In the wake of the time-traveling, past gag-recalling 2022 Phish New Year’s Eve show, which kicked off the band’s #Phish40 anniversary year, guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio has shared a note of gratitude breaking down how the spectacle came together.
“What a ride!” he began in a post on social media. “Planning for this year’s NYE show started a few months ago in a coffee shop with my dear friend and director/choreographer Lisa Shriver. Both of us falling over laughing, imagining time machines, ghosts, and naked guys jumping out of a giant cake. Between the laughs came an idea to bring some of our favorite moments and characters from Phish’s history together to celebrate our 40th year – the Meatstick troupe, the Garden Party golfers, the Wombat, the Famous Mockingbird, Sci-Fi Soldiers, the gracious Mr. Tom Hanks, among so many more. Everyday [sic] we would think up something else we needed to include.”
“We were blessed to be able to quickly assemble the most astounding team of NYC theater talent to bring all these wacky ideas to life (again),” he continued. “Thank you to Lisa Shriver, Carmel Dean, Sara Wordsworth, Reed Luplau, Jason Ardizonne-West, Sarah Zeitler (aka Sarah from Pittsburgh), Alex Koch, Jennifer Caprio, Dan Scott and so many more. Thank you to the amazing choir and marching band. Thank you to the cast of incredibly talented dancers, aerialists, and singers! Thank you to all the technical staff, stage managers, props and costume teams. Thank you to the Phish crew for pulling it all together (every night).”
Finally, Trey thanked the “star of the show,” Frenchie, the fan whose appearance on a rain-washed, lightning-lit Dick’s field in 2022 in nothing but his boots inspired the look of the “naked dudes” who stormed the stage by way of a Trojan Horse birthday cake for an after-midnight “Carini” on 12/31/22: “Lastly, we want to thank the star of the show Frenchie (aka The Naked Guy) from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Frenchie, we heard that you are going through a serious health journey, and we want to send our love and best wishes to you.”
“This New Year’s Eve was a celebration of the many incredible people who have shared their creativity and talent to help us make many special memories over the last four decades,” Trey concluded. “We love and thank you all.”
We did our best on New Year’s Day to run down a play-by-play of the various ghosts of Phish gags past that made their way to the stage on 12/31/22 for the #Phish40 kickoff retrospective. You can read our full recap of the show featuring photos and videos here.
Watch pro-shot footage of the 2022 Phish New Year’s gag and read Trey’s breakdown of the spectacle below. Scroll down for a fan-compiled list of many of the self-referential elements of the #Phish40 kickoff festivities. Cheers to what’s sure to be another memorable year!
Phish – New Year’s Eve 2022 Gag & Countdown – 12/31/22 – Full Video
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