Key Arena

Seattle, WA, USA

Top Rated Shows

Highest rated shows at this venue by Phish.net users:

Date Rating
1996-11-27 115 votes 4.4696/5
2025-04-18 423 votes 4.1868/5
2025-04-19 344 votes 4.0814/5
2023-04-15 459 votes 3.8061/5
2023-04-14 440 votes 3.6932/5
2014-10-18 267 votes 3.1648/5

Top Reviews

Highest-rated reviews from shows at this venue:

1996-11-27 by MiguelSanchez 19
1996 is sort of a blah year, but it was very much a transitional time for the band. stylistically, they were moving from that very experimental '94-'95 sound to the super funky '97 sound. as for the scene, this was the year after jerry died, so to put it mildly, the interest in phish dramatically...
2014-10-18 by JonnyRingo 18
I'm only inclined to write this review as I've read a few positive reviews that have already been posted and I had a completely different take on the show couch surfing. I personally thought the show was pretty disjointed. The band, for the most part, was playing decently well individually,...
2014-10-18 by hoeveler 13
In response to Toe2323, I hope they haven't started a trend of phans commenting on shows that they DIDN'T attend, who've just listened to the first set, and then made a bunch of uneducated judgements... That's not really what these comment sections are for. They are for those who DIDN'T attend...
2025-04-18 by SawItAgaaain 11
Remember that time the boys threw a no-hitter to start the season? This is what it sounds like. No dust, no nerves, just straight spring fire. Really high highlights are Sand to start the whole enterprise, a seductive Type II(!!) Back on the Train, and a mid-tour level Golden Age->What’s Going...
2014-10-18 by whrdina 11
Solidly played. Night 2 seemed more like a tour opener than night 1. Weird song selection, but that was fine. First set was super meh until wolfmans and gin. Treys guitar got screwed up in the mix during sparkle. Second set was solid, happy to see my first fuego, but nothing that blew me...
2014-10-18 by Ez_and_not_so_Fast 11
From Couch Tour, deal with it: This date seems to be a rather unorthodox show. I disagree with the assertion that it doesn't deserve another listen. On the contrary, this is a show where we got to hear two different bands on stage, both of them somehow called "Phish." It's quite a cool show in...
2023-04-15 by SawItAgaaain 10
From inside the room, I saw Izabella serve the boys four flagons of Jimi Juice. They drank deep and brought the rock for the rest of the night. Great goods from top to bottom. Even the shorter jams in second set went “there.” Gonna be a tremendous tour if we’re only going up from here.
2023-04-15 by Mamamargogo 9
I’ve been to a lotta shows, and nothing even sort of prepared me for what happened tonight in that stadium. I can’t wait to see what kind of set list someone will mold to explain what happened to us all, band included. They are magicians of the highest order working together to provide us with...
2014-10-18 by smaine 9
At least in my little corner of Seattle, the overlap between Phish and the Seahawks is giving people a reason to listen to the band again with open ears. This was my 29th show, and I got to share it with a couple friends who had never been to Phish show before. We all had a blast, and this...
1996-11-27 by Bob_Loblaw 7
Best 2nd Set of '96? The first set although not top heavy over the epic 2nd set still has some treats. Nice peaky CDT and a nice 1-2 punch of their new songs Free and Theme. Both songs have excellent and somewhat experimental midsections that make them stand out. Bold as Love is always a great...

Notable Jam Chart Performances

Individual jam chart entries from this venue:

1996-11-27 Theme From the Bottom (9:10) Set 1 Noteworthy
-> in from "Free." The jam takes a very different and interesting direction than most before getting back to "Theme."
> from "Theme". Where Trey might typically take his soaring solo, the song takes a much more subdued direction, indicating this isn't going to be the standard "BOTT" fare. Rollicking and upbeat one minute, spacey and searching the next. Things build from there into a fiery crescendo of a peak before returning to the song proper to close things out.
2025-04-18 Golden Age (23:07) Set 2
Major key play breaks away early, galvanized by Fishman's cowbell-inflected groove subversions. Eerie effects creep in to create a cerebral, spacey atmosphere before Page's piano brings the band back toward major key pastures for a candy-coated romp. The band then locks in here and rides towards a big crescendo. The main "Golden Age" riff then seeps back in, pushing the band towards a delightful passage of intricate effects-based psychedelia centered around a groove similar to "Split Open and Melt", before -> "What's Going Through Your Mind".
Trey leads this one off the beaten path with a squiggly guitar tone, and as the jam continues down the rabbit hole, it reveals a dizzyingly beautiful dimension of sonic pleasures. This holds sway until a sea change around 11:00 brings a heavier, more industrial sound, setting the table for a welcome -> "Izabella" in this fantastic first-set pairing.
2023-04-15 Reba (13:01) Set 1
Really unique. One must (arguably) go back to the early days to find not a better version, but such markedly different improvisation. Near the 7:50 mark Mike drives the band towards direct, "compact" play...Trey, onboard, works through a series of licks - which he, himself, rhythmically offsets - while Fish and Page add pretty remarkable accents. True to such magnetic play, Trey wastes no time dialing in his shreddy, on-point peak; Fish, in step, quickly toms play to a close (his inspired drumming running through the "Bag it, Tag it," section).
Fairly quick departure after the lyrics, led at first by Page's organ and then Trey showing off his tone. The jam picks up momentum and deconstructs, becoming more percussive as Mike and Fish step forward. The bass effects propel the improvisation to a darker more aggressive space that churns temporarily before Trey's lead melodies reappear and take the band over the set closing peak.
2023-04-15 Tube (11:25) Set 2
Showing up in the second set for only the second time since 2010, this "Tube" is a late-in-the-show surprise. Nimble playing from Trey highlights while Fish controls the tempo like the master he is. Things get whipped into a frenzy before eventually navigating back into the "Tube" riff to wrap things up. > "Wading in the Velvet Sea".
A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the early stages but Fish keeps things afloat with constant forward motion. Around 12:00 the jam begins to gradually emerge from darkness with Trey wielding his guitar like a blazing beam of light cutting through the gloom as it builds and builds to a series of peaks.
2023-04-14 Golden Age (17:24) Set 2
Tight, airy play hews closely to the song proper for quite some time before Trey calls for improvisational departure. Fish breaks the beat - listen, a bit after the 8:00 mark, for this wonderful moment - before the groove bleeds to become hushed, restrained play, evoking early (as in 60s) psychedelic experimentation. And then... memorable almost for what doesn't happen as opposed to what does, this is Phish at their seemingly effortless best, bathing the base with another dose of the finest in the nation.
2023-04-14 Fluffhead (16:24) Set e
Arrives in fine fashion with an unusual modulation, giving the outro a "YEM"-like twist before returning home at 14:54 to close the show.
2014-10-18 Sand (10:06) Set 2
Trey sits back allowing Page to lead the first half of the jam until the groove turns upbeat around 6:45. From there, Trey increases his role and brings it home with melodic leads before the > to "BDTNL". A really nice, atypical version.
A very solid in-the-box version, with strong Page in particular. At moments, it even sounds like Page teases the piano outro from "Sweet Home Alabama."
Very improvisational, exploratory version that leaves "DwD" in the dust after 7:00. Several sections to this high quality version which -> to "JJLC" and includes a closing of "DwD" (straightforward, 4:26 duration) later in the set.
Page solo > Trey on guitar/vocal with "Brady Bunch Theme" teases > Page piano with Fish on vacuum > klezmer > chanting.
1996-11-27 Tweezer (10:46) Set 2
A solid but straightforward "Tweezer" melts into a jam on Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion," and from there into a reprise of "DwD" which was played earlier in this show.


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