2015 has been an extraordinary year for Phish fandom. The band has finally been back and playing longer than they were on hiatus, with 2015 marking the sixth year of the 3.0 era. It’s a significant milestone, considering just how adeptly Phish has been performing through this past year. Considering the lighter-than-usual tour schedule, Phish has taken on new challenges are risen to the occasion at each and every corner.
For the 9th time in band history, the Burlington Four brought the sold out crowds to the jovial Madison Square Garden. After last year’s holiday celebration in Miami, FL, this run has been something of a homecoming for Phish. MSG is the venue that they’ve performed at the most, and the band is sounding as stellar as ever. The stage could not be set any more perfectly.
The show opened with the always funky “Moma Dance,” which drew applause at the first cracks of Trey Anastasio on lead guitar. The band quickly jumped into a rocking “Possum,” whipping the crowd into a frenzy. The band kept the jams alive in the first set with “Wolfman’s Brother” and “Birds Of A Feather,” the latter was stretched out to include some nice improvisational work. Page McConnell was sounding as sharp as ever on the keys, and Mike Gordon was laying down the thick funky grooves.
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“I Didn’t Know” came next, seeing the group let out some of their a cappella humor. Jon Fishman never disappoints with a vacuum in hand, and the band actually let the audience finish the vocals of the post-vacuum solo ending of the song. It was a moment of unity between band and audience, and it was one furthered by Fishman’s request to sing “Happy Birthday” to her daughter Ella. The whole crowd obliged for the heartwarming sing-a-long.
When the dust settled, McConnell let loose with the intro narration to “Martian Monster,” and the MSG crowd was on their toes once again. Lights beaming from every corner of the stage added a spacey dimension, as if the room itself was about to blast off. An exciting “Reba” and a grooving “Walls Of The Cave” ended a dance party first set.
Round two opened up with a funky rendition of “The Wedge,” slow-grooving their way into the set. “Wilson” came next, entreating the crowd to chant along. That rocker found its way into “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing,” with some great tense-and-release jamming from the band.
After a lighthearted “Yarmouth Road,” Phish got to work on “Kill Devil Falls.” The thirteen-minute version worked in multiple directions, slowly drifting into a spacious section filled tactfully by the opening notes of “Piper.” Anastasio led the charge, hammering on the song’s quick chord progression to keep the momentum flowing. The set closed with an extended “Twist,” seeing the band go from the main riff through various keys and progressions, only to find their way back to the riff, to then jam once more, and finally end the song and the whole second set.
With two sets in the books, fans began to ask the age-old question: What are they going to do? Rather than emerging onto the stage, the band positioned themselves in a tight circle in the back end of the floor, directly across from the stage. While playing in a new location may seem reminiscent of the “JEMP Truck” set from 2013, that was the only similarity. All facing one another, the band opened the set with “No Men In No Man’s Land,” and continued jamming until 2016.
As the band transitioned from the song to the improvisation section, a thin sheet lowered over the band’s heads, encircling them inside a translucent jam paradise. The whole setup resembled an hourglass, and psychedelic images were projected onto the fabric in a similar fashion as the band’s “Drive-In Jam” from Magnaball. Slowly, the hourglass took shape and tracked the band’s progression through the remaining minutes of 2015.Â
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With a minute or two left, the hourglass raised slightly, and one by one the band members ran across the room and onto the stage. Locked in their usual positions, the band ushered in 2016 with a jovial “Auld Lang Syne” and some balloon madness. Afterwards, the group broke into the classic “Blaze On,” every Phish fans’ first song of the New Year.
The band wasn’t quite finished with us yet, as they played “Blaze On” into “Carini” into “David Bowie.” That power trio of songs was followed by “The Horse > Silent In The Morning,” which features the perfect lyric for the occasion: “I think that this exact thing happened to me, just last year.” Finally, the set ended with a bouncy “Backwards Down The Number Line.”
One final moment of the show was its encore, with the band getting ever-so-funky on their tight number, “Tube.” When Page McConnell gets rocking on that clavinet, there’s just nothing better. He was in fine form for this rendition of “Tube.” After, the band broke into “Cavern,” wishing us good night and reminding us to take care of our shoes, whatever we do.
Phish straight-up dominated Madison Square Garden. For four-plus hours, the band had their phans eating from the palm of their hands. The performance exceeded expectations, calling back to Magnaball and NYE 2013 yet remaining truly unique and creative all the while.
And the good news is that the run is only half-over.
Check out the full setlist below:
Setlist: Phish at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY – 12/31/15
Set 1: The Moma Dance > Possum, Wolfman’s Brother, Birds of a Feather, I Didn’t Know, Happy Birthday to You, Martian Monster, Reba, Walls of the Cave
Set 2: The Wedge, Wilson > A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Yarmouth Road, Kill Devil Falls > Piper > Twist
Set 3: No Men In No Man’s Land, Auld Lang Syne > Blaze On > Carini > David Bowie, The Horse > Silent in the Morning > Backwards Down the Number Line
Encore: Tube > Cavern
Notes: This show was webcast via Live Phish. BOAF contained a quote of The Birds. During I Didn’t Know, Trey introduced Fishman as “The Man Mulcahy.” The crowd sang the last verse of I Didn’t Know, and Fish then asked the crowd to join him in singing Happy Birthday to his daughter, Ella. The third set began with the band on a second stage beneath a funnel-shaped screen suspended from the ceiling. As the band jammed, part of the screen descended and became an hourglass shape surrounding the stage, on which a series of images were projected. As the jam continued and the countdown to midnight approached, the band returned to the main stage.
[Setlist via Phish.net, Photo via Phish From The Road]
Photos by Chad Anderson. Full Gallery:
