A Feel Good Finale: Phish Closes 7-Show Residency At Madison Square Garden

Last night, Phish capped off their incredible seven-night run at Madison Square Garden with a rousing show that checked off all the remaining boxes of what makes a Phish run great. The band kicked off their last MSG show this summer with an interesting choice — a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup,” a tune almost always saved for the set closing or encore position. In fact, the last time this song opened up a show was 19 years ago on Thursday, June 24 2004 at the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana.

As always, the crowd gave a huge roar after Trey Anastasio coyly sang the “And I know I play a bad guitar” lyric and Trey used that encouragement to deliver an above average performance of this tune. Next, they lit into the fiery, tension and energy-building scorcher, “Maze.” The song began with a dark, funky weirdness at first, as the audience yowled excitedly, ready to get this show on the road. The chaotic nature of “Maze” mimicked the confusion of leaving MSG after a particularly hot show or even just the feeling of walking around a crowded, bustling New York City at night. This was conveyed by the band in this unsettling number, as drummer Jon Fishman played with a tenacious ferocity, pushing everyone onward and upward. Keyboarist Page McConnell lit up the place up with his initial crowd-pleasing peak before handing it off to Anastasio, who absolutely crushed his section as well, much to the aroused crowd’s delight. The band nailed the return into the song before finishing it cleanly in sync.

Next up, Phish took us to space as the opening, pre-recorded sounds of the “Martian Monster” narration began to play and the crowd realized things were about to get interesting. Bubbles began to appear from the general admission floor while extraterrestrial soundscapes echoed throughout the Garden. These spacey reverberations created the feeling of being inside a spaceship or even floating through outer space, as the band achieved a gritty synchronicity between the four members, with crazy reverb coming from Page while Mike Gordon, Trey and Fishman continued to fire on all cylinders. Following this funk number was the beautiful, delicate and soaring “Divided Sky,” a dependable song that always delivers. The pause in this tune received a massive eruption of cheers from the crowd, one that died down once before rearing its head again, all in the course of one brief minute. After the last six shows this band had delivered to us, they deserved every ounce of cheers they got. This always powerful tune showcased Fish’s drum beats ricocheting off the walls of the Garden and bouncing around the round room before concluding and leading the way into “Prince Caspian.”

While seemingly at first not always a fan-favorite, this final track from Phish’s 1996 studio album, Billy Breathes, has been increasingly delivering spectacular jams over the course of the last decade and last night’s version was no exception. After we made it past the sing-along vocals, the jam started out with Trey in charge, leading us to his favorite blissful, joyous space before moving into a funkier, dancier, darker groove. Trey toyed around with effects, loops and layers compounding upon one another like waves crashing on rocks. Glowsticks rained down as the band locked in with one another and explored a weird, dark space together as a unit before elevating into an airy beautiful area where Mike laid down a layer of bass notes for Trey to wander around upon. Robotic sounds began to resonate as Trey created tension, building up to a magnificent peak as more glowsticks flew through the building, with peak upon jubilant peak sending arms in the air and eliciting a rapturous cacophony amongst the masses. Mike chimed in with some heaviness which boomed throughout the Garden, much to the fans’ delight before settling down into a quick & standard “NICU.”

After this short diddy, even more steam was lost after the Caspian set-highlight heater of a jam as “Steam” slowly entered the arena. “Steam” dragged on in its usual sultry manner, with Trey working on building the peak with the rest of the band as Fishman continued to push and Page hammered away with Mike filling in the holes. Lighting Designer Chris Kuroda joined in with rainbow explosions of lights as the full band peaked together then nailed the resolution back into the song. One last dissipation of energy concluded the tune and then Ghosts of the Forest song “Drift While Your Sleeping” closed out the first set.

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

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After setbreak, the band wasted no time getting back on track, choosing “Set Your Soul Free” to lead us into the back half of the evening. The quartet brought a certain vigor to this tune, perhaps excitedly anticipating what they were about to deliver next. The moment everybody had been waiting for all week was finally upon us and it was time to get weird with a filthy “Tweezer.”

This 31-minute ordeal was loaded with goodness, including what LivePhish currently lists as a 17-minute 44-second “Guy Forget” (though some might dispute that tracking choice). Right off the bat, they dropped into a funky groove before Trey started singing “Guy Forget” with Fishman joining in. This jam then got blissful and airy while Fish continued pushing the beat on the rarity last played on September 4, 2011 at Dick’s outside Denver. Some light and pretty Page and Trey interplay gave way to a more chaotic direction before ending back in the ethereal space. Fishman’s ferocity during this jam was unparalleled and Trey stepped up to meet this intensity with some wailing licks which were met with equally aggressive eruptions of energy from the crowd.

The energy in the room continued to build as the band played on in a strong, intentional and deliberate manner, before finding another gorgeously euphoric space to inhabit for a while as we collectively caught our breath. The subsequent peaks were hugely bright and spectacular but not the end of this journey just yet. More dark and dirty playing followed, with the jam eventually fizzling out into an unfamiliar place before the perfect choice for a breather after a monster of a jam like that – “What’s The Use?” The audience was transfixed by this delicate yet enormous number and as it echoed throughout the room, you could hear a pin drop between notes.

The band and the fans were locked in and the colossal power of the song reverberated throughout the entirety of the arena. An interesting choice of “Scents & Subtle Sounds” came next which, while promising at first, was cut far too short and almost immediately turned back into “Tweezer” before the band abandoned that too and decided on a silky smooth segue into “Everything’s Right.” Energy was maintained throughout this groove and a playful Fishman even threw in some “Manteca” quotes and “Tweezer” teases before Trey decided it was time for “Backwards Down The Number Line.” After a slight misstep, the band got back on track and joyfully closed out the set, as we all sang along, surrounded by friends.

After some next-level applause, Phish returned to the stage for the encore and the other moment we were all waiting for arrived – it was finally time for “Harry Hood.” Always lovely, always a ripper, this version was no different, delivering peak after majestic peak, as everyone in the building left everything they had left out there. The band thanked the crowd and thanks were yelled back in return, hugs were given, and just like that, it was over. Forty years into being a band, these men can still deliver an absolutely stellar week of shows and show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

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Phish will play a pair of concerts at SPAC in Saratoga Spring, New York on August 25 and 26. Proceeds from both nights will benefit flood recovery efforts in Vermont and in Upstate New York.

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