Phish Revives Rarity ‘Quadrophonic Toppling’ At Madison Square Garden
The band played The Siket Disc oddity during the second show of this year’s NYE run.
By Megan Glionna Dec 30, 2025 • 8:12 am PST
Phish returned to the stage for the second night of their annual New Year’s Eve run with a strong opening segment, a fun bust out and some inspired jamming in the second set.
Just before 8 p.m., the band opened with a powerful “Carini” that segued into “Plasma,” a pairing that mirrored the debut of “Plasma” in 2014. Both versions flirted with the hypnotic, groove-based jamming found in the strongest improvisation of the opening show of this year’s run.
After an eight-minute “Plasma,” guitarist Trey Anastasio brought the band back to “Carini” and built a triumphant peak that had the crowd roaring early in the show. After the dust settled from a strong, 21-minute opening segment, the band began playing a song that many in the audience likely did not quickly identify. They played the music and the audio samples of “Quadrophonic Toppling” from their 2000 album, The Siket Disc.
The Siket Disc is composed of improvisational excerpts from the band’s recording of the 1998 album, The Story of the Ghost. The Siket Disc is a fan favorite deep cut, and the history of whether this song has been performed has been the source of a major controversy of the sort only Phish fans could create.
The audio samples were played at their legendary Big Cypress concert on December 31, 1999, bassist Mike Gordon spoke the words during a performance of “Axilla (Part II)” on April 22, 2022 at Madison Square Garden and Anastasio recited the lyrics over improvisation in Alabama on May 27, 2022.
It has been debated whether these performances constitute “quotes” or full versions of the song, but last night’s performance left no question as the band played similar music and the audio samples as a stand-alone song, delivering the first performance that most closely represents what was produced on the album.
The band followed this exciting bust out with one of their oldest and most complicated compositions, “The Curtain With.” A cleanly played version led into a 12-minute “Bathtub Gin.” The jam out of the song was driving, peaking with beautiful trilling from Anastasio and relentless energy from drummer Jon Fishman.
“NICU” and “Evolve” provided some cool-down moments before a “Fluffhead” set closer. The song concluded with a massive, energetic peak with Fishman playing intricately and authoritatively under Anastasio’s soaring guitar.
Rolling into the second set, “The Final Hurrah,” a song from the band’s 2018 Halloween album, Kasvot Växt: í rokk, was sandwiched between “Mike’s Song” and “Weekapaug Groove” for the first time, foregoing the usual “I Am Hydrogen.” Gordon deployed some growly effect pedals during the “Mike’s Song” jam, and Anastasio added some juice to “The Final Hurrah” with his Mu-Tron envelope filter.
This unusual “Mike’s Groove” preceded the first lengthy improvisational outing of the night with the 2021 song, “A Wave Of Hope.” Played for the 38th time, this version will no doubt make the Phish “jam charts” for Anastasio’s dark, repetitive rock riff that the band echoed and built on, leading to a tremendous crescendo and a satisfying return to the chorus. Just over 20 minutes, this jam was the peak of the evening and had fists pumping with its muscular tone and driving energy.
The contemplative 2009 song, “Twenty Years Later,” was followed by TV on the Radio’s “Golden Age,” which stretched to 14 minutes and showcased more of the repetitive, collective jamming that has been the dominant style of improvisation on this run so far. Keyboardist Page McConnell added watery textures, then switched to piano to echo Anastasio’s lead riff. This fluid jam seemed to be going places until Anastasio started the chords to “Character Zero” to close out the 83-minute set.
“The Lizards” was played as an encore for the first time since 2022, and the solo at the end of this 37-year-old song never fails to inspire. A classic encore song, “Possum,” ended the second show of the band’s holiday run. Phish heads into two of their most hallowed nights with big songs and big jamming potential on the table.
Phish returns to MSG tonight for the penultimate show of this year’s run. Watch livestreams via LivePhish.
The Skinny
The Setlist |
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Set 1: Carini -> Plasma > Carini, Quadrophonic Toppling, The Curtain With > Bathtub Gin, NICU, Evolve, Mountains in the Mist, Fluffhead Set 2: Mike's Song > The Final Hurrah > Weekapaug Groove, A Wave of Hope, Twenty Years Later > Golden Age > Character Zero Encore: The Lizards, Possum
Quadrophonic Toppling was performed for the first time since May 27, 2022 (172 shows). The Final Hurrah began with a Blaze On tease and later included a Sand tease.. |
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The Venue |
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Madison Square Garden [See upcoming shows] |
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20,789 |
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88 shows |
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The Music |
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9 songs / 8:00 pm to 9:26 pm (86 minutes) |
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9 songs / 9:52 pm to 11:35 pm (103 minutes) |
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18 songs |
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1998 |
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17.83 [Gap chart] |
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None |
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All |
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Quadrophonic Toppling LTP 05/27/2022 (172 Show Gap) |
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A Wave of Hope 20:33 |
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Quadrophonic Toppling 2:48 |
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Junta - 1, Lawn Boy - 1, Billy Breathes - 1, Joy - 1, Kasvot Växt - 1, Evolve - 2, Misc. - 10, Covers - 1 |
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The Rest |
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36° and Fair at Showtime |
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Koa 3 (Ocelot) |
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WaterWheel Foundation Beneficiary: |
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