Phish Unleashes Monster ‘Tweezer’ At Madison Square Garden: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Just as the Super Bowl is rarely the greatest football game of the year, Phish‘s New Year’s Eve concerts are rarely the greatest show of the band’s year. While Phish treats fans to a “gag” on New Year’s Eve, the high profile setting doesn’t always lead to the best music. However, December 30th is a different story. The date is the most storied in Phish history and the trend continued in a big way on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the band kicked down a four-song second set worthy of such hyperbolic adjectives as “epic” and “monumental.”

The show had a special feeling right from the start when Phish opened with “Wilson” just as they did 25 years prior at their Madison Square Garden debut. Next up was the Kasvot Växt rocker “The Final Hurrah” and a “46 Days” that featured a fiery peak. December 30th Phish concerts usually contain at least one bust out and on this night it would be a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “The Ballad Of Curtis Loew,” which was last played on October 16, 2016 — a gap of 121 shows. Keyboardist Page McConnell was in fine form in belting a song that disappeared from Phish’s repertoire between 1993 and 2009 and then was in regular rotation for a while before vanishing again for the past three years.

“Blaze On” served as the improvisational centerpiece of the first set and foreshadowed what lied ahead. The four-piece swiftly broke through the song’s normal structure and embarked on masterful jam session that included explorations of a dirty jam space and more blissful terrain over the course of 17 minutes. Another rarity followed in the form of “Corinna,” a Taj Mahal cover Phish busted out 20 years prior at their Big Cypress Millennium Eve celebration in Florida’s Everglades for the first time in over 10 years and 1,000 shows. “Corinna” had only been played twice in the past seven years and both versions took place at MSG. Another historical pairing came next as Phish inserted the beloved “Contact” within “Mike’s Song” and “Weekapaug Groove” as they had done just three times prior (6/20/95, 06/30/95 and 07/07/12). Both “Mike’s” and “Weekapaug” were straight forward affairs with little in the way of full-band improvisation. Phish closed out the set with more recent material as “About To Run” from guitarist Trey Anastasio‘s Ghosts Of The Forest project led into “More.” The latter was one of just five songs played all night which appeared on one of the band’s studio albums.

“Tweezer” fit snugly into its best position as the second set opener and spanned a jaw-dropping 36 minutes, which made it the third-longest jam since Phish returned in 2009. But what made last night’s “Tweezer” so memorable wasn’t just its length. Phish hit upon one outstanding chord sequence after another and took each deep. Up first was a funky motif that the quartet worked into an anthemic major-key progression. All four members added impressive contributions to a clinic in improvisation. The blissful section ended with a massive peak led by Trey that was followed by a stunning breakdown. Phish laid into a beautiful progression in which Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Mike Gordon played the same gorgeous pattern over and over again while McConnell added delightful layers of synth. Eventually, Anastasio varied the riff he had been working over and patiently led a crowd-pleasing build over a progression that stands among the best in Phish history with the “Went Gin,” “Albany YEM” and “Lowell Reba.”

Phish wasn’t done with “Tweezer” yet as they followed the stellar progression with a more bluesy excursion featuring a rollicking beat provided by Fishman. McConnell let it rip on his Wurlitzer electric piano while Anastasio focused on aggressive rhythmic work and Gordon pushed forward yet another key change to a segment akin to “Party Time.” Once again, Phish built the music to a rolling boil and the crowd went wild in appreciation for the magic they were witnessing. Just when one would think the “Tweezer” was over it just kept coming. The finale of the “MSGeezer” was a jam on “Let’s Go Band,” a melody whistled at every Rangers game in which fans of the NHL team respond by chanting “Potvin Sucks” in regards to Islanders’ legend and Rangers’ foe Dennis Potvin. For what it’s worth, many in the audience chanted “Potvin Sucks” while others screamed “Let’s Go Phish.”

Tweezer via LivePhish

Anastasio took an opportunity after the 36-minute “Tweezer” to recall the band’s MSG debut 25 years prior. Trey told a story about a guy hitting him on the head with a pan. Fish utilized sound effects on his e-drums to accent each line Trey was saying and Page joined in as well. It was a bizarre interlude that was either a brilliant aperitif or a lead-in to the gag that will unfold at The Garden on New Year’s Eve. Phish followed the banter with “Ruby Waves,” another Ghosts Of The Forest song and one that gave way to a 38-minute jam on July 14 at Alpine Valley. While last night’s “Ruby Waves” didn’t reach the length or heights of the Alpine version, the band expertly explored improvisational spaces that were far different from the ones hit upon in “Tweezer.” The egalitarian jam gave Phish LD Chris Kuroda the opportunity to use the venue’s internal lighting system to great effect. The show continued with a quick romp through “Steam” that led into another bout of “Tweezer” jamming and the end of “Ruby Waves.” Phish perfectly placed the euphoric “Slave To The Traffic Light” as the set closer on a frame that won’t soon be forgotten. A cover of Velvet Underground’s “Rock & Roll” served as the encore and gave the crowd a chance to scream along with the line, “Then one fine mornin’ she puts on a New York radio station.”

Phish returns to MSG tonight to close out the New Year’s Run with their 13th New Year’s Eve show at the venue. A webcast is available via LivePhish.com and a live broadcast can be heard on SiriusXM’s Phish Radio.

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