As Phish took center stage on Wednesday night—the fifth night of their exciting Baker’s Dozen residency at Madison Square Garden—hardcore fans of the band were, for perhaps the first time during this run, genuinely perplexed. In retrospect, the first four nights of Baker’s Dozen featured fairly obvious themes: “Coconut,” “Strawberry,” “Red Velvet,” and “Jam-Filled.” In comparison, night five’s “Powdered” theme had a lot of people scratching their heads, especially after the sheer-awesomeness of night four’s instant-classic “Jam-Filled” affair. Of course, Phish always has some tricks up their sleeves, and they did not disappoint on Wednesday night, opening and closing the show with theme-specific covers while delivering plenty of loose “powder” references throughout the show. However, fans will not remember this show for its themed references; fans will most remember this show for its epic six-song second set filled with fan-favorites, one of the biggest bust-outs in Phish history, and tons of huge improvisation.  It turns out that those powdered donuts were filled with jam after all.

Phish opened the show with an out-of-left-field cover, “Winter White Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes. The song, which appears on Fleet Foxes’s 2008 self-titled debut album, was delivered as an a capella number, and it was performed beautifully with gorgeous four-part harmonies. This song answered a lot of questions about the night’s “Powdered” theme, as the “Winter White” snow reference showed that the theme would be treated differently than the preceding nights at the Baker’s Dozen. The previous four themes had been treated almost like a keyword, with song titles, band names, or jams directly stating that day’s theme. For “Powdered” night, the band would focus on references to powders, but not necessarily use the word itself.

After returning to their normal spots on the stage, the band started up the first “Cars Trucks Buses” of 2017, and only the second version of the song since 2013. The bouncing-blues cover, “My Soul,” followed, which featured a nice organ solo from Page McConnell before guitarist Trey Anastasio pushed things into another gear for the raging peak of the short type I jam. Phish then trotted out Ween‘s “Roses Are Free”, a fun version that was decidedly not filled with jam. Phish moved from “Roses” into “The Very Long Fuse,” only the third performance of the blissful and ominous favorite from The Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House. In keeping with the evening’s theme, “The Very Long Fuse” features a “gunpowder” reference in its opening narration. The band then churned out standard versions of “Gumbo” and “Yarmouth Road” before starting up the Round Room rarity, “Pebbles And Marbles.”

“Pebbles And Marbles” is arguably the band’s best composition from the 2002–2004 era known as 2.0; surprisingly, it has only been performed nineteen times (including last night’s version) since its debut back in 2003. It hadn’t appeared on a setlist in over one hundred shows, dating back to August 3rd, 2014. Phish seemed to struggle somewhat with the song’s composed section, yet all was forgiven when they launched into a concise, blissful jam. The band had a similarly rough time with “Farmhouse,” with Anastasio missing several notes and lyrics before making it up to fans with a short-but-sweet piece of improvisation.

When Phish kicked off “Tube”, fans were expecting the standard version that has become so familiar in recent years. Phish fans love “Tube,” but it’s become somewhat of a disappointment in 3.0, as the speed-funk blues-banger isn’t typically used as a launchpad for improvisation anymore. However, the Baker’s Dozen has been anything but typical, and Phish ran with that vibe, stretching “Tube” out past fourteen minutes, marking the longest version of the era. The jam itself was awesome, as McConnell laid down some synth elements while the band created some atmospheric funk reminiscent of “2001.” The band included some teases of “The Very Long Fuse,” before moving into a Latin-style rhythm. Anastasio took the lead and transformed the jam into a fusion of hard rock and power funk, crafting a euphoric ending to the jam, which Phish fans have been waiting for over the past eight years. After some ups and downs in the first set, this stretched out “Tube” was the perfect way to bring the opening frame to a close.

Phish emerged for set two and quickly started up the sinister “Carini.” They launched into a triumphant and lengthy section of improvisation, which featured lots of psych-rock guitar stabs from Anastasio. Lighting designer Chris Kuroda used his new moving light rig to full effect during “Carini,” making the lights seemingly float around the stage with red and blue flashes that were reminiscent of UFOs. The band responded by linking up for a blissful ambient jam, featuring a sci-fi bass effect from Mike Gordon that perfectly matched Kuroda’s lights. The band included several teases of “Pebbles And Marbles,” before drummer Jon Fishman started playing the beat for “Mr. Completely.” Eventually, the whole band caught on, and they segued into the Trey Anastasio Band favorite, which was performed last night by Phish for only the third time ever. “Mr. Completely” was huge, and showcased the variety with which Phish can rely on during their ecclectic styles of improvisation. The jam featured elements of rock, clavinet-based funk, the band’s trademark “plinko” style, and a transcendent peak with raging guitar and some deep and dirty bass bombs.

When things seemed like they couldn’t get any crazier, Anastasio started up the familiar guitar chords of Prince‘s “1999”. Needless to say, after a 524 show layoff since the band’s one-and-only time performing the song—at MSG on New Year’s Eve 1998—the audience completely erupted. Kuroda bathed the band and crowd in purple lights as the band took “1999” and turned it on its head, adding an unreal ten-minute jam following the main portion of the song. The “1999” jam had an ambient, driven type II build, which the band harnessed and unleashed with multiple, piercing peaks, complete with bright white light (…and the entire audience achieving enlightenment… Maybe that was just me). This was easily one of the biggest moments of the run so far, as the band evoked explosions of energy from the audience again and again with this standout moment of improvisation.

Towards the end of the “1999” jam, Fishman brought the “Mr. Completely” drum part back into the mix, seemingly trying to get the band to segue back into the song, but Anastasio had other plans, as he moved into “Steam.” “Steam” continued the band’s focus on ambient, sci-fi themes, with plenty of dark rock thrown into the mix. Phish segued “Steam” into Led Zeppelin‘s “No Quarter,” and the audience once again exploded with excitement. While this version didn’t feature any improvisation, it acted as the landing pad after almost an hour of non-stop action. Both “Steam” and “No Quarter” make reference to “snow,” bringing back the night’s “Powdered” theme.

After finishing up the song, the band took a quick breather before starting “Character Zero.” While this rocker typically rages, it’s usually a short song with no true full-band improvisation. On this occasion, Phish threw the audience another curveball, stretching the song out to eleven minutes long and featuring plenty of fresh ideas. The band seemed to tease “Martian Monster,” and Fishman and McConnell dropped out at one point to allow Gordon and Anastasio to have a rare guitar duel.

Following a quick encore break, the band returned to the stage to rapturous applause, before they started up their first-ever version of Neil Young‘s “Powderfinger,” the evening’s final nod to the night’s “Powdered” theme. While Anastasio’s vocals are not necessarily a perfect fit for Young’s nasally vocals, the delivery was heartfelt and the version was ultimately solid.

Tonight, Phish continued to show what makes the Baker’s Dozen run so special. Five shows in, and the band has delivered multiple moments of standout improvisation each night. They have continued to bust out super-rarities each night, they have consistently included fan-favorites in each set, and they have performed several songs per night as part of the evening’s donut-flavored theme. Wednesday night, the band stretched out “Tube” and “Character Zero,” they played rare originals like “Pebbles And Marbles” and “Cars Trucks Buses,” they performed a fan-favorite cover in “No Quarter,” they peppered several moments of wild improvisation throughout the show, and they dropped one of the best bust-outs in their history with “1999.”

This is peak Phish, and we are all lucky to be experiencing it.

Phish is off tonight and will return to Madison Square Garden on Friday for night six of the Baker’s Dozen.

[Photo: Dave DeCrescente]

HOT TAKES:

Repeat Watch: None so far…based on the way they are playing, and the frequency with which they are delivering new originals, lengthy jams, and rare and out-of-left-field covers, it would be shocking if they started repeating songs.

Today’s Donut: Powdered [“Winter White Hymnal,” “The Very Long Fuse,” “Steam,” “No Quarter,” “Powderfinger”]

We Tired Yet: We’ll be enjoying some rest & relaxation during this day off, but we are PUMPED for the weekend. Bring on more Phish!

SETLIST:  Phish | Baker’s Dozen Night 5 | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY | 7/26/17

SET 1: White Winter Hymnal[1], Cars Trucks Buses, My Soul, Roses Are Free > The Very Long Fuse, Gumbo, Yarmouth Road, Pebbles and Marbles, Farmhouse, Tube

SET 2: Carini -> Mr. Completely > 1999 > Steam > No Quarter, Character Zero

ENCORE: Powderfinger[2]

[1] Phish debut; a cappella.
[2] Phish debut.