“Come waste your time with me,” they sang , hopefully tongue in cheek, because certainly no one left that show feeling like time was wasted tonight!

Prior to the show, our group talked about how traditionally the NYE show’s third set gag was always fun, but usually meant that a set was devoted to shorter and less jam-tastic improv, meaning that a NYE show was more likely to be made in sets 1-2. So of course Phish chooses to flip the script…

First set checked a lot of boxes on fun song choices, but light on the jams and improv. That being said, Myfe is fantastic and they remained on point for songs like Waste, Stash, and BOAF.

Towards the end of the first set, Trey says something to the effect of “we’re going to have a fun night, right?” - he repeated it, almost to reassure us that they know what is up and we wouldn’t have to worry about it.

And then sheer joy and chaos through my brain ensues in sets 2-3 courtesy of my GOAT band.

Set 2
- Sand & Fuego - excellent treatment and cover a lot of ground in the jams
- YEM - just when you think you got this song figured out, they drop a fricking 6th section to this song with a post-vocal jam jam (that’s not a misprint)! So cool, I think this is going to be a formula for future success.
- It’s Ice - Cream was a great ending, and of course the intrigue heightened while listening to C.R.E.A.M. and Ice, Ice, Baby, Peaches and Cream, etc. during set break. My clever wife posits that we will be getting free ice cream before the night is over, although we have no clue how that could be.

Set 3 was just freaking amazing, start to finish. The gag was so brilliantly executed by giving a nod to tradition and Phishtory while allowing for maximal musical experience. I think Harry Hood through Piper was an absolute 5-star jam experience, especially in addition to the wonderful semi-improvisation in sync with the dancers and visuals. The Sloth and the Meatstick dancers had me . And to use classics like Harry Hood & 2001 to bridge us into 2026 was amazing. Immediately starting the year with 50 mins of peak Tweezer and Piper was sublime. That was easily the best set of the run and likely one of my best experienced all-time, just wow.

What a great show and run, this band once again demonstrating the stamina and fortitude to leave us awestruck as they hit their golden age