30 Years Later: Phish Plays Madison Square Garden On Anniversary Of 1st Show At MSG

December 30th is a holy day for Phish fans. The night before the big show has brought some of the best out of the band throughout their storied career as it’s truly the last show of the year since New Year’s Eve is always its own beast.

Last night was also the 30th anniversary of the first time they played Madison Square Garden, and 86th time overall. After a first night of getting comfortable for the run and a second night of burning the stage to the ground, many arrived with high expectations about where this special show was going to go.

When the lights went down and the band launched into “Possum,” the crowd went wild with appreciation and Trey Anastasio quickly went to work with multiple peaks, matching the crowd’s early frenzy. “Wolfman’s Brother” took the two spot and early on was reminiscent of the previous night’s slow, funky, no-rush jamming that took place.

Chris Kuroda dazzled the crowd with his new light movements that have truly been out of this world. Trey gave off a bunch of licks as the band locked into a groove under him. Drummer Jon Fishman had some terrific fills while still being a human metronome, something that is always stunning to hear and witness live. A full band peak was slowly built over about five minutes and then was brought back to the song’s structure, as has been happening lately.

A small discussion lead to The Garden erupting in cheers once again. Fishman began singing “Lengthwise” as he started the “Maze” hi-hat. Keyboardist asserted himself early, putting together a high energy solo as Trey moved in front of Fishman egging him on. Fishman continued to propel the jam as Trey aggressively went on the attack and then nailed the peak. Mike Gordon was all over his bass, throwing in a lot of notes as the peak hit as well.

“Theme From the Bottom” and “More” followed with Page shining on both adding some beautiful textures to both of the short jams in each song. A solidly executed “Divided Sky” came next. The pause lasted over a minute with the crowd going wild as Trey stepped out of the spotlight to be in front of Fishman, almost egging the crowd on for more cheering. Mike joined Trey to start the song back up.

Fishman pushed the tempo of the “No Man in No Man’s Land” that followed. They wasted little time getting into the Type I jam that had some “Rock And Roll” vibes to it. Gordon dropped some bass bombs as the jam reached its peak that literally shook The Garden. The jam had a big rock ‘n’ roll type of finish that could have ended the set, but we weren’t quite done yet.

“Most Events Aren’t Planned” was kicked off by Page and it felt fitting for him to have the focus for what seemed as it would be the end the set, as he really shined the whole time. They took off into the jam quickly and it was great to have two songs in a row with the band going full arena rock mode. Page was pounding away at the keys with Trey letting loose in unison. As this was taking place Fishman was hitting the drums with what felt like extra arms with how quickly he was playing and Mike held it all together with a great riff.

With the song finishing up, Trey said “Thanks everybody, we’ll be right back” and then gave Fishman a look and instead of closing the set out, he hit the opening notes for “Fluffhead.” With what felt like a quick laugh from the rest of the band, they joined in and delivered an excellent version with the New York line getting a big cheer and multiple peaks from Trey to bring the end to a truly great set.

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

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Set two kicked off with “Hey Stranger” and went quickly into a very dense jam. The band was locked in, but it was a short version and went right into “Down With Disease.” Page came up high in the mix right before the jam and they started in bliss territory that stayed within the confines of the song for a few minutes. Trey soon began using multiple pedals while Fishman pushed the pace. Gordon soon dropped some deep notes as the jam again began to morph. Kuroda’s lighting began to make it look as if the band was floating, right as the jam began to have no leader for a few minutes and it was a glorious full team Phish moment.

Page gave a ton of texture under Trey’s riffs as Fishman knocked out some truly wild fills. It’s always amazing to watch Phish listen to one another and build a jam together. Around the 17-minute mark, Trey found a riff he liked and Mike gave some great compliments to it. Soon the entire jam began to deconstruct, but Fishman pulled it back together. Once again they were in no leader territory, as they were letting the music guide them. At the 20-minute mark it got spacey and felt like they were going to stay there for a bit, but Trey began “Winterqueen.”

It was a good calm down with a lot of great work by Page early on. A very satisfying, soaring Trey solo was followed by an unexpected, gorgeous Page solo that soon brought the song to a close. Much to crowd’s joy, the opening riffs of “Tweezer” rang through the arena. There was an immediate groove that the jam took. A few minutes in there were multiple drop outs that let Gordon get some excellent solos in. Kuroda again shining through on this jam, this time with his 3D technique.

After Mike guided the first part of the jam, Trey took over around the 17-minute mark when he began his attack and pushed the direction of the jam. It took a dark turn a few minutes later that saw Trey get some big riffs in, followed by Page taking over the lead. It was great to see everyone taking a turn leading the jam throughout this “Tweezer.” There were plenty of great repeated riffs during the whole jam from all four members.

Trey then began the “Tweezer” riff, but the rest of the band fought it at first, not wanting the jam to end just then, but finally they all latched on only for Trey to go in the opposite direction and start a new solo, that set the crowd off. This solo soared and brought the entire building to a new peak. Trey was holding long notes at this point, which foreshadowed a move later in the night. The final peak that was hit was well earned by the entire room.

Trey then began the “Seven Below” riff and an abrupt transition happened and stayed in Type I territory for the entirety, and soon transitioned into “Piper.” They wasted little time getting into the jam that had a “5:15” feel to it. Fishman was putting on an clinic under Trey’s soloing. This was an extremely busy jam from all four members who fit a lot of notes into the short seven minutes in length for this take.

A wonderful transition into “2001” got a giant pop from the crowd. Kuroda always brings it for this song and it was no different here. The whole building was in their usual full-on dance party mode for the beloved song.

“Everything’s Right” brought the set to a close with a solid, big arena rock jam and nothing but smiles could be seen on everyone when you looked around during the song. They came out for the encore, with Mike having a dreidel behind him, and began “Life Beyond a Dream.”

From there we unexpectedly got “Harry Hood” and it was quite a version of the song with a fantastically patient jam. Trey really held the note and shook his head like it was 1994 again, and the crowd went wild. It was a big ending to last regular 2024 show with the band and the crowd definitely feeling good about Hood.

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Phish’s celebrates New Year’s Eve tonight at MSG. Livestreams are available via LivePhish.com.

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