MSG 4 NYE RECAP: WE NEVER LEFT THE FREEZER
[We would like to thank Ryan Storm (@ry_storm) for recapping 2025's NYE show. -Ed.]
Phish closed out 2025 last night with one final monumental trip into the freezer, closing out an amazing year for the band with one of the Phishiest gags in the band’s history – an absolutely ridiculous theme and production that was immediately followed by almost an hour of nonstop incredible jamming.
MSG3 RECAP: COILED AND PAINLESS
[We would like to thank Jeremy Willinger (@Jeremy8698) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Phish is not a snake. But in a sense they are: colorful, representing transformation, temptation, and wisdom. Much like their music, snakes are also the most diverse of reptiles second only to…the Lizards. And while a snake will coil itself to conserve energy, tonight there will be none of that as the band came ready to strike and sink their fangs into music mostly old and some new.
With two days of standout moments and mid-first set surprises, we enter 12/30 with Phish presenting patience and energy in equal measure as they rewarded us with a standout 12/28 that reminded us not to miss a Sunday show and a wavey 12/29 with juxtaposed tempos and lively jams throughout. Yes folks, it is a Golden Age of Phish and it doesn’t seem like they will falter going into what is always a special night of music. Personally, this is my fifth time reviewing this evening and it is an event I anticipate all year long.
Lights down just in front of 8:00 PM as per the two nights prior, and we are go for launch.
“Chalkdust Torture” opens a show for the first time since 2022. This slot allows the band to spotlight the song away from its typical set closing position and give it potential to stretch its legs. There are some mild calisthenics here with an uplifting mid-section featuring Page doing a jazzy interlude.
MSG2 RECAP: 30 YEARS LATER
[We would like to thank Max Alter (@SplitOpenAndMalt) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Thirty years subsequent to the band’s first New Years’ Eve at that arena above Penn Station, Phish continues to explore new ground.
After just over three months since their prior run, Phish’s return to their colloquial home arena was heavily anticipated. Succeeding an above-average Night One, anticipation was at its finest heading into 12/29. With significant standout jams the previous two years (with 2023’s "Chalk Dust Torture" and 2024’s "Ruby Waves"), each serving as arguably the pinnacle jam for each year’s respective New Years’ Eve run, I wondered if the band’s 89th show at the venue would yet again serve us with a massive and multi-elemental jam.
Personally, this run served as my first MSG run as a local to the city (conveniently, just one train away from my couch). After reviewing the second night of each of the prior years’ runs, I was looking forward to the energy that a night’s sleep in my own bed would service for tonight’s show. I walked out my door at 5:57pm and headed to The Rutherford for some preshow libation. For a part-bar-part-restaurant mere steps from The Garden, I was pleasantly surprised with the roominess of the bar and timeliness of its staff– after arriving just after 6:20pm, my girlfriend and I were in the venue by 7:01. Would absolutely recommend both the food and drink to those trekking out the next few nights.
STTF#91 IS READY!
The 91st issue of Surrender to the Flow (NYE 2025-2026) is now available. This 39-page issue includes reviews of the "Late Summer" (aka September) Tour, six different TAB shows, and Page's new album; articles about The WaterWheel Foundation, The Divided Sky Foundation, the Phertility Phriends Facebook group, and more; plus, regular features including the recipe column, beer column, horoscopes, advice column, new philosophy column, statistics, a word search puzzle, celebrations, and still even more.
It's available by download in digital format only, so don't bother looking for a copy outside MSG. Get it online, at www.gum.co/sttf91, for free or at any donation amount you specify.
MSG1 RECAP: THE UNEXPECTED AWAITS
[We would like to thank Ian Zigel (@RipenessWasAll) aka @ianzigel for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Phish at Madison Square Garden on the last four nights of the year is an experience that needs no introduction. But humor me and I’ll try.
Madison Square Garden – affectionately known as MSG, YEMSG, The Gah-den, The Center of The Universe, The Round Room, The Garden of Earthly Delights, Phish Mecca, Harry’s House, Trey’s House, The World’s Greatest Arena, and so on – holds the record as Phish’s most played venue, with a tally set to reach 91 on 12/31/2025. Phish currently holds the 2nd place record for artists that have performed the most concerts at MSG, and it’s only a matter of time before they claim the top spot from the first place holder.
In a community rife with differing opinions, I think we can all agree this place is a cornerstone of the Phish extended universe. A time capsule of formative memories for many a devotee, the mere *thought* of this place can spark a knowing smile up my face.
YOUR CHANCE TO OWN A PIECE OF ART PHISHTORY: ORIGINAL ARTIST’S PROOF OF “THE RHOMBUS” GOES UP FOR AUCTION
[We would like to thank Matt Hoffman (@tonapdivine) for this update. Matt is a music journalist and writes for Relix, Live for Live Music, JamBase, Glide Magazine, and others. -Ed.]
By now, you may have read, whether in Relix or elsewhere, that the original artist’s proof of New Piece, Tony Smith’s 1966 sculpture better known to phans as “the Rhombus,” is now available for sale at auction. (Members of Smith’s family have engaged Retroactv as auctioneer.) Smith is widely regarded as an important figure (pun intended) in the minimalist art movement, so the piece is significant both as a matter of art history and Phishtory. Other versions of the sculpture have sold at recent auctions for upwards of $300,000, and bidding for this “one of one” original artist’s proof begins at $250,000.
THIRTY YEARS SINCE 12/14/95 BINGHAMTON (LIVEPHISH VOL. 1)
[This post is courtesy of L. rufus on BlueSky who some of you may recall from RMP as squirrel. Read on to learn to whom Trey was directly speaking before launching into the encore. Fwiw you can listen to LivePhish Vol. 1 on YouTube Premium. -Ed.]
"ANGER, he smiles towering . . . !” The first time I saw Phish perform “Bold as Love” was as the encore to the 12/28/94 show in Philly. It was one of the best encores I’d seen, at the conclusion of a tremendous show that these days is overshadowed by the following night, but which at the time was transformational for me. “Bold as Love” thus became my favorite Phish cover. Prior to 12/14/95, however, I had only seen the song one other time (at the Mann on 6/24/95). Thus, while I still hoped to see “Bold as Love” at every show, I was starting to think I was doomed only to see it in Philly, if at all.
My original plan had been to attend the Binghamton show with my girlfriend at the time and her sister. Between the Phish Tickets by Mail order date, however, and the date of the show, my girlfriend and I had broken up. Her interest in the band had waned, and she was no longer interested in making the trek from Haverford College (where we were both students) up to Binghamton. To my enduring gratitude, however, she agreed to sell her pair of tickets to my friend Josh and his girlfriend, with whom I got a ride to the show. I’m not sure how or whether I would have been able to attend the show otherwise, being an 18-year-old with no car. The drive north to Binghamton was fraught, as we were buffeted with monsoon-like freezing rain. The roads were flooding, the car (it was a compact) was hydroplaning on the inundated roads, and I was feeling anxious in the backseat, trying to distract myself from my obviously imminent death by making a sign for the show.
PHISH STUDIES ASSOCIATION’S 2025 CONFERENCE RECAP
[This recap is courtesy of user @paulj Paul Jakus, Executive Director of the Phish Studies Association.]
Following stand-alone conferences in 2019 and 2024 in Corvalis, OR, the newly incorporated and nonprofit Phish Studies Association is excited to announce that our first annual meetings were held in Philadelphia November 6-8, as part of the Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association (MAPACA) meetings and were a resounding success!
The fifteen scholarly presentations ranged from the genesis and influence of Phish festivals, to a technical explanation of why "Tweezer Reprise" rocks so hard. (Hint: Listen to Page!)
JEMP RADIO RELEASES NEW MOBILE APP
Last month, J.E.M.P. Radio released the latest version of their mobile app. The new app, which replaces the one they had for a few years, works on current generation mobile phones and brings long-awaited new features to fans.
When app developer and station operations manager, Andy Michels, reached out to me a few weeks ago to explain how phish.net would be incorporated into the new app, I was thrilled. Now, when JEMP Radio plays live Phish tracks, you can tap the track name in the app to go directly to the phish.net setlist page for the associated show. This is a perfect example of our community using the best data available, centrally, to provide the best listener and fan experience.
RECAP: 11/22/95 US AIR ARENA
[We would like to thank Jamie Pemantall (@disenlighten) for recapping this adored show from three decades ago. -Ed.]
This month is the 30th anniversary of seeing my first Phish show, and I’m taking this chance to share some great memories from the distant past and thoughts from the present.
I had been a listener of the recorded music of Phish since 1993, when I was introduced to the Rift album by a childhood friend. I recall a feverish amount of excitement from my high school peers who saw 2/4/93 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, two days after the release of Rift. When I told my sister I listened to Phish, she asked, “Aren’t they weird?” Yes. Yes, and that was the appeal for me. I was mostly a metal and punk listener at the time, but I was habitually drawn to the bizarre.
Earlier in 1995, I had run into a high school friend who remarked that the platitude “There’s nothing like a Grateful Dead show” was also true for Phish’s live shows. “There’s nothing like a Phish show.” That statement gained significance when Jerry Garcia died in August 1995. There was already crossover between fans of the Grateful Dead and Phish, but many more fans followed Phish on the Fall ’95 tour.
NEW KASVOT VäXT MUSIC UNEARTHED?
A discovery that is sending shockwaves through the Scandinavian Prog Rock and Phish communities, the long-lost, never-before-heard follow-up to Kasvot Växt’s debut album í rokk surfaced in Portland, OR, over Halloween weekend. On Saturday, Nov. 1, at Hōkū Space, 149 lucky music fans were treated to a surprise appearance from the reclusive group.
Trading in their signature all-white suits for pumpkin spice-flavored all-orange, and immersed in a landscape of shimmering silver cubes, Kasvot Växt tore through í roll, an adventurous set of brand-new originals. The details are sketchy but, according to inside sources, í roll was recorded in 1983, with a giant World Tour planned for 1984. However, someone in Kasvot Växt did something to offend someone in Van Halen, and the band found their tour stolen out from under them and their new album buried and forgotten. Where Kasvot Växt has been since 1984 is anyone’s guess.
MOST COMMON SONG PER STATE 🗺️
NOTE: This has been updated to counts of shows with each song rather the first number being all performances in the state. This removes HYHU from every state but Florida, and addresses other anomalies. For example, HYHU, Weekapaug, and Mike's all have been played in Georgia more than any other songs - but Possum is the song that appears in the most shows.)
There are five states (shaded black) in which Phish has not yet performed. In fifteen more (those in grey), there is a tie for the most common song performed, ranging from every song at the one Oklahoma show, to a tie between only Chalk Dust and Wolfman's among the 43 shows in Washington state.
For the remaining 30 states, this map shows the most common song performed in each state, the number of that state's shows in which it was performed, and the number of shows in that state. There are some vague patterns, such as "Possum" in the far northeast (geographically ironic), a spotty "YEM" Belt (settled like a belly above the Bible Belt), and "Chalk Dust" spread far and wide.
States that share a most common song are colored the same (such as California, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, and New Jersey each having "Chalk Dust Torture" most commonly, and all in green). Those in pink have a unique most-common song (such as, fittingly, "Alumni Blues" in Vermont).
PHISH STUDIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING IN PHILADELPHIA, NOVEMBER 6 - 8
[This post is courtesy of Paul Jakus. -Ed.]
After two well-attended academic conferences at Oregon State University in 2019 and 2024, and following last Fall’s wildly successful Phish Studies 101 webinar series, Phish Studies Association (PSA) is happy to announce its official incorporation as a non-profit academic society.
PSA has also become affiliated with the Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association (MAPACA) and will participate in MAPACA’s annual conference each November.
Our first annual meeting in Philadelphia begins on Thursday, November 6. We will run a full slate of sessions (18 presentations, plus a Guided Listening Session). If you’re in the area, day passes are available.
Watch Instagram (@phishstudies) and Facebook (@PhishStudies) for daily updates from the conference.
If you are interested in learning more about joining PSA, please visit our webpage, https://phishstudies.net, and keep an eye out for next year’s Call For Papers (June).
Chryss Allaback, President
Paul Jakus, Executive Director
HARRY HOOD, YOU BE 40! 🎂
A sonnet to celebrate....
When first thy notes did through the rafters soar,
A playful hymn of dairy, light, and cheer,
We knew not yet what wonders lay in store,
Nor dreamed thy glow would blaze for forty year.
Thy jam, a river winding, ever free,
Reveals new visions each and ev’ry night,
A mirror tuned to human revelry,
Whose peaks ascend toward everlasting light.
The faithful gather, drawn from near and far,
To ride thy arc as day dissolves to flame,
Each tone a spark, each chorus like a star,
Eternal yet reborn, thou art the same.
So sing, sweet Hood, thy blessing understood:
Four decades prove thou mak’st us all feel good.
And, uh... "Dog Log" is 40, too, sooo....
When dogs must squat and leave their steaming gift,
The noble nose recoils, the stomach shifts;
Yet Phish, in mirth, did raise this dung-born song,
A hymn to logs that tumble brown and long.
Four decades now this turd hath rolled on stage,
A forty-year-old joke that will not age.
Its fragrance fills the hall, a fetid cheer,
The crowd cries “Dog Log!” – poop to every ear
FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST PHAMILY POKER CLASSIC AT THE TROPICANA IN ATLANTIC CITY
Nearly fifteen years ago, on October 30, 2010, the first poker tournament fundraiser for The Mockingbird Foundation took place in the poker room of The Tropicana Hotel along Atlantic City's boardwalk. It raised more than $5K for Mockingbird and you can read more about it here.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation