Back On The Boardwalk: Phish Begins Fall Tour 2026 In Atlantic City

By Andy Kahn Oct 3, 2026 • 9:06 am PDT

Phish’s brief Fall Tour 2026 began on Friday, the eight-date run launching with the first performance of a three-show stand at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The band spent little time off the road with opening night coming less than a month after the final show of their Summer Tour 2026.

Phish’s last visit to Atlantic City occurred in 2022 when they played multiple shows at the beachside venue where they also performed in 2021 (and were booked in 2020 but canceled due to the pandemic). The band’s last concerts at Boardwalk Hall were part of a three-night Halloween run in 2013. There only other shows at Boardwalk Hall were part of their 2010 Halloween run, when Little Feat’s Welcome To Columbus was the musical costume.

Fittingly, “Fuego” opened Phish’s first show at Boardwalk Hall since that 2013 Halloween run, which had begun with the band performing their “not-yet-recorded” Wingsuit album cover. The songs debuted that Halloween set, including “Fuego,” later became the basis of Phish’s 2014 studio album, which was ultimately titled Fuegeo.

Counting Friday’s appearance, “Fuego” has been performed 104 times since its debut in Atlantic City, and of those, it has now opened a show only three times. “Fuego” is also a first-set rarity, landing in the set one just 13 times. Clocking a modest 14 minutes, the most recent “Fuego” was not the 34th addition to the Phish.net jam chart, but it was nonetheless noteworthy given its history within the room.

With the nod to October’s past behind them, guitarist Trey Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Mike Gordon and keyboardist Page McConnell caught “A Wave Of Hope” and were off on another spirited and lengthier excursion. Anastasio led with a forward-leaning charge and McConnell mixed in video-game-weapon-sounding synth sounds.

“Slave to the Traffic Light,” an original debuted in 1984, was then performed by Phish for the 300th recorded time, making an unexpected arrival as the third song of the first set. “Slave” more often appears in second sets (or encores) and its early placement here felt a bit like a premature ending.

The 42-year-old song played 300 times was followed by “Pillow Jets,” a newer song making its 18th setlist appearance since its 2023 premiere. Gordon’s bass was clear and punchy and Anastasio’s guitar was piercing and looping as they built to a screaming peak.

A fantastically intermeshed transition into “It’s Ice” segued the band out of the cacophony of sound that preceded. The foursome skated unscathed through the complexities of “It’s Ice.”

“Ghost” rolled in for the final selection of set one. The jam started peppy and light, bopping along Anastasio’s airy lead work. The linear improvisation unfolded with unity among the band members, who locked in and rode the high into set break.

As I wrote about the first show of this year’s recent Dick’s run, the six-song first half of the first Boardwalk Hall show again had a “that could have been a second set” feel.

The pause in the show ended with Phish returning to the stage and resuming with “Oblivion.” A well-rounded Type I jam ensued, anchored to the song’s main melody.

This “welcome to the second half” introduction teed up the next 45 minutes of mostly improvisation. Back-to-back +20-minute offerings of “Down With Disease” (24:57) and “Tweezer” (exactly 20:00) showed off Phish’s evolving exploratory prowess.

“DWD” saw Trey’s first use of his mid-1990s style mini drum kit that came back this summer at the 1995-themed concert held at MSG and has stayed onstage at subsequent Phish shows. This alternate instrumentation led to McConnell and Gordon taking on more prominent roles in the jams. McConnell’s eclectic palette of synthesizer sounds was on full display while Anastasio linked up with Fishman and continued when the former went back to guitar.

The jaunty “DWD” jam built to a frenzied apex before an abrupt turn into the pop and chug of the opening notes of “Tweezer.” Fishman exerted his authority over the “Tweezer” jam, controlling the tempo and laying the groundwork for the direction of each component section.

Perhaps sensing this, deep into the jam Anastasio went back to his mini-drum kit and again McConnell and Gordon assumed more prominent melodic roles in the improvisation. Gordon was particularly integral during this time. Anastasio at one point was playing his drum kit with one hand and his guitar with the other, resulting in a ringing, alarm-like texture.

The two big jams were trailed by “Mercury,” which grounded the band and its audience inside the hall. Adding some levity to the set, “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long,” a song that debuted at Phish’s 2018 Halloween show as part of their self-made Kasvot Växt mythology, was resurrected after being shelved since 2024.

The band then achieved liftoff with the mighty, multi-part “Fluffhead” enthusiastically popping as the closer of the night’s second six-song set.

More than 150 Phish shows had been played since the last classic sequencing of “Alumni Blues” into “Letter To Jimmy Page” back into “Alumni Blues” prior to it starting off Friday’s encore. Hours after opening with the “Fuego” nod, the night ended with “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.,” another song that debuted during the Kasvot Växt Halloween 2018 set.

Phish’s run at Boardwalk Hall continues tonight. Livestreams of Phish Fall Tour 2026 shows are available with a LivePhish With subscription.

Get LivePhish With

Poster