam go, kicking into “No Men in No Man’s Land” next.

Breaking apart into a really cool and unique motif akin to the 8/4/17 “Scents and Subtle Sounds,” Anastasio let bits of high-pitched delay coalesce around the jam as Gordon dive-bombed with heavy effects. It was then time for a percussion jam as McConnell moved over to clav, getting some funk flavour involved as Gordon continued to lead the way among Fish’s liquid pocket.

As with the “Sigma Oasis” in the first set, Anastasio’s return to guitar signalled the end of the jam pretty quickly – heading into “Light” even as Gordon seemed to heavily hint at a segue into “Simple.”

Keeping things very upbeat, the three melodic musicians engaged in a great and laid-back conversation, moving into a very pleasant progression like the chorus of “The Mango Song” for a while. The band continued from there into some more interplay, flipping between major and minor and landing back in some strong play close to “Light” proper once again.

The short peak led to a couple of minutes of really cool and introspective jamming, the band taking things down to a zone with a commitment to patience and quieter dynamics until “Weekapaug Groove” emerged.

“Ghost” seemed to signal a relatively standard peaky set closer but instead offered some of the finest jamming of the night as the band took off at a deliberately languid pace. Getting swampier and swampier, Gordon and Anastasio both filled the low end with growly play as McConnell went in on his clav, things getting darker and weird over Fish’s steady beat.

Flipping from there into a major key, Phish once again did the impossible and harnessed the energy of the Fenway crowd as they tore through a fantastic and extended peak. Soaring higher and higher, Anastasio’s unrelenting riffs poured out of his guitar and elicited pure joy from all in attendance as Fish sped up around him.

A bonus “Possum” for good measure wrapped up the second set, before a heartfelt “Wading in the Velvet Sea” began the encore. A double dose of rockers in “Character Zero” and “Tweezer Reprise” closed out the night as Anastasio thanked the crowd for being there and such a special tour.

The past month of Phish has been a truly special one to experience, as they moved from a jam-filled attitude to the exceptional Madison Square Garden run to what felt like a bonus round at Fenway. With a month off until their highly-anticipated return to Dick’s in Colorado, I’m already looking forward to those shows while feeling immense gratitude for how much of this tour I was able to attend.

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