Tonight was absolutely mind blowing. I’ve been to over 300 shows and was left totally speechless. Holy shit. Holy shit. It’s hard to even know what to say about that experience. I feel so lucky to have this band in my life. The garden was on fire tonight. Such an incredible night and one I’ll never forget. I fucking love you Phish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok. so i’m just across the street from
the spaceship that just landed. it’s warm, but nice. i don’t ever review shows. in fact, this may be my first. tonight may have been the best show since the 90s. an unreal event. the show. i’m not going to break down every individual song, or even each set. But by the time the second set ended, or what we thought it was, they started to enjoy myself. And I was like another hour and a half of music that was possibly the best psychedelic phish you could ever ask for. sorry. i will see myself out.

Simply marvelous Tuesday night at MSG!!

All of first set was otherworldly right out the gate. Ghost leads the charge! Ghost and Wolfmans anchor this set from start to finish and really double down on the funky good double stuf. Reba was purposefully and exceptionally played. Timber and Walrus had a chunky gas on their funky double stuf 2 !!

The second set was pure jam dance party. Only pause was Shade (still well played). Sally>Twist, YEM was so money you don’t even know it!

Encore was dripping with money and firepower!!! Wilson>Sanity>Bowie just a treat at the end of a similarly thunderous and determined show.

39th show. 39 years old. Dad died at 39. Im loving being alive and visited by the Ghost!!!

This my friends is a top to bottom 5 star barn burner. You could tell from the ghost and Reba that they were locked in and on a mission. Song selection was absolutely excellent, they were soaring into euphoric improvisation in a bunch of songs. This was no mid week slouch. For those of us somehow managing to pull off work and the run simultaneously, this had all the energy you needed and more to remind you why you come back again and again to see the best live band on earth. Thank you Phish, can’t wait to be back tonight to celebrate my birthday ????. Cup is already overflowing I don’t care what they play tonight but if somehow we get a good ole regular speed Brother this guy will be grinning!

Well, I guess between this and the Bakers Dozen Jam Night, you can now never miss a Tuesday night at the Garden.

This is the best show of the run so far, and contender for the show of the year. Simply outstanding top to bottom for almost three full hours. What else can you ask for?

Stand outs? Ghost. Funky Bitch. Timber. Wolfman. I Am the Walrus. Sample > KDF > Golden Age. YEM and the encore. I mean, the reality is it is all a stand out. Listen to it many times and enjoy.

It's 3 am after the show and I'm still just absolutely in awe of the sheer power of the show we witnessed tonight. A transcendental experience - the feeling I forgot.... I honestly didn't think it was possible to get to where I got tonight, mentally, spiritually... not in 3.0/4.0. Headiness and psychedelia on a "Phish Destroys America" level. In my opinion, worthy of an Archival Release. I've seen a couple 4.6 level shows and would rate this one right in there. A Top 50 show at least.

This show felt *special* out of the gates and that feeling never let up through the final notes. One of those special nights.
They brought us to the mountaintop, and to the deepest, darkest depths of the seas. One of the most powerful Phish experiences of my life. So blown away, so grateful!!

Some shows, you hear the opener and you know - sure as anything, you know it - that it's going to be a really special show. Tonight was that kind of night - kicked off by an S-tier "Ghost" that has no 4.0 rival, save perhaps the monster Halloween 2021 iteration - and followed by a "Reba" that, though perfunctory for most of the composed portions, featured a sick, psychedelic jam. If the "Ghost" didn't firmly convince you, the "Reba" jam sure did. I'm way too wiped out to go through and recount every song from here on in, save to say that you'd be hard-pressed to identify any significant misstep anywhere in the show. Long before they followed a mid-encore "Sanity" bustout with a friggin' "David Bowie", the night's legacy was cemented.

As a Midwestern Phan who hasn't had the chance to attend as many shows as I'd like, I'm relegated to couch tour for most of these shows. While that is a bummer in many respects, I do think it perhaps grants one a greater ability to hear the show, albeit at the cost of sensing and perceiving much of the live event's vibe. The vibe, alas, needs nary a second thought at an MSG show, so all that really remains up for speculation - the only material variable factor - is, "Will this be a good night, a great night, or one of those kind of nights?" Well, musically at least, this one - as adjudged from a decidedly tarped couch cushion - is my pick, effective immediately, for the best overall, start-to-finish show of the year to date, taking the torch from either that Hollywood Bowl show, or maybe one of their Alpharetta dates.

If you're scanning the comments to find gripes and complaints, I have nothing for you. But if you're reading this in order to suss out and identify the good stuff, congratulations - you found it.

There are really no words for a show like this one other than “you have to listen to it.”

The greatest band in the world in one of their favorite venues, completely relaxed and in the pocket, having the time of their lives while completely focused and engaged. It’s so cliche to say, but this was one of the greatest. The Sample Jam —> Kill Devil Falls was especially juicy. From the opening Ghost to the encore (3rd set???) It was all hose & no breaks

Also, this is Kuroda’s tour now. The band is really just providing music for his main event. We saw sings tonight straight out of a cyberpunk 2123 future.

5 stars. Would recommend

Spectacular show with lucky 7-song sets and a dime of an encore. Focused, comfortable playing all around with tons of great communication and democratic jamming. All of it is worth a relisten. YEM to end the 2nd set was such a treat (somehow my buddy and I never saw it coming), and the Sanity in the encore hit just right. There have been so many good shows recently, and this one ranks among the top. Grateful to have been there to witness it. Peace, all!

Sitting on a bench on the highline, drinking a beer, and decompressing from the show. Ghost/Reba was worth the price of admission alone! Wish they stayed underwater a bit longer on a few jams but Trey wanted to shred and I don't hate it. Went with a buddy that has been to a few shows but wanted the full experience that only MSG can provide, the band delivered and even gave us the YEM he was looking for. YEM vocal jam was especially compelling, light rig is insane. We were right behind Kuroda (and the camera guy unfortunately although kinda cool), felt like we were part of the action. What a wizard Ck5 is.

My favorite show with no 20 min jams (top 3 with Manchester 10 and Gorge 11 at least).

In Bowie it seemed like Trey peaked out the jam then forget what they were playing until Page brought it back... I may have misinterpreted that at the time but loved it.

Sanity! Holy shit. 0 final encore was a rager.

10 stars. Good luck to everyone going tonight, I am going to kick myself for not sticking around but default world awaits.

Where are we on Phish in 2023?

40 years has an extra weight to it. You know that part of “Will the next milestone happen?” Serious, yeah, but we’re making this count because we never know.

Because we never know.

The thing we love about Phish right now is their back. We really don’t know what’s happening from song to song.

Show opening potential jam of the year Ghost? Word. A Reba that was awesome with a nailed composed part? Yeah. Timber that got its jam? Ok is that what’s up? Wolfman’s jam gets its own jam? I Am The Walrus? Vince McMahon meme me please.

And that’s just the first set, similar to Sunday’s show (tho Sunday gets the clear first set nod), which has been the dominant set of these MSG shows aside from Saturday. For these shows, it’s almost like the preceding shows in the tour were a warmup, which… Huntsville N1, Alpharetta N2 and Star Lake N2 were a warmup?! But here we are in the venue the band plays its best at, and they’re delivering night in and out.

Set 2 gives us a good 3rd quarter with a Sample Jample, a good KDF (sure Syracuse whatever), Golden Age that stays in its structure for the most part but is wonderful. Oh, and the YEM vocal jam is good and the 4 song encore sends us home right.

These guys sound GOOD. Do what you need to and go see one or all of these last 3 shows. Sure you have an easy breezy fall tour and likely a new years run at YEMSG too, but man I’m having a lot of fun right now.

Well, I broke a cardinal sin, yet it seems to have paid off. I'll explain.

So far, I've only missed the Sunday show of this run, which goes against everything we think, feel and know. And yet! We love a midweek show. A gentleman wearing a shirt that read "NEVER MISS A TUESDAY SHOW" received a compliment from at least one person, before the show itself even started. And then, well, okay:

The Ghost right out of the gate set the tone. Tonight was going to be a night to dance on The One, to get re-acquainted with The Funk, which: yes, sure, every evening spent with Phish should be one for dancing, but it became apparent from the Ghost jam that we would be taking a rhythmic journey. Coming off of Sunday's controlled exploration, Fishman did a lot of heaving lifting to keep everything together when it seemed like we would spiral out of control. This is all before the Reba or Funky Bitch that followed, both of which were excellent.

While we're here: sitting behind the stage is its own fulfillment; having done this three out of the four times so far this run, you come to appreciate CK5's complete vision. He has the (albeit limited, though I suspect this will amp up soon) capability to incorporate the back-watchers now. He pays heed at about the same speed as Trey and co. do, occasionally shedding that light and facing us, but we all appreciated it all the same.

Anywhom'st, who doesn't love the band paying some heed to Jerry Garcia's birthday with a nice Timber (Jerry the Mule)? Exceptionally executed, the peaks and valleys seem to have satisfied the many Dead-clad friends looking to offer condolences. Sure enough, we were all broken into pieces, a song to solidify that, before a fantastic Wolfman's that somehow set the tone for a wild S1 closer that found us all looking at the walrus. They are the eggmen, for sure, because my brain was scrambled.

Sample to kick off S2 was sublime; hearing the chords drip off of Big Red's Doc was poetry, and it only got better (and substantially weirder) from there. Big peaks begat anticipation, specifically alluding to Golden Age, but we'll get to that; the song itself begat a KDF that satisfied a lot of urges and killed a lot of thoughts, until: yup, there it is, the Golden Age we were all thinking about roughly twenty minutes prior.

Shade gave us a necessary breather. The Sneakin>Twist was a ridiculous ride of blues-flavored funk that matched the feel - you see why and how they ride without setlists these days on nights like this - before, WOW, a YEM that smashed us over the head and made me totally jealous of the friend I'd brought who was seeing his phirst show. Consider that particular chase ended.

Not unlike many reading this, my heart fills when I hear the first two string strikes of Wilson - that one hits home. Trey gradually took it from a funk party to a hard rock party, but by the time we got to the encore, it was full force, two Tubescreamers blazing.

Sanity was placed perfectly, because: AH! Bowie. After the Bowie cover on Saturday, it was heavy talk that we'd get that then, but we got it here, and it went. What a jam, what a sequence of Kuroda. Even from behind the stage, it was a notably impressive display. A show-closing Character Zero hit home the full transition in feel, and make no mistake: it was absolutely dynamite, a perfect way to roll that tapestry up and put it away, safe for tomorrow.

On Friday, I heard southern rock in a heavy way, by which I mean: Trey hit a couple of Mountain Jam licks throughout and a little Jessica reference during Cities (not to mention the Tweezer reference there and during Free from both him and Mike, a bit allusional to NYE '22).

On Saturday, I heard Chalk Dust references - I guess Trey said the price of the brick went up. So many things remain on the table that the price of the Wednesday ticket, one I don't intend to possess, should follow suit.

Tonight was the altogether tightest that - humble personal opinion - I've seen from them thus far this year. It's clear they pick and choose their spots, maybe they always have, but Madison Square Garden is their spot no matter what. It's hard to have a bad time at MSG, but this time they are tightening up as they go. I lament not getting a Wednesday ticket, and I cannot wait to see them on Friday.

The banquet table of Phish 2023 overflows with riches, and on any given night, the band treats the audience to an ample feast. Last night at MSG was no different, and indeed, represented well the moment we have reached. All the familiar components were there, with Phish digging into a thick jam from the jump. “Ghost” is strong throughout, but the real magic for me was around the 9:30 and 11:50 minute marks when Trey hands the reins to Page, who in turn, pushes the band further, and the adventure takes another turn. The resulting ensemble jam is magical, and Trey caps it with many beautiful solos (check around 13:00+). Some Allman’s-like quote aroound 15:00 too seemed to echo the earnestness of the song (check out Timber around 7:10 for similar mood/lines). The fact that the band remains cognizant of their musical space enough to bring us back to the main theme (totally unnecssary by that point) but a reminder of how on top of the game they are.

The next set of tunes was a relentless storm of great Phish played in the venue where they are probably most comfortable. Phish is a great band to see anywhere, but MSG is Mecca. The sound is loud but also very clear. The light show is otherworldly. I remember watching traces of purple lights (reminiscent of the outside of a flying saucer—work with me here—and then those lights would trace smaller circles on the floor, illuminaing small groups, or sometimes individual faces. I wish I had the discourse for this—I’m sure someone out there knows what I mean—but man, the combination of THAT (age of) sound and the alien light show… it was a lot. I’m kind of glad I was in the seats, if you know what I mean, not that I was in my seat much (“Shade”, which was lovely.)

Well, so much for the play-by-play, but by now, you probably know the score. The metaphor I have for the band at this point is they are basically pummelling us to the floor, song by song, and when we dare to get off the mat, they laugh and knock us down again, only that it is actually fun, and that’s not much of a metaphor, except that I felt outmatched. I mean, the playing is so hot, but it’s nothing—ha ha ha—extraordinary. Just a taste of Phish 2023.

Let me see what else we got. Checks notes. Kuroda is manufacturing stars during “Timber Ho! (Jerry—happy birthday, Jerry!—the Mule). It’s when the lights go black in the type II weirdness, and it happens in that space between Mike and Fish. Looked just like the Orion Nebula. Really hard to stop from laughing, especially when I tried to explain it to my giggling cohorts. Not sure why the formation of stars is funny. It’s serious business. We are all stardust, right?

So. Phish. Yes. “Funky Bitch” was hot. I said that.

Should we talk about “Broken into Pieces”? This was its debut and my impression was that it felt a little timid, especially compared to the “Oblivion” and “the Well” (quoted in Wolfman last night) treatment. The song had a great close, though, and I’m excited about what might transpire. I’m a fan of all the new songs and ready to hear more, especially if the band squeezes the jams out of them. The future is long gone we are expanding. Let’s fuckiiiiiiiing go! ;-) Paint the sky orange.

I need to discuss Trey’s vocals, what he has done with them this tour especially. My view was that it was very hit-and-miss, but I have come round in my (yet another-sorry!) opinion. I feel the earnestness that he gets out of the lyrics by digging deeper adds a lot to the song. He sounds like he is testifyiing now. You hear it in Wolfman’s and Sample, but it comes through even more in KDF (we’ll get there) and others. His singing pulls more from the heart now, and it’s ok if it’s not so mellifluous. Good tradeoff and a smart choice, and he will only get better.

Speaking of jams, Wolfman’s was funky and juicy. They really milked this gem, and again, the lights got so surreal here. The “Well” comes in around 7 minutes mark (there is a build up first). Around 11 minutes or so, the weirdness begins, with Page adding piano, keys, and clavinet. Mike’s bass always shines and this tour especially he sounds really good. Fish is incredible (of course), and I love that he recognizes Taylor Swift’s absolute dominion. She doesn’t stop playing in thunderstorms and doesn’t give five fucks about a curfew. Dad bands still have a lot to learn, but I digress. In any case, this Wolfman’s is pretty sick, but could have been more. “I am the Walrus” was a treat (aside from “Broken into Pieces” and “Shade” my only first of the evening), and the audience played a part in the singalong.

My disappointment for the second set “Sample” opener was pretty stupid, and I already knew better. It was clear from the get-go that someone had left the rockets on, so we were headed up and out again. There is a lot going on, including “On Broadway” quotes (starts around 5:40 through 7:00) and some Santanaesque riffing before KDF kicks in, but the point is Sample was a great jam vehicle. Nothing weird like the SOAM of Friday night, just groovy great jamming ensemble play and expert gamesmanship—really playing to the audience in their most comfortable space. There is an especially blissful jam around the 8:45 mark that builds into a riff I can’t recognize (someone help here?) around 9:15 and again 10:15. By 12:30 after more interesting grooving, I’m convinced they are going to find some way to get back into the main theme of Sample, just to make a point, but they play it down until the jam is mined through and through. Not really grokking the ripcord complaint by some posters. This jam crushes especially in the last two minutes, but they are also ready to go forward, and KDF was a great choice.

Kill Devil Falls is anthemic rock and duh a testimonial, so Trey’s new vocal approach works especially well here. Sober Trey is scary af competent (a good model for everyone to work harder on our art, tbh), and his journey (as sung through the song) is somehow heart-wrenching and refreshing. Until I do it again… The singing and playing is visceral, slicing through the madness with surgical precision. It’s not a long jam, but it’s melodic and tight, especially from 9:30 on. The truth is we didn’t get anything like Friday’s eerie SOAM (“Walrus” ending was weird, but still a full rung down in the STRANGE scale).

Golden Age continued the heat. Again, the lights, the showmanship, the crowd in the palm of their hand and every motion they make amplfied 1000000 times over. Don’t you ever falter.

Shade was pretty, sung from the heart, and man… I was so grateful to sit down for a spell.

The rest of the set was a dance party, “Sally” and ’Twist”. Yeah, dance you motherfuckers. Take that and that. Relentless.

YEM was icing on the cake. Second one of the summer. Ok, yeah, the vocal jam was trippy af, but you know that, right?

Encore with an especially fun Wilson (yes, reader, I am still hoarse), Sanity (my first since the Omni and that’s been a while), and the band not wanting to quit (no rules!) played a sick Bowie and even a Character Zero to help get us home.

Thank you, Phish.

I gave the show 5 stars, same as Friday's. 8.5 out of 10. It could have been weirder, but otherwise, top-shelf stuff. I'm kind of old but definitely not jaded. Phish since early 90s. My first show at MSG was Mar 9, 1981.

Ghost: Bliss jam > about 1 minute of cool stuff around the 12 minute mark > bliss jam.

Reba: That call and response from Trey to Page is absolutely fantastic in the mid 9’s. It has a very good peak on it’s way to great and then Trey gets lazy and does that thing that he does in like every Slave since 09 where he sort of doubles up on the strings? Double strums?? Fast 32nd notes I read somewhere? I don’t know the technical term. But it’s a crutch and has been for over ten years now. But here’s the deal: the body of work of this Reba is fantastic – exceptional full band jamming that is great for any era. Would certainly recommend for just that alone.

Funky Bitch: Rocked hard.

Timber (Jerry the Mule) – This is awesome through almost 7 minutes. Page and Mike make sure they keep this one as dark as possible but finally Page relents and gives in to the light and Trey definitely takes that and runs it quickly into major mode. Trey takes it to great heights from there with a long, prolonged and LOUD peak.

Broken Into Pieces: It’s ok. It’s a nice tweener in that it has some ballad elements and some hard rock elements too. Plus, the placement was fine in that they had just played some killer stuff, so this seemed to land just fine.

Wolfman's Brother: LOL Fishman with the bottom of the Well stuff in the late 7’s and early 8’s. This gets pretty out there around 12 and a half. Trey lays on the effects, Mike is thumping, and Page just comes over the top with these huge synth What’s the Use? Style effects. Pretty cool. From here it gets very upbeat and into some great peaks. Ending is a bit sloppy but after all that, does it really matter? Great version in any era. Highly recommended! Longest version since 2.26.22 and before that, 9.24.99. WOW!!!

I Am the Walrus: There seem to be elements of Tweezer Reprise in here along with all the Your Pet Cat stuff. Great stuff, what a way to end the set. LTP 10.30.21, 75 show gap.

SET 2:

Sample in a Jar: Trey’s solo is really bad; I imagine because he was consumed about how he was going to transition this into the big jam that it became? If bliss jams are your thing, you will love this jam. It is the same cookie cutter bliss jam they have been playing for many years now. The last 36 seconds get very cool, and I am thinking, well this is finally getting interesting and then … >

Kill Devil Falls: Very upbeat with some big time peaks. Trey rip chords this into Golden Age. Phish.net has this as a > but I think it really could be listed as a ->

Golden Age: Decent jam. End is a little clunky.

Shade: Oof. Ouch. >

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley: Standard. >

Twist: Haven’t played one this short since 7.16.22 and then the next shortest 12.3.19. They seriously need to open this song up again. It hasn’t seen anything over 16 minutes since 12.28.17.

You Enjoy Myself: Nice! But again, they need to let YEM breathe again. Hasn’t been stretched out since 8.7.22.

ENCORE:

Wilson: Standard. >

Sanity: Standard.

David Bowie: Standard. >

Character Zero: Standard.

Summary: Set one is super charged. Ghost got the place moving and if you love bliss jams, you will love this Ghost. Very strong Reba and Wolfman’s is an easy all timer, that was awesome! They jam out Sample big time and again – if you love those bliss jams then you will dig this big time. For me, there just isn’t anything to revisit after this first listen of the second set. Many will certainly appreciate and laud the Sample and KDF and that’s great – more power to you. The encore is strong as encores – but again – in terms of material I would seek out after my first listen – there is none. I would rate this as a 3.9/5.

Replay Value: Reba, Wolfman’s.

I think this might be my first review, but alot needs to be said.

This is only show 14 for me so I'm definitely not a jaded vet or anything, but I feel this was just a very right down the middle show.

There were definitely a whole bunch of high points, but especially when compared to the rest of this MSG run so far, they stayed too much in Major chord bliss jam waters throughout the night. Not that they played bad, they played fucking great, loose, determined, just sounded too much like '22, too much constant arena rock.

I love to pump my fist to a white light peak as the next, but I also like to be scared off my gourd to the point a deranged smile comes over my face too. Yin and Yang. Too much of Yin for my tastes but still a fucking blistering hot show, can't wait for tonight!

Last night was some of the best phish I’ve ever seen. By far the best show of tour so far. Fishman let his tempo simmer and it gave the band time to open up. I love when trey finds the pocket of a repeating riff and fish and mike just stay with it. At some points of jams it reminded me a lot of Worcester boogie. There’s no rush fellas. Take your time and you’ll find the pocket everyyyyy time.

Best band in the land.

Following a day off* in the middle of our five-show (of seven) Phish run at Madison Square Garden, m’lady and I took it rather easy until we felt it was time to pre-gather, which we did at a rooftop bar called Local that overlook the front door of MSG. For the second time on this trip we became part of a large, friendly crew that took over almost half of the bar’s airy patio, slugging pricey IPA beers and making do with a basket of chicken wings and fries for supper.

We had GA floor tickets for this one so m’lady and I went in to the show pretty early, staking out a spot abut a third of the way back and sitting on the floor to wait for the concert to begin. As we waited I met a tall, short-looking guy named Nate, a guitar player/gambler who was seeing his only Phish show of the run before moving on to the Newport Jazz Festival, where he would be seeing the great Kamasi Washington, among others. I was jealous.

Nate told me he was currently living in New Orleans and I quickly got much jealouser. I told him that I would be visiting The Big Easy a few months hence and he told me to give him a shout when I was in town. (I eagerly did so when I arrived the following December but unfortunately Nate was in Vegas “working”, so we didn’t get together.)

When the lights went down the band started with a nice long and jammy Ghost opener before following up with an equally long and jammy Reba, killing the first half-hour of the concert in excellent fashion. M’lady and I were feeling a little zing-y so the hands-down highlight of the set – heck, it was the hands-down highlight of the entire show – was Phish’s cover of John Lennon’s psychedelic masterpiece I Am the Walrus. When the song finally cascaded to a close and the lights went up for the setbreak Nate and I exchanged solemn high-fives of unspoken wonder. My gosh, that Walrus was so great, especially endowed as it was with Kuroda’s astounding light show.

So, so good.

As was the rest of the evening, which included David Bowie, You Enjoy Myself, Sneakin’ Sally, and a four-song encore that started with Wilson and had the whole crowd chanting along from the fourth note. After the show m’lady and I arranged to meet with our great friends Jay and Kyla, who had flown in just for these last two shows and were booked into the same hotel as we were. Nate agreed to join us for a quick nightcap but ended up bailing as we waited for our friends outside.

When J&K did arrive we took them to the nearby rooftop bar and picked up where we had left off several hours earlier, and it proved to be a rollicking good time. Afterwards we strolled the few quick blocks to our hotel, where our friends found themselves locked out of their room. It’s comical how long it took us to determine that they were actually staying at a different Springhill Suites, just a few streets away on 37th. Crazy. The hilarious snafu was reminiscent of the time I discovered the telephone in my Montreal hotel room had been switched with a phone with the same room number from a completely different Montreal hotel. Although that had obviously been a prank while this was clearly human error.

Anyway, we got ‘er all figured out and hung out in our room until 2am.

*A day off that happened to coincide with m’lady’s birthday, which we spent meandering through Central Park and getting ice cream, arriving at the Met too late to see the Van Gogh exhibit, and having a delicious dinner at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que with her cousin and his family, a very cool bunch who live in a corner apartment in an old Brooklyn toy factory.

https://toddmanout.com/

I kept calling these midweek shows my redemption shows, since I wasn’t able to attend the bakers dozen. This was my second chance to experience indoor summer time phish in the city. The first set had a fantastic flow with some great bliss jamming and funk. Second set really only provided Sample and KDF as far as jams. Sample will get plenty of plays in the future. Golden age was decent if that’s your thing.

As it turns out, I ended up getting redeemed for a different show from 6/23/19 when I had to leave before the end of the 4 song encore. The two songs I missed were Sanity and Wilson. Lo and behold, they open the encore with both of them and tack on two more for good measure. Had a blast being back at MSG 4.1/5

Recommended relisten: Ghost, Reba,Timber, wolfman’s, Walrus, Sample, KDF

This is the type of show that a seasoned fan wants to see. Not much to speak of in the bust out department, but a stellar set list beginning to end. Funky bitch stood out as a first set highlight, certainly the signature version for me.

Second set was near perfect beginning to end. Even shade stood out as a perfectly timed cool down followed by a sneakin sally that brought the vibes back up to ideal levels. If you don’t like YEM as a set closer I suggest you spend your money elsewhere.

This was also an outstanding encore. Wilson gets us going, sanity has me questioning if anything is real, Bowie has me thinking we’re for sure done, but trey was feeling himself so he had to do one more. Character zero was a solid rendition that sent me into the night.

Phenomenal show start to finish. This MSG run just keeps getting better and it’s always a pleasure to witness how comfortable the band is playing this venue. Total control with no slips.

First set was a powerhouse with a Ghost that will knock your socks off, a gorgeous Reba, a funky bitch that almost burned the damn house down, a timber that shows Jerry is doing great (as far as mules go), a wolfman that got real BIG with a cool well tease for the peak, and a coveted Walrus!

Second set was fire right out the gates with Sample and KDF going nice and out there creatively and energy-wise (although the Syracuse KDF is still king). Golden age didn’t get taken all that far but was still a treat as always. Shade isn’t really my thing but was pleasant and placed well in the set imo. Sneakin sally was a straight up filthy, nasty dance party and basically everything you’d want from a legendary cover like itself. And the cherry on top was the Twist and YEM at the end. Does it really get much better than that?

Encore was one for the books for sure. I was getting pretty tired by the end from dancing my ass off but boy did Wilson, Sanity, and Bowie inject some life into me as they definitely did for the rest of the arena as well. Not sure what the gap is for Sanity but I would assume it was a bust out and a welcome one at that! Zero closer for the encore was obviously par for the course but always a blast!

In conclusion, the consistency and organic, intense playing that they showcased this night was a testament to how consistent they’ve been crafting shows this tour. It’s basically all good stuff. I would say this show will be talked about for years to come and is certainly a must listen for any big fan or someone trying to check phish out. Show of the year maybe? For me, I’m pretty certain it dethroned Syracuse of that title! 5/5

Very interesting how lately this band has been better in Set 1 than Set 2. Ghost and Reba to open things up was fantastic. Timber had a solid jam and Wolfman’s went deep, but didn’t quite nail the photo finish.

I loved the Sample jam to start set 2, but the ripcord into KDF and then another ripcord into Golden Age leaves me puzzled. All three songs had some good jamming. Not sure why the band feels the need to keep jumping to the next song, when clearly they have some creative musical ideas.

I know I sound bitter but I had a fun time tonight. YEM and Sally got things grooving. And Shade is a great cooldown song. Speaking of cooldown songs, it was sad to see everyone rushing the bathroom during Broken Into Pieces.

It was a good vibe tonight, and there were some solid moments, but overall I don’t think they ever quite found “It.”

My wife and I are discussing the show, confused, scrolling statements like 'mind blowing' combined with an initial 4.72 ranking after 150 scores about an hour after the show. At one point the show ranked second to NYE '99/'00. "It must be their drugs", she exclaims, "the show was ok, but for the new Broken Pieces ballad that needs to be knifed and buried deep beneath the ground." "It must be millennials", I reply, "and bless their hearts, they live in a twilight netherworld of blissful shows." ???? Rankings are necessarily relative to the pool of all shows, though subjective to the pool of the ranker's shows. Sanity eventually modulates. See y'all tonight for 5th night of this 7 show run ????