After easing into their familiar posts at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night with a good show that stopped short of greatness, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman, and Page McConnell—the fearsome foursome known as the Phish—returned to Midtown Manhattan on Sunday night for an all-around outstanding performance, adding yet another stunning entry into the band’s long, storied history of 12/29 MSG concerts.
If you thought the setlist from night one looked notable on paper for its lack of lengthy jams (the longest of the night was a show-opening “Simple” clocking in at 13ish minutes), your eyes were surely drawn straight to the nearly 38-minute “Ruby Waves” during set two when you popped open LivePhish this morning. You wouldn’t be wrong to skip straight to that red tsunami, either: The Phish MSG ’24 “Ruby Waves” was a masterclass in cooperative improvisation, an odyssey that repeatedly found new spaces to explore, pushed the boundaries of those settings, then blew past them in pursuit of the next invigorating vignette.
Phish’s sound in 2024 is densely layered with different styles and approaches, and this “Ruby Waves” seemed to not only open all those doors but also dig around in the unexplored shadows behind them. By the time Phish wrapped up the journey and accepted an explosion of adoration from the gobsmacked crowd, this “Ruby Waves” had landed as the second-longest rendition of the song to date, second only to the widely celebrated Alpine Valley version from 2019.
Phish – “Ruby Waves” [Pro-Shot] – 12/29/24
But even if you left out that landmark “Ruby Waves” entirely, this show would still have been among the best of the year. After standard opener “Sample In A Jar” got things moving, the 12/29/24 fireworks began in earnest on a two-spot “AC/DC Bag”. Trey and Page quickly asserted themselves as Mike pummeled out rumbling, slow-burn blues-rock groove. Moving with noticeable focus, intent, and “we came to f–k s–t up” energy, Phish followed a relatively textbook Type I “Bag” trajectory toward several various white-light peaks but scorched the road behind them more than usual with each step. This band is sounding hot tonight.
That trend held true as “The Moma Dance” followed. After an early Trey/Mike face-off and a hint of a “Sand” groove, a crunchy Page Clavinet progression gave the jam some new grit—and Mike injected some situational magic to the proceedings by batting a balloon back into the crowd ahead of the chorus without missing a beat. Responding with due contrast, Anastasio used an eerie descending riff to invite the band into a smokey, slinky, “sexy Sunday” speakeasy ahead of a hair-raising climax. I mean, they are on one tonight.
“Rift” next? Same plan: The notes the band played on this airtight rendition of the early-’90s bluegrass-ish favorite were relatively “straightforward,” but the intangible intensity of their delivery made the song shine more brightly than usual.
The “Prince Caspian” that followed quickly dispensed with its anthemic structure and drilled into the ocean floor with whirring, razor-sharp licks. Full-bore bass bombs from Gordon seemed to ignite a firestorm of strobing LEDs from the light rig above as Page used his organ to provide a heavenly, gospel-style altar for yet another “holy s—” Trey peak.
“Monsters”, the haunting Evolve power-ballad, was a towering display of emotion nestled inside a tornado of Languedoc havoc—with a side of impressive belting from Anastasio—and the ensuing “Runaway Jim” followed its titular fugitive hound through the roughest part of town, building maddening dissonance under a wash of reds and purples before sprinting to yet another big finish.
By this point, Sunday’s first set had already more than delivered, but the best was still to come. “You Enjoy Myself”, the quintessential Phish composition, sent the Garden into hysterics, then channeled that palpable energy into a unique, swaggering improv section. While the start of a “YEM” vocal jam typically signals the beginning of the end—for the song and, more often than not, for the set—Phish only briefly entertained those particular shenanigans before sliding into a bonus “Ghost” that rocketed to perhaps the most powerful peak in a set packed full of them. Recency bias aside, it’s hard to recall another first set that delivered as completely and convincingly as Sunday’s. No notes. Bravo.
Related: A Square Garden That’s Round: Phish Kicks Off 2024 New Year’s Run At MSG [Photos/Videos]
In light of that sterling first frame, the band seemed destined to pull out all the stops for set two. A strong “Bathtub Gin” opener did nothing to dissuade that notion, and the “Ruby Waves” that followed, well… as we said before, it doesn’t get much better than that. But even after the show’s centerpiece jam, nothing could slow Phish down on Sunday. A perfectly placed “Waste” allowed fans to catch their breath and hug their loved ones before the band fanned the flames once again for an airy, emotive “Fuego” jam (with, of course, more full-blast hose from Trey) and a cackling, frenzied “Crosseyed and Painless” closer. As with all the best Phish shows—the kinds of shows that fans chase for decades—a similar expression seemed to adorn every stunned face in the arena as the lights came up: an expression that said, “What the Hell just happened?”
Tying an appropriately special bow on a truly special show, Phish reached deep into its bag of tricks for an encore cover of Jimi Hendrix favorite “Bold As Love” (last played in 2021), sung with gusto by Page and elevated by bombastic playing from Fish and Trey. Chef’s kiss.
Like many a 12/29 show before it, we wouldn’t be surprised if Sunday’s performance shakes out as the best night of the 2024 Phish MSG run when all is said and done—and that’s a great place to be with half the run still left to go. We’ll catch you back here after Monday’s show to (most likely) talk about how we were wrong.
Below, check out a selection of photos and videos from the 12/29/24 Phish show at Madison Square Garden and view the full setlist from the performance.
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY | 12/29/24
Set One: Sample in a Jar, AC/DC Bag > The Moma Dance > Rift > Prince Caspian, Monsters, Runaway Jim, You Enjoy Myself -> Ghost
Set Two: Bathtub Gin > Ruby Waves, Waste > Fuego > Crosseyed and Painless
Encore: Bold As Love
Notes: Bathtub Gin was unfinished. Bold as Love was performed for the first time since September 4, 2021 (149 shows).
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Phish – “Prince Caspian” – 12/29/24
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Phish – “Monsters” – 12/29/24
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Phish – “Runaway Jim” – 12/29/24
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Phish – “You Enjoy Myself” -> “Ghost” – 12/29/24
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Phish – “Crosseyed and Painless” (Talking Heads) – 12/29/24
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Phish – “Bold As Love” (Jimi Hendrix) – 12/29/24
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