Pretty good audience recording. The vocals are a bit muddy during set 1. Set 2 sounds much better overall. Big thanks to Bryon Sosinski for pulling this one down! The recording starts off rather muddy sounding but improves by the final chorus of Cavern. A splendid Sky follows. The King of Scott’s delivers a a nice vac solo during I Didn’t Know. Trey is a little shaky on the opening of YEM but recovers to deliver a nice jam. Solid B&D and VJ. A red hot Brother opens the second half. Pause after Bouncin’ for Mike to change a bass string. Trey cues up Eliza as Mike changes his string. The PA cuts out for a portion of Trey’s solo in Foam. Gorgeous Reba! Spot on version of Golgi. Cool hi-hat hijinx section to kick off Bowie. A beautiful demented Bowie jam closes the set on a high note. The band was firing on all cylinders for this set! Straightforward encore. Harry Belafonte’s Day-O was the walk out music this night.

Pretty good audience recording for this show. The acoustics of The Rink could be better but what can you do. Landlady>Bouncin’ start things off. Nice little jam in Chalk Dust. A tiny but mighty version of Stash. Eliza provides a nice breather. Foam>Brother pair nicely. This rippin’ Brother was dedicated to Dimitri for his Birthday. Instead of closing out set 1 with Golgi the band serves up Memories without mics to close the first half. At the start of the second set Trey awards Henry Petras on his birthday, a trophy for the longest distance traveled to a Phish gig. Llama rips per usual. Solid Antelope with a Simpsons tease and no “D’oh!” response. Extended Groove intro. I feel Trey’s solo is somewhat compromised while he’s skating. Fish tells a little joke before counting out 1,2,3,4 in BBFCFM “Why did the Siamese twins go to England? To let the other one drive for a while”

Caspian Waves >>> wasted bold as love. Night two and as I like to remind anyone who will listen, never miss a Sunday show. Saturday was a nice warm up and very danceable. I had trekked 14 hours from Kentucky the day before, and Saturday pissed rain all day in the Apple so I hid out in Jersey until it was PATH>33rd St. time. I'm not going to review Saturday, but it was fun and the vibe was great at MSG. The staff continues to amaze at this joint as others have noted, very accommodating in every way, right down to the security that literally looks the other way unless safety is in question (see vertigo and chompers on booze). Sunday frogged and grogged at the hotey briefly but lo and behold, the weather started to crack and NYC was gorgeous and mild. A new years miracle? Chem trails raining down? Likely. Walked up from Times Square at about 7 for the show and made the arduous trek into the reaches of section 420, row 3 seat 1. Honestly if you don't like heights, this seat will invert your genitals. Sample was standard and Bag wasn't super tight but had some nice Trey rips. Moma started to move us but did not reach type 2 status and stayed safely funky into a pretty flubby Rift that was not completely without merit but lacked the punch of recent versions. The sound at MSG is fabulous but the rear seating sound is not. It's adequate and does improve as the show goes on though. The view from 420 is great though rigs block Trey from there and when the light rig fully decends, the whole band is blocked save a bit of Fish. Rift melted into Caspian and the crowd got a bit mellow but not for long, this was a nicely building Caspian and Trey was notably good on vocals. Not a super long jam but really loud and tight interlocking themes of nautical waves and ocean imagery, very nice Page as usual, Fish was very strong the whole night as well. I honestly never cared for Caspian much but it has grown on me as the band truly does love it and does it justice live. It has an emotional power in my opinion. Monsters is a fun ride, I'll take it over Alaska any day and Runaway Jim was classic boogie, and played quite nicely. As Jim crescendoed the crowd for sure expected another song. YEM it was and I very much thought I would be going to get popcorn soon after Boy became Man but luckily he felt he never told me, the story of the Gerst. Story accepted, story appreciated. The nasty feed back and haze that proceeds Ghost was truly thunderous in my ears as I rejoiced in non-chomping always in key singing and jubilation. Standard Gerst, nothing special, but every Ghost is special aint it? The lights dipped after a very quick set break and Gin wafted up, slowly at first but building nicely, slower tempo but executed well with all the nice Trey delays and classic Phish key bending glory. The proceeding jam was taught and well played but not overly exploratory, nothing compared to what segued into town next. As the first notes of Ruby hit my ears, I knew it was possible. Like when you get a present and it seems like the right size and shape to be the one you really wanted. But not every Sand is a 38 minute eargasm at Deer Creek. This Ruby was an eargasm though. This Ruby Waves was the kind of brave exploration that keeps us all coming back year after year, show after show. Every member of the band shined multiple times both melodically and rhythmically, and the crowd absolutely ate it all up, save the sleeping 16 year old behind me and the puking chomper to my right. I looked to my left and said to a complete stranger, yes, this is still Ruby, and received an ardent high five and wook yip yip scream. It was just as magic as my first show in 1993 and more surprising, it's always surprising when they do this, every time. It's always surprising when a group of professionals risk everything to give us these moments, moments that could have easily ended in failure. Waste is nice and emotional, Crosseyed should have been Cities, and Bold as Love was weak vocally, but even Jimi wasn't a great singer so Hall Pass. But let me emphasize to downloaders: RUBY RUBY RUBY! 5 out of 5 for having balls in the ballsiest town on earth. Cheers Phish! Love you!!

Decent audience recording. A few generations from the master. Set 2 is tinny sounding overall. There are some CD clicks/skips in sections. Jim/Cavern get things underway. A Soulful Reba follows. Buried Alive has some cool Esther teasing from Trey. Of course they segue into Esther out of Buried Alive. Tweezer rips! This version fades out and doesn’t return to the Tweezer theme. Nice little jam in It’s Ice. Lots-o-thank you’s from the band following Ice. Trey asks the audience to take their hands apart for The Earl of Sandwich during I Didn’t Know. lol Machine Gun Trey is in full effect for the Llama set closer. Fun alley/tow/driveway banter to start set 2. lol A smokin’ Possum kicks off the second half. Tela follows and provides a nice cool down. Mango and DaaM work well together. Rock solid Suzy but has a cut towards the end of the jam. Well played YEM all the way through with some Homer “D’oh!’s” at the start of the VJ. Tweezer Rep caps off set 2 nicely. Glide makes it’s debut in the encore slot with no introduction.

Crispy digital audience recording available for this show. Things open with an electrifying Llama! Trey is on fire! Beautiful Sky. Nice mid section to Ice. After Guelah Trey disclosed the name of It’s Ice and gave a shout out to Mr. & Mrs. Fishman. Joking they’d be giving away a car later in the night as this was the same venue Fish gave away the (old) family vehicle back in February. Strong version of Foam. Red hot Bowie to close the first half. In between David Bowie/UB40 Fish screams “Dr. Seuss!” lol Set 2 starts off with a Golgi opener. Trey gets a little loose in the composed section. Coils outro has what sounds like vague DEG teasing from Trey. Killer Trey solo in Brother. Trey introduces Brother and Sparkle afterwards and says they’ll be a quiz on the way out on what new songs they played tonight. lol It’s amazing how much Trey has dialed in his playing on Landlady even since summer tour! Destiny Unbound is a welcome treat after a summer hiatus. I was hoping Mike’s would feature a strong second jam after some of the nice versions over the summer, but alas they color within the lines on this one. Groove rages per usual. A straightforward but solid Chalk Dust closes out set 2. The band performs Memories without a microphone. Poor Heart would’ve made for a nice way to end the evening but the band decides to treat the crowd to another a cappella without a microphone to wrap things up. Paul cues up “Unomathemba” by Ladysmith Black Mambazo as the walk out music.

So my intro to Phish was in early 2006. After avoiding them for years the buzz at that time of major archival shows being released (New Year's 1995 and Island Tour shows were put out around that time) was too loud to ignore, so I finally gave them a try. I dug in deep over the next year and was rewarded by a lot... I frequently checked the now defunct "Classic Shows" list on this site to get recommendations on what to listen to next. Overall though, the voices were loud about one thing; Fall '97 was "The Best Phish" and a large subset of those voices extended it out to include the Island Tour as well. It's certainly hard to argue that point; books have literally been written about these shows (or at least one book?) and each one has been lovingly described, assessed, and examined over and over again by members of the community. One thing always confused me though... every time I took a good recommendation to listen to a Summer '98 show I was always left satisfied. And so after a while I started to wonder... why was the cutoff Island Tour? Why not extend it out and say everything from Fall '97 to Summer '98 was "The Best Phish" too? That wouldn't feel wrong to me. To me it seemed there weren't any Summer '98 tours that were measurably worse than what was played during Fall '97 and the Island Tour; in fact in some cases (which I'm sure I'll get to) there are some performances that trump even what was played during those shows. The only thing that was holding me back was the fact that, unlike Summer '98, I had listened to every single note played between 11/13/97 and 4/5/98. So I figured it was finally time to dig in, put my money where my mouth was, and listen to every note Phish played from 6/30/98 to the conclusion of the Lemonwheel festival. And so we start with a quiet night in Denmark. The band is clearly trying to kick start themselves for a new tour after nearly 3 months off. After very tame versions of Limb by Limb and Ghost (two songs they were regularly elevating in Fall '97) the band opens up to the crowd about their on stage banter in a fun moment. The crowd seems to happily eat up the open notes of the new Water in the Sky arrangement, but the band still isn't ready to launch quite yet. Bouncing and an incredibly tame Tube follow and I was left wondering if my theory was going to go bust on the first show. At that point though the band finally takes off. This Stash is excellent, grooving in the same vibe as the previous legendary versions, coming apart brilliantly towards the end and then sneakily slipping into Cities with such smoothness that I didn't even know what it was until Trey uttered "Think of London," to kick it off. The rest of the set feels a bit more energized as a result. The band kicks off Set 2 with the first version of the Moma Dance and more on stage banter results as Trey attempts to explain just what happened to Black Eyed Katy. Not too long after they play another version of Wolfman's Brother that fits right in with the four versions of the song played in Fall '97, with another picture perfect segue into a mellow Frankie Says. The rest of the set from Antelope through Weekapaug is all fun energy, though not overly noteworthy. The encore is emblematic of the show; quiet and intimate. The crowd politely takes it in. The show feels like Phish being Phish; the banter talk is fun if you like the band for more than just their music and enjoy their innate quirkiness. The band may be rusty but they know their crowd, and this feels like a show put on in the comfort of a fairly small group of close friends. So for sure this does not feel as strong as a Fall '97 or an Island Tour show. But it definitely feels of a piece with them. For sure if you were looking for something with that Fall '97 feel but didn't want to pull out the same old jam you've listened to a hundred times before you could do a lot worse than to listen to this excellent Stash >> Cities instead. Same goes for fans of the Island Tour's Wolfman's >> Sneaking Sally; if you like that then you'll enjoy this Wolfman's >> Frankie Says. Why not try something a little bit different? For now I will continue on, a bit more doubtful but still undaunted.

Good audience recording for this show but for whatever reason Set 2 sounds tinny overall. There’s a noticeable correction before the encore starts, which is similar to the quality of the first set. The debut of Brother gets the tour underway. Really nice solos from Trey during the first four songs. Poor Heart was reworked a little bit. The debut of It’s Ice features some nice piano work from Page in the mid-section. The last portion of the song is structured different than the current version. Reba has two Simpsons teases to start the jam. Solid jam section. The first Eliza of ‘91 makes an appearance at the same theater it made it’s debut a year prior. Reworked to the version that appears on PON. Smokin’ Possum set closer with the very first Simpsons signal. The quality of the recording is a bit muddy to start set 2. It improves about a minute in. Rippin’ Stash. The debut of Sparkle follows. Carl Gerhard joins in for Cavern and Jesus Left. Trey is en Fuego for Jim. Tape flip after Jim. Start of YEM is cut. Killer little jam section. The Chalkdust closer was loaded with secret language throughout the jam. Before the encore Trey says they wrote a new song inspired by NPR’s All Things Considered. He says when they learn how to play it they’ll perform it on National Public Radio. BBFCFM pairs nicely with the debut of All Things Reconsidered.

For whatever reason, I was really into Runaway Jim leading up to attending this show. I've always gone through phases where I'm most enthusiastic about this Phish song or that Phish song, and in late 1999 it happened to be Jim. Being completely aware that Jim was an incredibly unlikely encore, I called it anyway after Set 2. Holy shit!!! Glad I got to experience that "success on impossible odds" moment once in my time as a fan. :) Beyond that, this was a memorable show for me because of sitting behind the stage for the first (and so far only) time and having a captivating view of the light rig. I went with my ex-girlfriend (who loved Phish) and my soon-to-be girlfriend (who knew nothing about Phish, but worked lights for theater and loved the rig) and I don't remember any awkwardness. Just a good show with some satisfyingly tight renditions (Divided Sky, Squirming Coil) and then that amazing called encore.

This was either my 28th show or my 23rd, depending on whether The Great Went, Lemonwheel, Coventry and Magnaball each count as one show or several. Magnaball in 2015 (especially Day 2) was my all-time favorite show musically. After that, my next three shows (over the next 4 years) were not the greatest – I inhaled so much fucking cigarette smoke from the crowd on 6/29/2019 that I couldn’t even make it to 6/30 – and then the pandemic hit. 12/28/2024 was my first Phish show in over 5 years, my longest gap since I started seeing them in 1994. A lot of things about this show struck me as very odd! I don’t know if that’s because a lot of things have changed since 2019, or if things haven’t changed and my memory just sucks. I’m pretty locked in on the performance at shows so I’m inclined to trust my memory, but I’m curious to hear takes from other fans who’ve been around for a while, to see if any of my thoughts seem off base. So here we go! My friend and I drove down from Ithaca, about five hours away, and got into Manhattan plenty early to stash his car in a parking garage near MSG. Once we got to the garage, we learned that our 5:00-12:00 reservation was [b]not[/b] actually good till 12, since the garage closed at 11:30. Immediately, we started hoping really, really hard that the band would start relatively on time. As it turned out, they came on nearly an hour late. We knew we were fucked. Unless the band played a weirdly short show, we were going to miss the encore at the very least. When they opened with Simple, I immediately got fully into it, happy to be back seeing Phish, hearing the sound, singing along, watching the lights do their thing, watching the crowd dance. Song selection didn’t really matter, I would have been happy with almost anything. As Simple launched into the jam portion, I suppose I must have been expecting something less ambitious, because I was pleasantly surprised by a 13-minute rager! This was the best show opener I’ve ever seen live. Just a fantastic version, intense and interesting but easy to follow and dance to. This was my second big rock show since ACL reconstruction, and the first one where I could really thrash like I used to before the injury. I even grew my hair out for the occasion. It was fucking great. I rocked out as hard as I possibly could in front of my seat (Section 107, Row 7) sandwiched between two other people, and when the song ended I told myself that that alone was worth it. (My ticket was $162. So much more than my last show! Fortunately I have way more money now than I did back when tickets were cheap.) Next up was Free. Not played particularly well, but good enough, and holy shit Kuroda did some absolutely amazing stuff with the lights! The lights were great during Simple too, in a very familiar Phish way. Free was different. A lot of red and some white shooting out of the darkness in rapidly changing patterns. It kind of felt like being under attack by aliens, in a very very cool way. This sort of vibe continued through the jam, and when the song ended I was very happy and excited to see what would come next. Yeah, it was a weak Free musically with a forgettable jam, but after that amazing Simple and thanks to the great lights, I was still completely immersed and having an awesome time. And then Farmhouse completely killed the momentum. It was weird. I like Farmhouse! I’ve seen some very soulful performances of Farmhouse. I’ve seen Farmhouse be a perfect part of an amazing set, many times. But this version was awkward as hell. First, the lights. The song started with a mix of pale purple, green, white and yellow lights on the band and the crowd… and just stayed there for the whole song. It was like Kuroda just left. I can’t remember whether that was for the full song or just most of it… but it happened again for Driver, and that was definitely for the full song. Hey, I understand if Chris needs a break at times, like after the virtuoso performance on Free, but can another lighting person fill in, to keep the dynamics going? I started wondering if there was an illness going around the group, since Trey’s vocals sounded very hoarse. Was Kuroda out puking somewhere? Regardless, it would have been nice to have an understudy. The second awkward thing about Farmhouse was that the crowd tried to sing along but Trey completely changed how the chorus vocals end, and the old and new versions did [b]not[/b] go well together, and the crowd didn’t catch on in time to join Trey in singing it a different way. It wasn’t until one of the last reps that it was clear to me that Trey was doing this deliberately rather than screwing up. I think the new vocal part might actually be quite nice, if he were singing it with a healthy voice and not fighting the crowd. But that’s not how it went down. Finally, Farmhouse had a longer than usual solo, but I found the jam to be mostly a tease. Each time I thought the intensity was starting to pick up, it just stayed where it was. I do not need every Phish jam to churn out a classic climax, but this one needed to go [b]somewhere[/b] and it really didn’t. After Farmhouse, whatever the band was going to do, they were going to have to start back up from scratch. Which I had full confidence that they could do, after that amazing Simple! But it did feel weird. Poor Heart was fine, a punchy tune as always, great soloing from Page, but still no contribution from Kuroda. Fortunately the lights came back to do their usual awesome thing with Tube, and the show was back on. Whew! A strong Tube, followed by Kill Devil Falls with a particularly strong jam for that tune. I got my thrash back on and all was well. Then they repeated the strange thing with Farmhouse again, where the lights didn’t move for the entirety of Driver, and the band played with little energy. I have always been opposed to some fans’ characterization of Phish’s short, quiet, or predictable songs as “bathroom break” songs, but this version of Driver really felt like being told “go pee.” (It’s always baffled me that Phish started dropping jazzy numbers like All Things Reconsidered back when they began playing arenas, claiming those songs didn’t work in that setting… but they’ll still play quiet tunes like Driver? Bring back ATR! And Magilla! And many more I could name! Nothing against Driver, but I prefer the jazzy stuff.) Their break over, the band played a perfectly solid Reba, and then launched into the first “new tune” (to me) of the show, Oblivion. I had just gotten my hands on Evolve (2024 album) a few weeks before so I could recognize the new tunes, and Oblivion was one of my favorites. This performance was a little muddy in places, but did cohere in a satisfying fashion, and launched a fantastic, rocking, short jam which led quickly into a balls-to-the-wall Antelope. Oblivion + Antelope was a truly excellent way to close the set. (I have enough experience with Antelope live at this point that I didn’t fall for any of the first 6 or 7 peaks Trey hit and exhaust my dancing batteries early. Nope! I stayed with the band all the way to the end – I didn’t go 100% and use up all my energy until they finally finished the jam. Good thing, because I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Phish sustain climax-style intensity without a lull for as long as they did here.) So that was Set 1. Plenty of great moments, and I totally got what I came for, but at the same time I felt almost insulted that the band and Kuroda didn’t appear to even really attempt to put together a full, beginning-to-end set of the kind I’m used to. And no, I’m not talking about pre-scripted sets from the early ‘90s with no pauses. That’s not my point of comparison. I’m just talking about a persistent flow to the energy, where the lulls or rests feel like part of the arc of the set rather than just awkward stops. I have many fewer thoughts on Set 2. I had a bit less energy, and without getting lost in moving my body to the music, I was a little more distracted by an idle thought here or an annoying fan there. The first four songs of the set were fine. I Always Wanted It This Way was neat and strange and tantalized me with being a potential lights-and-keyboards tour de force in the future. This was my first time hearing this song, and it reminded me of a Disco Biscuits jam, which is not a bad addition to Phish’s arsenal. Twist was solid, Mango Song was messy (did Mike forget how it goes?), and Blaze On was fantastic, with an energetic jam that climaxed in a yell-along conclusion. Then it was time to head back to that lying parking garage. If their website had told the truth about being open till midnight, I would have gotten to see Cavern, Bowie, and an encore starting with Mountains in the Mist, which was the perfect choice. On the drive from Ithaca, the white mist had been so striking that I had taken dozens of photos out the window, trying to capture it. I had even speculated that Phish should play Mist or Taste (with the Fog That Surrounds lyric). And they did! But alas, I wasn’t there for it. Overall a strange Phish experience for me. I got to enjoy the sorts of spectacular highlights that the band almost always delivers, but I also had some head-scratching lackluster moments. In the end, I think it will be the Simple, Blaze On, and Oblivion/Antelope combo that stick with me. I may want to update my expectations before my next show, though, depending on whether the weak spots were a one-time outlier or a new normal.

Sitting here on January 19th 2025 reflecting on the shows I caught last year and really appreciating this one. Been seeing Trey Band since 2001 personally this show featured 8 songs I personally had never seen Trey play before: 1) Shaking Someone’s Outstreached Hand 2) The Endless Dream 3) Mists of the Past 4) Hey Stranger 5) What’s Going Through Your Mind 6) Prince Caspian (first time seeing Trey Band play this) 7) Oblivion 8) Life Saving Gun I had seen “Outside the Lines” just once before but that was another highlight of songs I haven’t seen live much. Trey definitely brought out his pedal board and brought out the psychedelic robot funk on that one. Just really enjoyed this show looking back. “What’s Going Through Your Mind” instantly popped off in the room on this night. Was cool to see it here, then see Phish blow it up with a 20+ minute jam at Mondegreen, and then ultimately make it to New Year’s with EDM jam Phish remix gag. The Billy Strings Phish debut sharing verses with Trey was really cool too, as well as a couple 15 minute jams from this Spring Tour. I’m rambling, this show was fire from the get go. My overall experience was being blown away by how Dezron plays as a 4 piece with Trey, Ray, & Russ. Relentless groove. Was thinking at the show I’d catch this band any chance I can get and if this is going to be a side project for Trey for years as fans we are very lucky.

This is such an amazing venue, a theater I hadn't been to before, nor since and you'll soon find out why. Super intimate (1,500 people), super tough ticket and the only 2 night run of Fall Tour. 8 days earlier we were in Washington, it was a well earned respite. There was so much hype leading up to these shows because of all these factors. While the 1st night brought us the YEM from ALO, it's mostly overlooked compared to N2. I believe mostly because we had a sbd from N2. A taper plugged into Paul's board without permission. Even though there was a ground issue/hum, it was still a treat because we didn't get shit from this tour due to SBD lockdowns as they prepared for ALO. San Diego police suck. They were out in full force, handing out tickets to fans for jaywalking - in a city! Even lamer, it was an alley leading to a hotel, not even a busy intersection. So they hassled a couple on tour for this and wanted to search them. Total bullshit. The girl, who was pregnant, protested and they slammed her up against some newspaper racks. She has some acid on her. It wasn't good. We did what we could and gathered in solidarity and they treated this like a riot. Before you knew it there were dozens of squad cars and cops in riot gear, even a helicopter overhead. They made us go into the venue or leave. There wasn't a shakedown/vending scene, nitrous or anything, we were just chiling. I remember their road manager (don't think it was Langenstein) was in front of the theater, screaming at the cops in front of everyone, pointing his finger in the cops' face, absolutely livid about how they escalated the situation. We didn't do shit, the cops just knew they fucked up so they panicked. The vibe inside was intense. Trey comes out and opens with Makisupa, because policeman came to HIS house. He walked to the front of the stage past his wedges and did a Marley-esque dance, a defiant kind of thing. I believe this was the 1st "woke up, 4:20 dank" twist on the lyrics which since has been part of the song. Most of the 1st set seem to be in protest. Maze has police sirens from Trey. He had our back. It was a unifying moment. My first Bag, about a henchman. Mule is a song of choosing peace when faced with laser beams. Punch is a story of disobedience, nipple torture and a fight to escape your oppressors. The groove that Simple turns into towards the end was super unique for '94, and the way they carried it over into Catapult was also just fantastic.

SET 1: Gumbo: interesting and rare opening choice, not my ideal energy level for an opener in theory but their execution on this one is great. Check out Page during the funk breakdown - that clav is murderous. Risk paid off, I’d say. > Runaway Jim: this placement after Gumbo tells you right away that this isn’t gonna be your usual 2014 show. Standard. Tela: WOAH! This is a white whale right here, first time in 2014. Bet people were going crazy in the crowd for this - who doesn’t love a Tela? Doesn’t quite hold a candle to 1.0 versions but it’s played pretty well. The Line: they earned it but this would’ve been better later in the set. Fully maintain that this song wouldn’t be so hated without that awful falsetto vocal, because the solo section here and in other versions is quite pretty. Scent of a Mule: here we go! Picking the energy back up for sure! Jam section starts with aggressive Page klezmer-type soloing on the piano, then this one goes totally off the rails in the best possible way. A bizarre atonal ambient section starts up with Fish on marimba lumina just shredding everyone with THX synth sounds, really bizarre section that sounds straight out of a ‘94 Tweezer. There’s a short passage with Trey on drums that briefly turns into Bisco-like synth jamming, awesome stuff. Only then does this go into the klezmer section and the conclusion. Is there a better Mule in 3.0? If there is I certainly don’t know it. Big big highlight and would recommend for those who like this song (I know it can be divisive.) Immediately goes into > Bathtub Gin: some Mule teases at the start of the jam. Nice lick at 7:30, otherwise standard Gin bliss jamming. Really surprising transition into > Silent in the Morning: damn! How many Horse-less SITMs have there been? Not many I imagine. Interesting that this doesn’t really feel like a cooldown tune when not attached to The Horse. > Maze: very old-school so far outside of The Line. Trey forgets some lyrics in the early going. Longer-than-average Page solo and shorter-than-average Trey solo here, pretty whatever version. > Ocelot: like this placement and pretty well played. > Walls of the Cave: not bad at all to end a solid set. — SET 2: Down With Disease: solid if predictable opener choice. Well played composed section, Trey’s voice sounds good. The early going of the jam is quite nice with some euphoric Trey-Page interplay. There’s a fair bit of treading water from that point onwards, especially from Trey who doesn’t take the reigns and leaves it mostly to Page (who to his credit holds his own). Around 8 minutes in they start some more jazzy play and Page switches to electric piano which culminates in a krautrock-ish section that constitutes the rest of the jam. It’s not to be though, Trey starts looking for an escape hatch around 13 minutes in and they transition out. Page does his absolute best on this short-ish version so if it’s worth a relisten it’s because of him, but Trey doesn’t offer much at all. > Winterqueen: honestly a really pleasant Trey solo comes out of this one with tasteful whale call. You’re not especially excited for this when it starts but quickly you forget all your preconceptions. Decent enough for sure. Theme From the Bottom: not especially what this set needed at this point. Standard, jam is about as short as it could be. > Mike’s Song: good reset! Fourth quarter has begun. Mike’s vocals sound off in the verses. Short fiery jam - are those Mission Impossible teases early on? VERY abrupt transition into > The Wedge: from the start you are thinking - hm, interesting spot for this. Composed section and type 1 solo is totally as normal. Then at 5:30 something is clearly awry - this is getting jammed, baby! The early jam is a VERY cool dark groove with tribal drumming, just top notch full band work. Gets kicked up a notch once Page goes to the clav and suddenly this is a dance party. SERIOUS psychedelic goodness at 9:00 and some of Page’s best funk work ever at 9:30, crowd is roaring in approval. Breaks back towards the light at 10:30 ish and Fish offers an out with the Wedge beat, but Page has other ideas and utterly destroys the audience’s auricles with clav soloing. Only then do they return to the Wedge beat and end the song traditionally. This is a seriously impressive jam for this point in 3.0, calling it one of the best of the era does not seem like an exaggeration. Undeniably the best Wedge if you mostly care about the jams and has a serious argument for being the best if you look at the song from any era - thanks Page! Band basks in the applause for a bit and then Trey, clearly feeling funky, starts up… Ghost: good stuff though honestly going into Weekapaug straight away might’ve been even better – on paper. Jam immediately goes into a really interesting four on the floor disco feel that almost sounds ripe for a transition into 2001. For the era Fish’s playing here is quite rare. Halfway through Trey fires out some interesting chordal licks that remind me of Keith Richards. Then Trey starts up his delay around 6 minutes in and an awesome spacey disco section starts up, seriously amazingly unique stuff. Listen to the band at 8:00 onwards – total four-headed beast, Mike riding out one note til the bitter end. Seagull effects at 10:30 – WOW! Fantastic jam, awesome Ghost, and unbelievable stuff coming out of The Wedge. One of the coolest versions of this song from any era I would say. Buttery smooth transition into -> Weekapaug Groove: that transition is pure old school genius, so good that I have to assume it was planned – Fish starts up the beat and the rest of the band immediately dissolves away. Just like Ghost this jam immediately gets interesting and unique, they really are on fire here. I like Weekapaugs type 1 and raging usually but this one explores some decent mellow space before turning up the heat a bit. VERY briefly goes back into a Ghost jam in a deft little manoeuvre, then Trey aborts mission and takes things back into a peak. We get a small Stash tease, then the refrain and out. Not a highlight but perfect for keeping the energy high. First Tube: One more surprise to end a set that just keeps turning the heat up and up and up. — ENCORE: Character Zero: standard victory lap. — Overall: believe the hype. This is pretty much a strong show front to back with only the start of Set 2 to speak of as a notable weakness. You’d rather a slow start into a blitzing finish rather than vice versa, and the band clearly understands that sentiment given this Set 2. The Wedge is obviously one of the most legendary 3.0 jams ever and for good reason, but that Ghost might be even better – in the pantheon of great Ghosts in any era and that’s one hell of a busy field. Scent of a Mule is quite the same, one of the absolute best versions of a song that was usually at its best in 1.0. Three all-time-quality jams – what more could you want? Giving this a 4.3, very very good show.

The source available on Relisten is a pretty weak SBD selection, there’s definitely much cleaner sources available for this show! The SBD source they have posted sounds like it was found in somebody’s attic. The videos on YouTube are must see material and they sound great taboot taboot! The show starts off with Fish humorously urging people to check out the 2020 Vision booth. Amy also joined the band to deliver an introduction and to warn against smoking atop the hay bails in front of the stage because “grass catches”! lol Wilson kicks off Phish’s unoPhishcial first fest. The opening features a single Wilson callout. Jim rips! Nice Sky. After the Golgi set closer Trey says “Go wild cause nobody’s gonna stop you here!” A nice Curtain/Reba pairing starts off set 2. Chalk Dust has a nice solo from Trey. Strong Tweezer. Trey drops the ball in the opening section of YEM but definitely makes up for it in the jam section. It was fun to see Amy jumping with Trey and Mike during the tramp section. Really nice B&D section and a hilarious VJ “don’t put no gerbils in your bottom” lol This third set was among my first 10 tapes in my collection. It’s been a bit since I last listened to this one, at least a couple decades. The first half of the set is well played but nothing out of the ordinary for this year. Things start to get interesting during Buried Alive when Jamie Janover adds his talents on didgeridoo. This segues into a solid Possum set closer. Before the encore Page wishes a happy birthday to Wendy Joe, Mike wishes a happy birthday to Bob (who could forget) and Fish wishes a happy birthday to Yolanda. Trey suggests for people to go check out Broken Men at a club nearby. A well played Magilla starts off the encore. The Dude of Life joins the band for another performance of Self and debut performances of Bitchin’ Again and Crimes of the Mind. A glorious Hood wraps up the show.

So NYE in MSG... This is what I have been looking forward to my entire conscious life, since I first became a Phish fan, and with the incredible 3 nights to start off the run... There were no words to express the excitement that I was feeling leading into 12/31. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I was going to enjoy it regardless of what they played. Pre-show my sister and I walked the High Line and checked out the Vessel, the Grimace Train, and the Hilton where Luigi murked that CEO. Iconic king, there was someone on the floor N1 in a Luigi hat which was a clear tribute and there was a sticker making the rounds with a Luigi photo and the text "Life Saving Gun"... which had conspicuously not been played this run so far. I also made it to Washington Square Park and was glad to lose $10 in a game to a local chess hustler. Made my way to MSG at opening time after crushing some cheap beer prior to entry. Soaked things in and dropped my beans - I also saved up my molly stash for this evening on purpose and it definitely was the right strategy. Prior to the show I was talking with some Phishcord members and I mentioned that since I was lucky enough to get a Harpua at Dicks in 2015, the most iconic "rare" song that I haven't seen would be Icculus. Since the still-alive Dolan was taking all of my facial info, digital traces, dancing patterns, and genitalia scans upon entry to MSG, the least I could get is an Icculus for my troubles. The sentiment expressed was basically this: "Real fucking Phish. NYE in the Garden. Beers taken all sorts of ways. People singing Silent Night in the parking lot. Getting a pre-show handy. Too bad the band hasn't been good since 1993. Looking for an extra for the wife's new companion." It is wild that the Clones gag was five years ago at this point, with Trey getting stuck up on the ledge there all by himself. Truly feels like another era. There was a "face" in the rafters for the first 3 evenings of the run, and NYE included. You could see it slightly but it wasn't moving and it wasn't referenced. I assumed it would be a part of the gag. There were little white curly paper spinnerets hanging down from the rafters under the stage, and there were white sheets covering large LCD monitors. All of these figured to come into play later. Set 1 was a Greatest Hits for Me. It began with my first ever Mike's Groove. Was hoping for this prior to the run and it was a hot start to NYE. Continued the trend of recognizable openers and this one got the crowd into it early. Bouncing Around the Room was literally the first ever Phish song I heard - way back in 2013 on Pandora Grateful Dead Radio, and it instantly captured me. BATR and Weekapaug Groove were both formative in my Phish introduction, and Weekapaug Groove is possibly my favorite Phish song. Was having such a good time at this point in the show already. Stash came next and it was nice to see them get out there pretty early on in the show, and in a way this sort of confirmed that there would be exploration in both sets prior to the third. A solid version, nothing next-level but very good quality. Evolve was next and this one really got me bouncing around the room - it's one of the best 4.0 tunes and my favorite from Trey's solo pandemic work. Had gotten one at Dicks N2 but the bliss was just as good if not better. Llama came next and this is always welcome - just pure heat. Split Open and Melt was an inspired choice for the next song and this was a fantastic rendition. I'd take Melt at every show I go to, I love the style of jamming and how good they've been playing it lately. They had a great un-syncopated burst of energy towards the end that I really enjoyed. While not as strong as some of the previous recent Melts, it did the job. The set could have ended there and I would have been happy, but then Backwards Down the Number Line arrived and I was really happy about that. I was belting out the lyrics and sharing in the groove for the duration of the jam, it was incredible. Just great vibes around my seating area as well. Carini drop was perfect to continue the dance party, and although it wasn't really taken for a walk it is always nice to get one of those. Squirming Coil was a perfect choice for the set closer. I got one at my first show to end the first set as well (10/17/2014 Eugene) so that was a full-circle moment for me. A potential reference to the spinny devices that were hanging from the rafters, they nailed the composed section and Page brought it all home at the end. The ovation was thunderous and I swore I could feel things shake just a little. This was a really good first set, especially for an NYE show, with basically every song something that I was happy to hear. Anticipation was through the roof as there was a non-zero possibility the gag could come early for Set 2 as in last year, but I didn't necessarily expect it. I just wanted a set of killer music, and that was what we were confirmed to get with the Sigma opener. Love that tune. It also continued the trend of the run where songs were not getting supercharged right out the gate, but instead it would be the second song of the set where the true exploration would begin. This was solidified with My Friend, My Friend. They had to play this song as it was the song of the year, with killer versions at the Sphere, Alpine, Bethel, and more recently Dicks N4, where I was lucky enough to catch an 18-minute *first set* version. The MFMF here at the Garden was similarly unbelievable - it was dark, it was clean, and it was pure serotonin. Teases abound and there were several distinct rhythmic movements. It sounded like towards the end Trey was leading a vocal refrain, perhaps "he's got a knife" or something was being sung to close it. After the drill, a clean break into Sand was a perfect choice. Both Sand and Golden Age have a pretty good amount of jamming in their relatively shorter timestamps, but they do work. And Golden Age is always a song I'm interested in hearing. After the Golden Age came to a close, WTU was another perfect setlist choice and it was such a cool moment. MFMF through WTU is 50+ minutes of true Phish magic. Taste was a bit of a surprise to me and it doesn't really go anywhere, but they bring the set to a close (or so I thought) with a powerful Golgi - always welcome to me, I love Golgi. I was again surprised to see First Tube - now this one was absolutely magical. I was lucky enough to be at the supercharged "First Tube is My Lube" version from Dicks, but this one was perhaps even more memorable. Trey engaged all sides of the crowd, first the left, then the right, then behind him.. This is a must-hear version. There are like 4 or 5 separate crowd "pops" that really brought out the rock star mode in everyone to close. Incredible moment to cap off an incredible set. Two blowouts and the gag was even yet to begin! I was almost beside myself with anxious energy about what was about to happen. I had a sneaking suspicion that What's Going Through Your Mind, the other Song Of The Summer, would get some sort of rotation in the next set as it hadn't been played the whole run. When the lights went down for S3, there was just this incredible feeling. They had put down stage stands behind/next to the stage between S2 and S3 so everyone knew there was something dramatic planned. It was thus interesting that Character Zero opened the set - again, a recognizable opener, perhaps so the gag wouldn't be on the YouTube opener or something, but not one that figured in the gag itself. It was very good and got everyone going. PILLOW JETS came next and this was special. One of my favorite recent tunes, caught one at Dicks that was maybe the centerpiece of that show, so glad that it was getting center stage for NYE. I wasn't sure what was going on until after the main chorus, as the fun officially began. The spinnerets came down from the rafters, the LCD screens began showing light formations, and down came the giant face from earlier, in parts and then fitting itself together. The gorgeous yellow flowed down from the face and design and the yellow-robed chorus began to add to the song - just a powerful, powerful display. I couldn't believe what was happening! It went until NYE officially began, after which the crowd went wild and Auld Lang Syne began. Soon after, WHAT'S GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND opened. I fucking LOVE this song and was so glad that it was getting played here! It was literally the only song I was hoping to hear at Dicks and it was played and jammed there.. so this was going to be good regardless. The lyrics are great and I loved the additions from the choir. Almost as soon as it felt like it began, out came the added beats. I was just standing in awe at what they were coming up with when it dawned on me that they were remixing their OWN songs! The lines that they were coming up with - the Blaze On line, BATR, Wolfman's, Lizards, Comet, and Martian Monster lines.. all fucking incredible. When I realized what they were doing it was pure bliss. It must have been so much fun for Trey and the band to come up with these. This was otherworldly - I have no idea how they managed to pull it off, but immediately I was enthralled. And dancing my ass off - maybe the most fun 15 minutes of the year for me. It felt very cathartic after everything - the trauma of the year, the 8 sets leading up to this, and the weight released from everyone's shoulders. After the dance party finally came to a close, there is an all-timer segue into Chalk Dust Torture - a must hear as well. The crowd was on top with the lyrics, as it continued the celebratory affair. ST3L was a bit of a surprise choice for next, having definitely room in the set remaining, and it's a solid version, nothing special, but nice. Life Saving Gun is a very good version next - again, it's not the longest, but there's a lot in there, and it really shows the band just saying "fuck it lets jam some more" and they put so much into the LSG. The notes say Mike was on a mini-keyboard - I didn't catch that live from my vantage point but it's cool that he is doing that - I don't remember this from previous shows. LSG hits a nice peak and then Santos to close - this is an above average version of Santos with the crew just rocking out as hard as possible - everything after WGTYM is just pure catharsis. I didn't know how to even process that, I didn't even sit down afterward. I was in a daze of some sort lol. They came out for Grind and I loved to see that, it just shows their sense of humor is always shining through. This was very evident in the next song, Icculus! I was so hyped for this, I could barely sit still. This was not only called by me but I was just overjoyed that I would be getting one - I have now seen basically all of the main chase rare hits and it was a dream come true, literally. I remember how it wasn't in NYE last year, so it made sense that it would be a callback to last year. I felt like it was funny that Trey was basically acting like he was mechanically forced to play it and he was just getting it out of the way for fan service. Very amusing and it was a satisfying peak. Tweezer Reprise of course was always going to close and that was the perfect cap to the evening, everyone getting down one last time. Unbelievable show. I stumbled out into the evening and there was just such a celebratory mood - high fives all around. I met up with some friends and we were walking the streets around MSG, unable to comprehend what we just saw. I didn't get back to my sleeping place until about 5:00am - it was just such a wonderful evening. My attempt at a more detailed read of this gag goes back to NYE 2023-24 with Gamehendge - that was such a great show, the ultimate fan service, and a look back at a project from the Early Days of Phish. That was a look into Phish's past - this was a look into Phish's future, deliberately done so. I feel like this was a conscious choice after last NYE (and the idea of how to top it, if at all?) - obviously, it could not be topped in a nostalgia sense, so the idea was to approach things differently and look into Phish in the future rather than back. This resulted in a completely new ballgame. It was a cute way to get meta with themselves, I haven't seen much commentary on that but it was a cheeky way to give their own stuff a second whirl.. since they don't often do that in such black and white ways. The idea of remixing their old songs into the EDM mix was a genius maneuver - it allows the artists to repackage aspects of their old art into a new, modern approach, and to have a sense of familiarity in the new genre. Speaking of the genre - it's like the relationship of Mount Fuji to Japanese and Tokyo art specifically - all art includes the mountain, and if it doesn't, the absence of it is a conscious choice. This is similar to the recent resurgence of the Disco Biscuits playing well again and other jam bands adopting EDM flair into their music. It's hard to imagine this happening without the musical path being paved prior, even if obviously it's not referencing anything specific. It was also hard to ignore the success of Charli XCX's album Brat this year, something that Trey would be intimately familiar with living in NYC and likely through his children and just having an ear to the ground in the current music scene. I feel like that is a clear influence here, especially in terms of Brat and Charli's remix album being such a big hit this summer. While neither of these connect explicitly to the EDM Gag, they are important when putting the context of the gag in with the influence of other modern day artists, both popular and in the jam scene. I also wonder when the decision was made to include Pillow Jets and What's Going Through Your Mind in the gag. Was it before or after they debuted it with Billy and had him sing it? Was it before Pillow Jets had 3 stellar versions this summer? Very interesting to think about. As far as the power of this show - I think that this show was headed towards being a top tier NYE show even before the 3rd set even started. The first set is immaculate and the second set is some of the best non-gag NYE stuff in some time, especially the MFMF through WTU stretch, plus the barn burning First Tube. After the show I took it easy on New Year's Day and then flew back on January 2nd. The only negative was that I definitely caught the wook flu but I'd catch that for the rest of the year if it meant I could get a show like this one on 12/31. This was one of the best experiences of my life, the whole week in NYC.. the friends, the family, the food, the shows, the community. As good as it gets. This was everything I wanted and more - thank you Phish for making it possible. My closing take is that I absolutely loved Phish EDM and I hope to see it more in upcoming shows. Give us Bass Drop Phish. Give us Remixed Own Songs Phish. I love it. I love when Phish does new things and continues to grow in new ways. Give me anything and everything! Hope to see you all in the Pacific Northwest sometime soon!

It's so crazy to think this is the 3rd best show of the run. This was such an epic 12/30' show that had to follow an ALL-TIME 12/29 show. There was something for everyone in this show and it flowed with intention. Phish threw a complete game shutout the night after throwing a no hitter....... We are pretty damn lucky!!

What could you even do the next day after that incredible display on 12/29? Well, me and my sister checked out the Guggenheim and Chinatown, and finally ran to some vegan hot pot that was absolutely delicious (Bodhi on Mulberry). Chilled in some local parks, enjoyed the vibes, and then linked up with the Phishcord crew about 2 hours prior to showtime. It really is special to have a crew that you can hop to preshow and postshow, it makes things so much better! Again settled into MSG and soaked up all the different levels of the venue prior to the showtime. I love arenas and stadiums with character and this really enhanced the experience for me. I was struck thinking about all the long-standing frustrations at the success (or lack of it) from NY sports teams that play there, and how it is kind of a cosmic coincidence that now Phish attempts to redeem things at the end of every year for them. 12/30 began with Possum. A great selection for opener, continuing the stretch of very recognizable 1.0 opener tunes. Wolfman's is always welcome for me - I'd take one every first set of every show I attend. This one gets out a fair amount and has a nice close. I actually called Lengthwise to someone online as a joke prior to this show and so it was absolutely nutty to see this - the first time I've gotten one of course and the first in 4.0. Prior to it, there was some discussion with Trey and Fish and I think it was a gametime decision to spice things up like that. Maze was solid as usual, and then Theme from the Bottom came. I was definitely expecting one of these this run, as they have been playing it a lot lately. Solid renditions and then More was a surprise hit - I was super hyped about this as I love More. I really loved being able to sing along to the newer tunes that they dropped this run and really shine out a lot of positive energy on these - it actually seemed to help those who were sitting around me become more interested in them as well. Interesting timing for that, and I figured a big one had to come next, so I was not shocked to see Divided Sky. This was electric - I felt the Garden shake during the cheers for the pause.. it was as good as it gets.. Simply a magical moment in time. I recalled the very loud Divided cheers from 10/19/2021 Eugene and it was very similar in my mind, although this was awesome because the ground was vibrating. It was so lovely. And so many glowsticks and balloons! No Man's was next and it was a nice return to the dance. The jam didn't really take off but it did seem like there was more to come in this set. Most Events was next and I really do enjoy that song. Was getting down to the dance for sure and I definitely did expect it to end the set as it has done recently... but of course, Trey had better ideas, faking us all out for the FLUFFHEAD. Absolutely brilliant. The crowd was so fucking loud once everyone realized what was happening. They really went hard on the Fluff Went To New York merch this run so it was a given that it would be played; this was as good of a spot as it gets for it. They played it really well and when it finally got to the FLUFFHEAD peak.. I could feel the Garden shake yet again. Just another magical moment in a run full of them. So cathartic. I was just again on cloud nine as they went into setbreak - every show so far, they have completely nailed the end to Set 1, and made the anticipation build for Set 2. Setbreak music was 24 Hours In A Disco 1978?-?82 by Kiki Gyan, they've been dropping that one a lot lately as it's so good. Hey Stranger started the second set, a bit of a surprise choice for me but hey, you gotta love a new song that extolls the beauty of collectivism and how it's always better to get to know someone than to live a shut-in life. Vital insights in the current days where they want you to be individualized. Down with Disease was fantastic. This has a lot of nice exploration and they take their time to get some themes developed. Winterqueen is an absolutely amazing song. The lighting that CK5 did on this needs to be studied. It felt like a stage presentation. I love this song so much and it was a complete pleasure to hear - there was a great solo and I was completely enthralled and engaged. Tweezer hit next and I was just having a blast. Everyone was dancing, so many glowsticks and lights. It was another phantasmal journey that just made me so happy to see - it was a great feeling that overtook me that there was no other place in the world that I would rather be than here at this moment. Seven Below was a surprise - it's been a bit of a rarity lately and I was going wild - but would you believe that no one in my row recognized this song? I was so happy to catch one but I feel like it's a very recognizable hook. This sort of led me to think there was a "cold" theme during this evening - and it definitely seemed that way with the green, purple, and blue-heavy lighting. Piper is always great and this was no exception, and then motherfucking Dance Party time with 2001.. so much fun and this was such an incredible set. Everything's Right is an incredible song and easily one of my favorites since it debuted, so this was a treat and it capped off a set - they didn't even need a closer, just raging to an end with Everything's Right. Lovely collection of a set, great flow, and it was just so pleasurable. A Life Beyond the Dream started the encore and honestly it was really sweet. Then came the Harry that I thought was coming N2, and this is an exceptionally strong Hood. I've heard quite a few lately and Trey really brings the juice specifically on this one - there's a repetitive riff towards the end that gets to the "next level" that not a ton of Hoods after 1.0 do. Must hear for sure. I didn't catch the Dreidel bit live but looking back at the video it's pretty funny. A fantastic close. This show will likely not get the same attention that 12/29 or 12/31 get, but it was extremely strong. Fluffhead bit to end the first set and honestly DWD through the end of the set is an hour and a half of pure solid stuff, and then the Hood.. absolutely 10/10 night for me this night. After the show and after taking in the cool night air, I stumbled a few blocks away to the Taco Bell Cantina, the Taco Bell that serves alcohol and has a special menu and all that jazz. It continued the incredible evening. Afterwards, I met up with the crew at a K-Pop themed bar (shoutout to my favorites Aespa and TWICE) and it was a funny scene as everyone was eating from that restaurant and I was eating the Taco Bell Cantina inside as if it was normal food. Everyone was in such a good mood and it was hard to believe that we had still one more evening of this... the big daddy.. 12/31.. Even if the NYC experience ended for me after this night it would have been more than enough emotional fulfillment. But there was still one more to go...

NYC is so incredible when the "big city" to you is Portland or Seattle. It feels like a different world or different country at times. The wealth of food, the ease of public transit, the sights.. It's wild. We spent a lot of 12/29 during the day at the Met, Central Park, and meeting up for the show with the Phishcord crew at a nice sake/ramen bar near MSG. I totally now get the charm and the draw of meeting up with the same crew members again and again at different shows. We ended up Taking the "A" Train into the venue. Anyways, this is a top-tier show among top-tier shows. Let's get into it... Sample was the opener. Great to get the crowd going early. This was also in the first set of my very first show, 10/17/2014 Eugene. I was selfishly hoping that there would be some sort of a Sample jam, such as the vaunted opener of Jam Night here at this very building in 2017, with *that moment* once we realized what we were in for. Not to be, but then another great opener next, and a great placement for AC/DC Bag. This actually gets out for a nice little stroll, it's 9 minutes rather than 6 minutes. Crowd very engaged at this moment and I think Trey picked up on it as they really really really extended the opening for Moma Dance (which was clearly a tip of the cap to the MOMA in NYC /s). This is worth a listen as it's special. I remember seeing Trey looking towards Mike and they were playing off of each other. I know they have been playing around with the opening a bit lately, sometimes extending it, but this one had me more convinced than any other in recent memory that they might omit the lyrics and just do BEK instead. I know I wasn't the only one to think that either. I wouldn't be surprised if this happens sometime in the next couple years. Either way, they did eventually get to the lyrics, and this is a really good Moma Dance. I knew at this moment it would be a special show. Rift is always cute, and Prince Caspian is the first big surprise of the run. This goes out for quite the walk and there is a very nice jam attached to it, and a very fine return to the song proper. Monsters is such an absolutely amazing song. It goes along with Mercy and Lonely Trip as some of the most genuine songwriting Trey has done in a while, and he really has reached a new plateau in that realm ever since Ghosts of the Forest and the pandemic really opened up his and a lot of our eyes on mortality. Was very pleased to be able to sing along to Monsters and the crowd healthily rewarded Trey's efforts. The hits absolutely continue to bang with Runaway Jim. This jam is so wild. It immediately gets into this Plinko-esque realm with far more abstraction than usual - there's some Melt-type jamming and it really really gets out there for the amount of time it contains. A must-hear. I wonder now knowing the NYE gag if that had any influence on this jam. To continue this blowout set, they drop into YEM, which was such a treat. Not only was the crowd almost delirious at this point and time, but there is this fantastic rhythmic section prior to the B&D that Trey really excels at. He was very animated with his dancing as he was dropping the funk riffs. To throw a curveball, the vocal jam is trundicated, the band never leaves their instruments, and they sing a segue into Ghost. Super cool and there's a nice peak to end the set. This was an absolutely electric first set and everyone in the building knew it. So much excitement was in the air for Set 2. Bathtub Gin started Set 2 and I was immediately hyped - always a good sign when that gets the late treatment. It sort of had a moment of excitement before they brought out Ruby Waves. I think at least for this run they started all sets with a short tune, perhaps for the YouTube crowd or something. The drop into Ruby was hype - it's been such a good jam vehicle lately! It also reminded me of Alpine N3 where they tried out Mercury before going deep with Ruby. And holy shit, did they go deep with this Ruby Waves. I would have to listen again for a full review, and I will leave the details to someone else, but that was where I elevated to a new level with this run. It felt like they were just doing incredible movement after movement. And I was so hyped, cheering them on. It was mind-blowing. They would discover a groove. Then Trey would dive a little deeper. And then another groove. And repeat a dozen times. It definitely held up on my first re-listen last week. After it (finally) came to a close, the band paused for a moment to let the crowd pop, and it was absolutely ELECTRIC. Once it finished, I was screaming my head off completely. And then Waste was the *perfect* choice for a slowdown. People were literally hugging each other around me. The backdrop was that to my left, there were a few of the more "jaded" old heads who didn't quite appreciate anything new. Hate that attitude, but they were there near me. And after that Ruby > Waste combo.. I mean people didn't know what to do. Hugs, fist bumps, wouldn't be surprised if the emotions just swelled for everyone. That pairing dissolved everyone's biases and just was an electric moment of crowd communion. Waste everyone sang along to and I was expecting maybe something again on the slower side... Fuego! Boom! A great idea, a thunderous jam that *everyone* in MSG sung along to - that song has POWER... A nice jam to boot and then I was maybe expecting Hood or something... God damn the opening notes to Crosseyed came. One of my favorite ever Phish covers. An absolutely inspired choice to play that at that time. I was jumping up and down by this point, on Cloud Nine. A ferocious finish and the ovation was thunderous when they dropped the closing chords. I did not know what was going on, it was so wild. Everyone knew immediately that this was a legendary show. Bold as Love was an awesome encore choice - that was the first time I've gotten that one live. It almost felt like a bit of blue balls that they were just ending the show there, but they knew what they were doing. Leaving everyone else hooked for the next two nights. Simply amazing to see this band at this level - if the first amazing night wasn't enough, this night confirmed that I made the right choice to fly out to NYC from Portland. It's shows like these that show everyone what they are capable of - just performing at such a high level. I would not be exaggerating to say that this band is easily the most rewarding interest or passion I've ever had. We are lucky to have them doing so well lately. Did the Gamehendge AC/DC Bag flip a switch in their brains and push them to even higher heights? Afterward I hung out at a bar with a guy who runs the King Gizzard equivalent of Phish.net and there were some great stories exchanged. That guy was only coming down for one show, and obviously his gamble paid off as maybe he saw the best show of the year. Another fellow we met in the bar claimed that Mike Gordon smoked a bong with him in his garage in Lawrence, Kansas, when Mike went there for a solo show. It sounded somewhat unbelievable since the guy was pretty wasted but it does appear that Mike has played Lawrence, Kansas at least twice, 3/15/2011 and 3/12/2014, so maybe it really did happen.

Show of the year. All the creativity you want from type two jamming, all the pop you want from type one. Post VJ jam in YEM to close the night. Guelah always a delight. Demonic Antelope peak. Immense distance covered in the CDT, Sand, RW section. Evil overtones throughout. This is why I Phish.

I grew up and still live in the Pacific Northwest. My first Phish show was 10/17/2014 Eugene. Basically my entire conscious life, I've been intrigued by the idea of going to see Phish at the Garden for a New Year's Run. But it has always seemed so far away, both in regards to distance and practicality. The cost of finding hotels, transportation, flights, and tickets on the post-market made it seem far out of reach. But that all changed once my twin sister began living in Brooklyn - I could save lots of money for the lodging and would be able to commute easily in for the shows. After flying solo to Dicks and meeting up with friends and Phishcord users there, it made me think that I could start to pull off an MSG trip if I could get it done for relatively cheap. A friend at Dicks suggested, why not put in for the lottery and see what happens - you could always sell if it didn't work out. Somehow, I got a 4-day pass in the lottery. The "holy shit" moment begun. Soon, I was able to weave together travel plans, flights, and it was a go! I was sitting on MSG NYE Phish tickets! So I flew out from PDX to JFK early in the morning of 12/28, just full of anticipation. Part of the reason why I was so willing to get this done and do it *now* is because Phish is playing so well lately - Mexico, Summer Tour, the Dicks run being easily the best shows I've seen (and one of the best weekends of my life), with N2 in particular my best of around 15 shows. So while I tempered my expectations, I knew the potential was there for a killer run. And boy, did they deliver. I was able to meet up with my sister, drop my bags, and soon headed into the city for the shows. I was so pumped! Stopped at a liquor store and was taking swigs on the subway. Just getting into the Garden was magical - the weather was cool, crisp, but most importantly clear - it was honestly warmer than expected for the entire week in NYC. Stepping into the Garden was an ethereal experience. I've heard so much, I've read so much, and it was just otherworldly. I really leaned into the history of it all, soaked in all the vibes, and had some pre-show meetups with Phishcord and Phish.net users prior to things really getting good. Made friends with my rowmates in Section 211 and had great seats given the situation - they felt like right on top of the action, it wasn't obstructed, and the vibes were immaculate. The lights went down and I was beside myself. I knew it was going to be a good run after the crowd erupted during the "We've got skyscrapers" line in Simple.. great opening jam and you could tell Trey was rearing with energy. Trey was very animated all throughout this evening, moreso than the next two nights. He was ready to rock this place down. While I don't know enough about crowds to speak on different noise/energy levels of different arenas, I could tell that the MSG crowd throughout this run was very plugged in and "on top" of the action.. we were all ready to express our joy in any way possible. I love getting Free in the first set of a show (or at any point in the show, honestly) and the Simple > Free was a great way to start off the entire run. Farmhouse next, actually a pretty good placement for it - that's another thing that Trey and the band have been really good at lately is song placement - compare to early 3.0 or really even late 1.0/2.0. Poor Heart was a nice treat - I will always take Phishgrass at a show and this is a song that needs to hit the rotation for it. Perfect spot for the energy it brings, and same with Tube. The KDF got out a bit and I recall really enjoying it. Driver was an absolute treat - I absolutely fucking love this song and it was the first song of the run that I had not caught live before. Such a cute ballad. Reba was very welcome and was played well, the jam was vibrant and felt right. Oblivion next - the Evolve album is one of Phish's late-stage best and I was so happy this has turned into a jam vehicle - lucky enough to catch one at Dicks this year. While it didn't jam much this time, I got to loudly belt out the lyrics and spread the new-era Phish love to my surrounding row-folks. Antelope was a perfect choice to close and I feel like this was an above-average 4.0 version on relisten. Set 2 I was again, so excited for anything that was about to happen. MSG was just so magical I am starting to see why people buy bot accounts to vote down every show outside of its confines! This is a very good version of BOTT to start the second. It's worth a relisten and I enjoyed it very much. Axilla wasn't anything new for me, and neither was Wave of Hope, but I really enjoy Wave of Hope and it was nice to get. The jam was solid and then all of a sudden comes a familiar riff... My first thought was, is this a Mock Song? But then it sort of had the repeating circular sound and I immediately yelled out for Round Room! Wow, what a treat. I never expected to get a Driver but damn did I really never expect to get a Round Room.. They have played MSG so much and it's never come out so I just didn't even mentally have it on the radar. Not many people around me knew what it was which was surprising. Solid treat, and then they went into IAWITW.. which absolutely slaps. Had only gotten one of these prior, at the Gorge 2021. Looking back on the NYE gag, it is possible that this could have been an early indication, or a practice run for some of the more EDM-styled jams to come? We will never know. I think the IAWITW > Twist are the best musical pieces of the night - there was this moment in Twist where Trey was really animated, dancing, and just sitting on the groove. It was special. After the end of Twist, it sort of petered out, and then the opening notes to Mango Song dropped... One of the best crowd moments of the first show was when the realization for that hit. Always special to get one of those live, and then I thought Blaze On was pretty juicy. Cavern and Bowie were fairly standard but always nice. It was actually somehow my first David Bowie live, so that was nice. Loud ovation for the band after it closed. Was excited again for the encore. Mountains of the Mist is beautiful and I think Trey has sort of settled into a sometimes-pattern for encores, where the slower tune goes first, and then a rocker to close. Nothing new I suppose but this was a solid rendition. Fuck Your Face was out of left field. That was incredible.. I again also never thought I would get one of those live but it was perfect. Mike was fucking jacked for this song, he was hyped up (as much as he shows) and he was loud on the vocals. 46 Days in the show-closer spot was special. They were definitely trying out some new stuff there, and it's one of the best jams of the show. Tons of energy in the building. Also, it's somewhat unrelated but this was the first show in the second post-Trump era. For that reason, I wasn't surprised at the Mango Song being played. Also, earlier in the day, El*n Musk was on a coke rant on Twitter and one of his replies to someone even more racist than him was that they should "Go fuck yourself in your face".. this was making the rounds, I saw some Phish folks on Bluesky referencing it prior to the show, and for that reason I wasn't exactly surprised that it came. I think both of those songs were oblique references as Phish loves to do... For me, that was a special show. I was enthralled from the first note to the last. My first Garden show was so incredible. I would do anything to get back there.. Maybe it's not out of the cards to return. Musical highlights: Simple > Free, Antelope, BOTT, IAWITW > Twist, 46 Days. This left us absolutely wired for the next couple shows as they were almost guaranteed to bring the hype...

I don't generally write reviews on here---(...cuz what's one more opinion drifting around in the Phish-iverse...)---but this show felt special for various reasons: [b](1.)[/b] 'Twas my first MSG show; [b](2.)[/b] The band didn't nail every note, which (by many phans' standards apparently) makes it a "bad" show(?), whatever that means, but any lack of accuracy and speed was more than made up for with offerings of soul currency...(... so whatever hate you might wanna direct at "Twist" should humble itself by relistening to that jam in the middle...); [b](3.)[/b] The song selection was both bangin' and unexpected. I’ll wait while you look up previous showings of "Round Room"... and, how about that "I Always Wanted It This Way"!? It was exactly how I've always wanted to hear that song played live; [b](4.)[/b] This night felt representative of the modern Phishtory era – like a Classic TAB show featuring The Chairman of the Boards and lots of alternate takes on classic hits. (If you don't like this show, I feel like that's more of a "You" problem and less of a Phish problem.... 8^) [b](Summary.)[/b] I would gladly travel backward(s) in Timespace to revisit this evening of music...!

I've been revisiting shows I've attended. This was my second show. The first one was 08/06/21. Both extremely epic but for different reasons. This one of those shows where the setlist reads weird on paper but it's even weirder when you listen to it. My brain was not ready for the massage were about to give it and in hindsight, I am most grateful. 1st set is better than what I percieved on the lawn. I won't go through the play by play in the spirit of brevity but the Taste is pretty sick -and it quotes either Vultures or WTU- also I don't remember being it played at all. The Mike's is nice too. Set 2 opens with a Bathtub Gin and golly is it ever a good one. Pretty suscint representation of the dark, episodic style of jamming they'd pioneer in 4.0. Especially with Trey's new stompboxes and Page synthing his way through. Waves was a great option to continue the party. Nice and mellow. The evening was getting a bit chillier. Then Trey segues into Ghost, but it isn't really a Ghost proper, they're kinda playing it on top of Waves jam section chords. The delivery of the lyrics is completely off. Something was happening. Then came Sally, fairly complete if low key, casual version. My monkey brain did not put two and two together and understood what a treat that song was. I was still kinda mad about the Ghost. I was still too dumb to understand that it wasn't about me at all. It was for Chef Trey to decide what treat I should have. Surrender to the flow, indeed. Twenty Years Later was a total bummer lol. I now love the song but man, I wanted some jams. Today listening to the soundboard I heard Mike pretty obviously teasing Waste in 20YL, so no surprise we got it afterwards. I was thinking: "Two ballads? In a row?". Second show and I'm already a jaded vet. Twist came up next. Glowsticks are hitting my neck, seeing people woo in real life was surreal. And beforw Twist has any chance to develop any steam, Trey slides into Makisupa. Oh, it's gonna be one of those. I got the message then. A seguefest show does not come by all that often anymore, nevermind one with Makisupa. Looking back, how could I be so ungrateful? Trey was Master Oogway'ing his way through this show. What follows is some of the silliest Phish I've ever heard: Trey just starts naming all the songs they've played in this mongrel medley of sorts. On the lawn, I was pretty annoyed. I felt it was unearned/cheap. Listening back, still strikes me like that but I don't care. Perhaps the low point of the set but a glowstick needs to break before it glows. Page comes with a great idea. Cues up the Martian Monster soundbites, CK5 turns on the red lights and off we go. Most evens aren't planned is a nice treat and sums up the spirit of the show somewhat. The closing More-> Bathtub Gin is pure comedy. It was Bathtub Gin all along. It always was. Slave is the best version I've ever heard. Absolutely magical. All in all: a total ripper of a show. I just wasn't ready. Score is 10 million.

I listened to the official LivePhish “Hurricane Relief” archival release of this show last night, one of two shows which Phish released to help support recovery efforts for the areas of the southern and southeastern U.S. that were devastated by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton (two massive hurricanes, which made landfall back-to-back within a couple weeks of each other in late Sep./early Oct. of 2024, and which combined to cause over 280 combined deaths and at least $209 billion USD in damages.) As a rule, I am generally a fan of the archival releases that Phish puts out into the world - out of the depths of a catalogue as deep as theirs, anything from the vault they decide to publish in an official capacity years later is likely to be excellent - but especially when it’s in support of a great cause like this, I’m all in. That said, this show took a while to win me over on a musical level. I listened all the way through the show, and up until around midway through the second set, I was honestly still on the fence about it. As a rule, if I judge the show to be 4.5+ (or 9/10+), I round that up to 5. Many if not most archival releases will get there for me. But at the end of the first set, this show was probably a 4.1, maybe getting up to a 4.2. “Antelope” is always a fun time, the early, spooky-sounding “Guyute” was pretty cool, and SOAM had some great energy on the backside piano jam, but - certainly by 1994 standards - it was overall mid, imho. Granted, ‘94 Phish playing mid is still worth your time, money, and energy, but in comparison to some of the all-time shows that they put on around that same timeframe, it was nothing special. The fiery, über-energetic “Reba” (measuring even by the crazy-high standards they were setting for that particular number during this era), placed early in Set 2, did help push the show a bit closer to that tipping point of 4.5+ for me. But it wasn’t until they entered into what must be considered one of their all-time YEMs (complete with detours to helpfully explain the Vibration of Life to their audience and to Catapult them forward into a vocal jam conclusion that resolved in a delightfully deranged “Greenpeace Mike!” finale chant) that I felt I’d found the show’s heart (and the [i]raison d’être[/i] for the archival release of this show in particular). The vicious, up-tempo Bowie jam as set closer just affirmed that this was, in fact, a show fully worthy of its noble aims (and five-star rating), achieved with aplomb. But the moment that became what will be remembered as my favorite part of the show was yet to come. Emerging for the Encore, Trey told the crowd that he and the other band members had all enjoyed a lovely time during their first time (and, at time of writing, still their only) visiting the small college town (population, [i]c[/i]. the 1990 iteration of the U.S. census: 12,915) of Boone, NC, spread out across a patch of slopes and valleys within North Carolina’s stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountain range. Boone, NC has the highest elevation (3,333 feet, or 1,016 meters, above sea level) of any U.S. town located east of the Mississippi River, “which gives Boone a winter climate more similar to coastal southern New England rather than the Southeast,” per Wikipedia. It is perhaps, then, no surprise that the Phish from Vermont collectively perceived, in Boone, a familiar, homey kind of vibe. “I don’t know how many of you know this, but we all live in Vermont - that’s where we come from,” Trey says to the audience, before beginning the Encore. “It’s real similar… similar kind of feel, the mountains and everything, and, uh, it’s really nice to be here. Kinda feels like home. So, uh, we’re going to do our best here to play a little bit of mountain music, which originated right around here.” With that, they launch into an all-acoustic Encore set of “mountain music”, beginning with a hot and spicy “Nellie Kane” that was followed with what was ([i]and remains, as they’ve yet to revisit the number in the 30+ years since[/i]) just their fourth-ever run at the bluegrass standard “Beaumont Rag”, an instrumental ditty that has come to be heavily associated with the legendary guitar virtuoso Doc Watson, one of the greatest pickers of the last century (who hailed, as it happens, from the tiny unincorporated community of Deep Gap, NC, located in the same North Carolina county as Boone, “just down the road a stretch” as folks from that region might put it. Having apparently felt they’d paid sufficient homage to the traditional music of their hosts, the band then launched into a bluegrass (*[i]ahem[/i]* …an “[i]asphalt[/i]-grass”)-style arrangement of Boston’s technically demanding “Foreplay/Long Time”, for a showpiece which was positively captivating. They concluded the night with a traditional “mountain music” number of a different kind, performing an [i]a cappella[/i] rendition of “Amazing Grace” that was reminiscent of the vocal harmonies one might well have heard in the region two centuries back, emanating through the open windows of some tiny Church of Christ or Primitive Baptist congregation, the sacred melodies borne on mountain breezes alongside the incense of pine and juniper, carried down through the hollers and off into the thin mountain air - reminiscent of such things, even if Phish’s vocal arrangement of the hymn might feel more at home in a Whiffenpoofs recital than in the hardwood pews of an old country church. This particular rendition of “Amazing Grace” - unlike many such closers from this period in the band’s history - was actually mic’d, and can thus be clearly heard over the crowd noice on the soundboard recording. It takes its time to get there, but this show delivers the goods - it has the heat, the light, and the chance, unpredictable, almost ineffable [i]je ne sais quoi[/i] that makes a show really stick in one’s mind. As I said, if they’d just packed it in for the night after the “Bowie”, it would still have been a great show overall, with other highlights being “Antelope” “Reba”, and an all-timer of a YEM. But when, atop all of that, you add in the alchemical concoction of culture, mythos, music, and vibes that are made manifest in the show’s encore, it pushes the end result onto a higher plane, beyond being merely a great show ([i]ha![/i]) and into the realm of something that is even rarer and more special. Don’t miss this one.

I was an empliyee of SPAC st the time of this, my first show..i snuck innumerable phans in, i had no idead how true this was til l8er life, but i felt that this music and culture were a part of the lifeblood of the.ppl at this show..its what enticed mento read that phucking book..I saw both shows then.after 'checking' my last ticket, promptly took off my spac polo and.lanyard, turned them over to another gatestaff employee, said "i know this wont.make.sense.to any1, but i have to quit, i have stuff i need to do and see " and went into the venue.. the show was memorable to me as a first timer, not knowing the language of the band.and fans yet, not so much for the sets or songs, although they were wonderful amd astonishingly well composed and dynamic mot to mention wholly new.to me, but more so for the.crowd and the emergy.of familial goodwill and care that pervaded the atmosphere...

There are only 2 reviews of this show so far, so I thought I'd add one. I had an amazing seat in 102 for this show. I got to see the full effects of the light show. This is a rarity; I'm usually behind the stage or on the side of the stage at MSG. This Wolfman's is sneaky excellent. A really funky, churning jam. Quite fantastic for only an 11 minute version. Hearing this Wolfman's live gave me a nostalgic flashback to 12/28/16, my second show. I don't think I've ever seen Divided Sky and Fluffhead in the same set. Quite good versions of them both. The set seemingly was about to end after Most Events Aren't Planned, but Trey went into Fluffhead after thanking the crowd. This was a fantastic move, and it rounded out the set at 1 hour and 32 minutes! That's a long Phish set! Set II is terrific, even masterful. I caught the debut of Hey Stranger on 12/29/22 and hadn't seen it since. I loved the version off the studio album and had it on repeat during the late summer. So it was nice to hear it opening this set. DwD is the musical highlight for the show to me. A very deep jam emerges that made me feel like the Garden was a vast ocean. The oceanic themes of this jam reminded me of Drowned > ASIHTOS from 7/30/17 a bit. Winterqueen is a song I have been chasing. Just over a year ago, I was listening to the studio version of Winterqueen over and over again, hoping to hear it live one day. A year later, they delivered one for me. A perfect, slightly extended version. Tweezer has a very strong jam. Towards the beginning of the jam, after the Uncle Ebeneezer lyric, Trey is in rock star mode, but is also playing in a funky, almost minimalist way. Stupendous playing by Trey. Seven Below is another song that I had been craving to see live. The last time I saw Phish perform it was Mohegan Sun 2019! A phenomenal Hood to close out the encore! What a peak at the end! I love how this show contains a top notch second set plus Divided Sky, Fluffhead, and Harry Hood all in the same show! None of those three songs are even in the second set! This show has fantastic setlist decisions by Trey and great jamming. I would recommend listening to this show.

Yeah, Bathtub Gin was a bit of a mess - but boy oh boy did Phish bring the juice for this show! I was only able to do one show this run and I'm so glad to have caught this one. I'm really starting to become one of those "never miss a Sunday show" people. Thanks for making #175 such a special night, boys! The Monsters, epic Ruby Waves and YEM > Ghost were probably my highlights.

The guy who made the sports journalism comparison said it best. Read his review in full it’s all really well said. Just adding my two cents, I love that after 40 years this band is still stepping out of their comfort zone and taking risks. Last NYE, everyone predicted Gamehendge. Everyone got Gamehendge. Everyone fawned over Gamehendge. I love all those songs, but it felt so boring, like Phish was looking backwards and doing the nostalgia act thing that they usually swear against. I don’t think anyone had What’s Going Through Your Mind Jamtronica EDM gag on their prediction sheet, and to me that’s what I love about this band. They are so fucking good at doing what you least expect, and then having that thing surpass expectations. Bravo Phish. Well done. Aside from the Gag, the whole night was a really complete NYE show. Usually the actual NYE show is kind of weak, not tonight. Even if a song didn’t go over 10 minutes, they just had an extra edge to them tonight. Listen back to that SANTOS closer, it might be the best version of the song ever. 2024 is one of the most complete and consistent years of Phish I’ve listened to in a long time. Happy to have been on this journey with you folks.

First NYE show for me. Got miracled an early bday present from my older brother - the same person who introduced me to this enigma of a band. All I know, is that when they come, it'll be on pillow jets of motherfucking sound. I hear a lot of mixed opinions about this song and Evolve in general (I myself am a 3.0 follower). Sorry, but this is THE best, newest Evil Phish vehicle. This show solidified that. Nothing on Evolve gets as swampy as PJs. Remember to lace up your jam boots folks. This one got into some dirty Stanley Kubrick type shit. Like wearing a velvet tuxedo with Timbs. I feel like we were being told something important, but we are too dumb to realise what they were saying. Apart from that, the show was an absolute unit. A shithouse made of golden bricks. Sorry, I'm not too good at specifics and data and numbers and dates and comparisons and stuff. That stuff is cool, but it really doesn't matter all that much because we just witnessed this show. Remember, sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire. Evil Phish takes us into the darkness, so we can better see the light. Of [i]sound.[/i] OF FUCKING SOUND. ;)

Im sure we will all have a lot to say about this show. Its too long for me to go song by song so let me be brief. I will understand if you say you hated that gag. But I think we do need to remember what the word "gag" is. No - Phish will not be doing EDM mashups with drum loops forever. But it was dare I say fun - and different. I had no problems overall with it. If you try comparing that to Gamehendge though, of course you will be let down. Enough about that 20 mins of the show though - there was plenty of good music tonight. The entire 2nd set is worth a listen and that Sand was a nice homage to 12-31-99 ! 1st Set: B+ 2nd Set: A 3rd Set: B Score: 4.35

Tonight was a show that I’ll never forget. No matter how many shows you go to, they always find a way to blow your mind and destroy whatever expectations may have going into it. The jams throughout the night and nye gag were unreal. Thank you Phish for continuing to give your fans nights like this one. Hopefully we still have many more years to come!!!

Tonight was a show that I’ll never forget. No matter how many shows you go to, they always find a way to blow your mind and destroy whatever expectations may have going into it. The jams throughout the night and nye gag were unreal. Thank you Phish for continuing to give your fans nights like this one.