Phish is back at MSG for a New Year's run and guess who's going to all four shows!
Dec. 30 is the anniversary of the band's first ever MSG show in 1994. I was there, and still vividly remember being on the floor for that excellent show. I was also at 12/30/98, 12/30/2010, 12/30/2011, 12/30/2012 and 12/30/2013 at the famed venue, not to mention 12/30/99 at Big Cypress.
Needless to say, Dec. 30 is a special date for me when it comes to Phish and tonight's show was up there with the best.
On paper, the first set seems pretty standard, but the opening combo of "Sample in a Jar" and "Free" reminded me of the fall 1995 shows to which I've been listening, though with a tighter, more punchy version of the latter than any of those old shows. "Simple" rocked, "Back on the Train" chugged along with considerable verve, "Waiting All Night" and "Roggae" chilled nicely in their mellow grooves, and "555" brought some funk. The set-closing one-two wallop of "The Dogs" and "46 Days" destroyed any notion that this was some kind of standard first set.
That only set the stage for set two, though. The flub in the opener "Chalk Dust Torture" (Fish stopped the jam but Trey kept going) led to a totally different jam in a new key and with a dark tone out of which sprang "Ghost", which abruptly segued (crashed) into a brand new upbeat number called "Can't Always Listen", which crashed right back into "Ghost" (reminiscent of some of the summer's song sandwiches). The non-stop set continued with a fantastic "Waves" and an even more fantastic "Bathtub Gin", accompanied by some beautiful lighting.
"Mike's Song" was a treat with a good jam that kept the dancing pants on, but the move into "Bouncing Around the Room" caught almost everyone off guard. "Bouncing"? In set two? In place of "I Am Hydrogen"?
Let the haters hate. I still like "Bouncing", and though the end part was a little rough, the transition into "Weekapaug Groove" was excellent.
The surprises didn't end there. Somehow, Phish pulled off a startling but dead-on segue into what might have been the most majestic "What's the Use" ever, only to create another sandwich by bringing back "Weekapaug", complete with an "Auld Lang Syne" tease to remind us that this is, indeed, the New Year's Run and it is on. This sentiment was punctuated by a hard rocking, super-climactic "Character Zero" encore.
Friends, this is only night one.
Set list:
Set I: Sample in a Jar, Free, Simple > Back on the Train, Waiting All Night, 555, Roggae, The Dogs > 46 Days
Set II: Chalk Dust Torture -> Ghost -> Can't Always Listen -> Ghost -> Waves > Bathtub Gin, Mike's Song > Bouncing Around the Room > Weekapaug Groove -> What's the Use > Weekapaug Groove
Encore: Character Zero
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