this is a very interesting show. i feel that it pails in comparision to the two nights surrounding it, but that mostly shows the strength of those two shows. it is leaps and bounds better than the 94 msg show, phish's first romp in the garden. they seemed to be a wee bit nervous and apprensive in 94, but they took the stage at the garden in 95 with the upmost confidence.

prince caspian is one of my least favorite phish songs, but it kind of works here in the opening slot at the garden. also, it also serves as a good precursor to a 2nd song in the show 2001. this one is not as deep as some of the ones they would get into in 2 years, but for 95, this is a pretty damn good 2001. page gets in some nice dark funky licks while fishman and trey work the tension and release. suzy comes burning out of this 2001. page, once again, was really jamming on this one. a nice intricate midset bowie works well out after suzy, and this is where trey really starts to take off. this bowie is not the best in the world, but for this part of the show, it is well-paced with some decent exploration. did somebody say sky scrapers. a nice early version of simple shines after bowie. like 2001 earlier in the set, this one does not take off like it would in the next couple of years, but it certainly rocks and the shorter jam at the end gives one an idea of what might be to come out of this one in later years. it's ice comes out of the spacey ending of simple, and they delve deep in the middle section finding kung. trey must have listened to the louisville tapes from the fall and decided it was so sick they should do it again. they wrap up this super sharp ice and dive right into tmwsiy/aven/tmwsiy. this one is one of my favorites, and they tear it up hear, rocking the garden crowd. the divided sky soars, as trey really zips after the silent part. they take on a bonus sample for good measure.

so your at the garden. its cold as shit outside. hmmm... what to open the second set with. oh, summer time breezey yamar should work. this is a very fun yamar with some decent trey licks scattered throughout. then, they keep you guessing by springing a pretty rocking free. this jam really develops through '95, and they put out a really strong version of this song at the garden as the year comes to a close. they didn't know they could put a funkier jam on free, so they are really giving it a hard edge here. good stuff. keeping the crowd guessing, they throw out a monster harry hood. page and trey chase each other brilliantly through this one. hood was another song that was being played really well in 95, and this one might take the cake. fishman and gordon keep the tempo brilliantly and trey and page just dance. after making us feel good about hood, they slam right into a rowdy ac/dc bag. this one is not the jammer they would through out exactly 2 years later, but it is played very well, like most 95 versions of this tune. life boy provides a nice dark cool down before it is time to smell the mule. typical mule insanity then ensues. like the rest of this set, this one is hot. trey really nails the middle section. a nice rocking cavern appears to close down this set before they kick down a bonus antelope. trey really gives you a taste of what is to come the next night on this antelope. very hot trey licks. after debuting aditl over the summer, they spring on the msg crowd in the encore slot. it is well played and well received.

overall, this is an impressive show, even on the stout " 95 ny run" standard. while this show lacks really monster jams, with the exception of hood, it still works. the first set just had that excellent flow. it is like they never broke stride, and every song compliments the song before and after it. the next set was one to keep you guessing, from start to finish. they seemed to be really going for the juxtaposition thing in the second set. the run from yamar-free-hood really covers a lot of ground, and it fully display phish's many styles and talents. also, throughout this show, it seemed they played the songs that they had really been playing well all year. sure, some of them were kept in the stable until nye, mike's song, reba, maze, yem, etc., but they through some sure fire 95 winners out there, simple, ice, bowie, free, hood, bag, mule, antelope. good strong show. if you want to know what 95 is all about, at its best, check out this four night ny run, especially 12/29-31.

highlights:

set 1:

2001>suzy, bowie, ice/kung/ice, divided sky

set 2:

free, hood>bag, mule, antelope