Phish - September 13th, 2025

Birmingham proper finally got a "Cities" and it was one to remember. Coming as the second song of the night, the band shows they're ready to let loose. Mike leads the jam early and the slow funk gradually picks up tempo. The jam winds its way to a more contemplative space before > into "Sample".

This behemoth quickly takes on a slightly more agitated tone than your typical jam and then makes a clean break as the band spends several minutes pulling their respective strands together into a single stream and drilling down on a monolithic groove totally removed from "Gin". After pausing to take a breath around 13:00, the jam restarts in a more zen-like fashion and steadily builds until it swells to bursting and peaks in the 21st minute.

In from an amazing "Gin" (last paired 8/9/04, and definitely worth revisiting), the play here, if not an extension of the improvisation, is certainly a welcome complement. While "Jim" has been great of late, this is a signature version featuring, at first, an extended 'conversation' between Trey and Page (on his piano), before Fish interjects, and the discussion moves in a different direction. It's not long before all converse, with Trey driving the jam with "Lope"-like intensity, before a call to end the song and set.

In the most exploratory version since Dick's 2024, "Sigma" kicks off a fluid second set segment of thematic jamming. Interwoven melodies from Page and Trey float above 8-armed magnetic drumming from Fish, where synths meet bright chords in weightless jamming that eventually rises around 14:20 into ethereal space. Building towards a thrilling peak from Trey, filled with unique riffing, the jamming bobs and weaves while staying rooted in Page's regal baby grand. One of those jams where every time you think they're finished they seem to find a new idea before they latch onto a sustained build -> into "DWD."

Out of the gates, the straightforward jam bristles with inspiration. Around the 7 minute mark, a shift towards softer textures builds towards a gorgeous, almost plaintive segment. As textural ambience seeps into the spaces between, the music then carefully builds back up to a sludgy, minor-key, wah-filled space rock-out to close, before a quick shift > "Life Saving Gun".

In the midst of a stunning second set, we enter the "LSG" jam like a comet ripped apart by gravity, falling inwards towards the sun, before the band fully unifies around a Krautrock beat and driving chord progression from Trey. Fishman works against the established groove to expand the jam into a more spacious affair which allows Trey to move outside the initial ideas, pushing the band outwards once more. Listen for Page to move from the Rhodes to his synth around 9:15 which reinforces the expansive playing and kicks off a segment defined by a wall of effects and interwoven anti-melodies, reminiscent of the 10/10/23 "Ruby Waves." Chaos starts to dissipate around 16min as a clearing emerges in the jam. Marked by sprinkles of melody and interwoven riffs before a fade -> to "Pillow Jets," this is a clear peak moment in "Life Saving Gun's" young career as we hear what is fully possible with the budding jam vehicle.