Phish rounded out their 2018 with a stellar four-night New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden. On Monday, December 31st, the band orchestrated yet another memorable New Year’s Eve performance to cap off 2018 and mark their 60th show at the fan-favorite venue. MSG, often referred to be fans as a “spaceship” when Phish plays in it, was transformed into “space” minutes before the clock struck midnight.
The set opened with a theme-appropriate “Mercury”, complete with ten acrobat performers who were all lifted up into the air while wrapped in elongated silver streamers, and surrounded by gravity-defying smoke machines. The group of suspended aerial performers, in “unbreakable nets,” danced and swayed while Trey Anastasio drew inspiration from their incredible talent. The arena was greeted by a NASA-sounding announcer that counted down from “T-minus 30 seconds,” prior to wishing everyone a “Happy New Year.”
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First lift off at @thegarden. @GoPro at the end of bass headstock. Audio is from that too (sorry).
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Right before we went on stage for set three. @gopro attached on the bass headstock.
As if the silver-soaked chaos off stage wasn’t enough, dozens of dancers with various pool floats jumped on stage to join in on the shenanigans. This was rock and roll at an entirely new level, and the four members of the world’s most theatrical rock band will always remember where they were on December 31st, 2018. Watch it all go down in pro-shot video below:
Phish – “Mercury” > “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S”
[Video: Phish]
Setlist: Phish | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY | 12/31/2018
Set One: The Moma Dance, Stray Dog, 555, Sand, Lawn Boy, Steam > Chalk Dust Torture > What’s the Use? > Play by Play, Waste, Ass Handed, Run Like an Antelope
Set Two: Down with Disease > Farmhouse > Seven Below > Twist > Harry Hood > Passing Through, Harry Hood
Set Three: Mercury > Auld Lang Syne, Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S., Simple, Saw It Again > Limb By Limb > Rock and Roll > Suzy Greenberg
Encore: The Lizards, Character Zero