SNHU Arena Photos by Eric J. Simon
I only found out about a week before that my brother had a ticket for me and I made plans to zip up to his house to meet our old friend and travel to Manchester for the third night of the weekend. I’ve been to SNHU a few times before and am pretty familiar with it. We caught a nice pub dinner in nearby Deering Hillsboro NH, and headed into ManchVegas.
The crowd was gathered in front of the arena, with a makeshift Shakedown and just great vibes running pre-show. The city of Manchester has already praised the impact on the local economy of the run. I saw some friends, mingled and around 730 we got into a quick line and into the arena. Our seats were profile to the stage Fishman side, and we had an excellent view of the performance. The drawback being that our light show experience may not have been peak, but I’ve always been more a ‘stare at their hands’ attendee than a stare at the lights guy.
The band walked out on stage at 8P and wasted no time, kicking into Runaway Jim as if it was totally on their mind, no noodling, no debate just straight into it. The decisive vibe continued with an instant Oblivion and we were off and running into the set. It felt like a nice ride was developing with an exploratory version of The Curtain which contained a lengthy slow jam at the end. When they launched into Llama directly after I was wondering if we were heading to Gamehenge and honestly I got a little bit excited. I strained my mind to hear any telltale signs, but it was not meant to be.
That is not to imply that I was all disappointed in the litany of semi rare songs that followed. Fast Enough for You made me miss the departed Gordon Stone (pedal steel on the studio version.) The Wedge is always a favorite of mine and had a real ‘Bobbing on the Surface’ vibe to it. Pebbles and Marbles is one of my favorites from the Round Room era and led into a true 90s classic, My Friend, My Friend. Egg In a Hole, I have no idea what it is, it had a Fuck Your Face or Dog Log vibe, semi nonsensical.. It hasn’t been played in a year and a half and there have only been five of them.
The band landed us safely into comfortable territory with an excellent Fluffhead. I quickly visited the concessions concourse and saw many friends there. This is a part of the whole experience, seeing friends old and recent, making new friends, and connecting with a social network that extends from coast to coast and exists in the Brigadoon like reality that is a touring band’s following.
I noticed throughout this show that Trey and Mike were both very active on their pedal boards. There is a much more extensive layout of pedals and electronics laid out in a trapezoid at each of their stations, and they were making very active use of them. This was not a collection of haphazard pedals strung together but rather significant work stations on the floor and it is clearly activating their imagination when it comes to their tones, sounds, and effects.
Set two started with the same decisiveness that set one featured, with the band hitting stage immediately ready to play Axilla Part II. They played the extended slow psychedelic part, even. If I had to be critical, Trey’s voice seemed to be a strained, as if the parts were just a millimeter beyond his reach. But that could also be the natural course of aging in his voice, getting a little deeper. It did not effect the energy of the show at all.
I had met some friends in front of the venue pre show, and for two of them it was their first show. Their Phish superfan friend was saying “they’re getting a Tweezer tonight, for sure.” So after a quick Axilla, the opening notes of Tweezer spilled out and I thought of them. The rest of the set unfurled as a Tweezer club sandwich. Tweezer then Mercury then Tweezer then Pillow Jets then Tweezer then Golgi Apparatus. Each interior song went long and far into jam territory and each time came out into Tweezer. It was excellent jamming and the structure felt comfortable yet innovative.
When the band was off stage for the encore my brother turned to me and said “technically, they haven’t done Tweezer Reprise yet” and I had to agree. The encore started with an exuberant version of Bug which was a joy. And then the descending riffs of Tweezer Reprise rang out and we all triumphantly peaked our night and the weekend with tons of energy to propel us into the night.
This was a fun show, with both rare songs and classics, jams and grooves. Friends, family, fun- I could not ask for more out of a Phish show. See you on the road!
Jun. 22nd 2025
SNHU ArenaManchester, NH
SET ONE
Runaway Jim
Oblivion
The Curtain With
Llama
Fast Enough For You
The Wedge
Pebbles And Marbles
My Friend, My Friend
Egg In A Hole
Fluffhead
SET TWO
Axilla Part II
Tweezer >
Mercury >
Tweezer >
Pillow Jets >
Tweezer
Golgi Apparatus
ENCORE
Bug
Tweezer Reprise
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