12/28/1992 - Palace Theater, New Haven, CT
The four-show New Year's Run tradition begins!
Prior to 1992, Phish played a few NYE shows, even doing groups of two or three shows. But 1992 was the first four-show run, setting the standard for every future holiday run to the present day (with the exception of 1999).
They picked up where they left off on fall tour with mostly solid playing and big energy, but with nothing new or reveletory, and set lists not deviating from the formula they had been perfecting. The opening "Maze" and Trey's banter in "Buried Alive" in Set I are definitely must-hear, though.
Set II has a "Melt" done right, to which you will want to listen before the inevitable '22 "Split Open and Mess" (thanks to aLi for that one). The second set also has a hot "You Enjoy Myself", renditions of "Harry Hood" and "and "Reba" that are great even by the high standards of 1992, and "Fire" that burns up the encore.
12/28/2012 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
In Set I, "Army of One" and "Nellie Kane" are nice to hear considering they do not get played much. Mike's bass is surprisingly bouncy in "Stash", "Kill Devil Falls" has some good energy into the finish, and the "Wolfman's Brother" jam takes a little time but finally swerves into a fun "Little Drummer Boy" theme for the holidays.
Set II opens with a "Tweezer" that also takes its time. I was at this show, on the floor and pretty close to the stage so I had all my time and attention to give; your results may vary. It is worth hanging with, especially as it ends up in the key of E and sounding like a "Wolfman's" jam in its original, proper key. "Maze" does all my favorite early-'10s things with Trey provided awesome, clanging counterpoint during Page's organ solo; "Twist" continues the "Drummer Boy" fun; and "Bowie" has an interesting and playful jam that is worth a spin.
12/28/2022 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
"Buried Alive" is a bold opener for the old guys, and while it is awfully choppy, there is a good energy that continues into "Wolfman's Brother" and "Maze" (but not as good as a decade earlier). "Sigma Oasis" settles more for pretty and that is fine. "Tela" was surprising to hear and executed quite well. The "Stash" jam goes into a major key and stays in the '20s wheelhouse where the jam uses chord structure, phrasing and counterpoint rather than guitar heroics, until Trey finally unleashes a flurry of 32nd notes just to let you know it is, indeed, the climax and he is still the Ernesto Giuseppe Anastasio that we all love.
On the negative side, "NICU" is sleepy; "Steam" is OK, but never really feels locked in to the slinky groove, which you may know is very important to me; and "Melt" is...well, you know. "Free" gets a good groove going, but Mike's bass is criminally low in the mix and you can hear Trey doing things with his voice to overcome his old-guy limitations (though it is nice that he is putting his vocal coaching into practice).
"A Wave of Hope" is the star jam of the night, with the kinds of twists and turns they tend to do these days in place of shredding (see "Stash" above). And I would be remiss if I did not mention the relatively new "Leaves", which manages to do gorgeous things in the unlikely setting of a hockey arena.
"Plasma" and "Twist" do a nice job of building jams like that, too. They do not melt your face, but are fun and pleasing to the ear. Sadly, the former neglects to go to the ending and the latter shits the bed at the end. "Hood", however, does a good job to close.
As an added bonus, the encore of super-oldie rarity "Esther" and "46 Days" (the lone 2.0-era song of the night) is definitely a go-home-happy treat. I like my 2022 shows full of variety, with every decade and era represented, and this one had it all.
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