Phish Madison Square Garden New Years Run – Highlights & Lowlights (SHOW RECAPS)

Is there a more important venue to Phish and their fans than MSG?  What started with one show in 1994 continues in 2016 as the band has now played 35 memorable shows at the world’s most famous arena. This most recent run of four shows wrapped up a stellar 2015, with the last show of the run ushering in what will hopefully be another high quality year in the modern era of Phish.

10 Highlights

First Set Fun

I will never accept that first sets have to be a warm-up. However, since that is often the case in 3.0 Phish, it’s noticeable when tunes have a little something extra on them in the first frame of a given show. “Free”, “Roggae”, “Wolfman’s Brother”, and “Undermind” stood out in their respective first sets during the run and are worth another spin.  

“Chalkdust Torture”

One issue with the MSG run as a whole was nothing ventured into truly deep territory in terms of exploration. That said, there were several significant jams and “Chalkdust” was one of them. Covering a bit of darkness, abstract ground, and dare I say a taste of hose, this is the clear highlight from 12/30/15.

“Bathtub Gin”

Jam preference depends on what’s music to the listener’s ear. Many fans would easy take the “Chalkdust” from this night as the winner since it covered more unique spaces, but don’t sleep on this “Gin”. Drifting into Type II territory early, the energy in MSG spiked for good reason during this take of “Gin”. The peak alone, boasting a cohesive effort by all four band members, arriving at one salient place is noteworthy in and of itself.

“Mikes” Groove

You have to look at this as a complete sequence. The “Mikes” is tight. The move into “Bouncing Around the Room” is as questionable as it was surprising at the time, but the first pull into “Weekapaug Groove” brings the music back into a better flow. But it’s the left field drop into “What’s the Use” that melted the venue. I don’t think anyone was expecting that choice and it worked. It worked well.  It was a temporary trip to intergalactic territory before grounding back down with the end of “Weekapaug”.

“Reba”

First set fun aside, “Reba” remains a fan favorite, with the jam arguably being as sacred as Phish music gets. The 12/31/15 version didn’t quite bring us back to the mid 90’s, but it was extremely well executed, offered a soaring climax, and primed MSG for some insanely flowing Phish that would take place in sets two and three.

“Kill Devil Falls” through “David Bowie”

Were it not for such a standout show on 1/2/16 this selection of music would easily be the “must listen” sequence of the run. Yes, I understand it’s spread over two sets and technically spans eight songs, but as we know in the world of Phish, the trick is to surrender to the flow.

“Kill Devil Falls” broke new ground and the move into “Piper” was seamless. “Piper” didn’t get too far, but set up a “Twist” that wasn’t quite on par with the Mann or Shoreline versions from this summer, but, nonetheless offered compelling, edgy music to leave us all fired up and frothing for the start of set three. It’s no coincidence that the last twenty minutes of 2015 was pure fire. It was a strong year, and the “No Men In No Man’s Land” was as strong of a jam as anything from the whole run. Not to mention the New Year “gag”, which fit perfectly with the notes expertly crafted before the big balloon drop and “Auld Lang Syne”.  The break to celebrate 2016 set up a smoking version of “Blaze On”, a short but poignant “Carini”, and a “Bowie” that shook its typical structure and fully achieved lift off. If you’re not looking to commit to a whole show, but have a good chunk of time to give to some worthy Phish, look no more.

“Down with Disease”

It could’ve gone deeper, and the move into “Dirt” was smooth, but the ground being explored with this “Disease” was hot. A little more patience and who knows where it could’ve gone, but regardless of its shortcomings this “Disease” was another nice run of improvisational music and certainly a top moment for the poorest show of the run.

“Light”

The best thing about this “Light” was the different drop, rhythm, and groove that resulted from the jam. Phish often has a method to their madness, building jams out of unique songs with a certain style. But this “Light” took an extra detour, and when compared to other jams from the run the diversity in notes played is both noticeable and highly enjoyable.

“Tweezer”

We knew it was coming, and as much as safeness with song selections was not a highpoint to the run, “Tweezer” to open the last of eight sets was the right call. The drop got the building going, ready to absorb every last note that would be offered, and after twenty-two minutes and three distinct jam sections you couldn’t find a bummed fan in the house. There’s been more than a few memorable “Tweezers” in the 3.0 era of Phish, and 1/2/16 yielded a top tier version that will undoubtedly get solid replay value for many years to come.

1/2/16

It was a complete show. The “Tweezer” was hot, and while the improvisation wasn’t heavy and some notes may have been missed in a few spots, this is one of the more complete shows Phish has played in far too long. The old school nature was more than a joy to experience in the live environment, especially in set one, but here you have premium song selection, flow (the move into “Sand” especially), and the cherry on top, high energy. This show was a classic way to close out the run, with a great encore to make the final statement, leaving all show goers grinning ear-to-ear.

5 Lowlights

“Simple” > “Back on the Train”

It may seem mundane, but early in the 12/30/15 show Phish had the chance to go from zero to hero in an instant. After a little breathing room in “Free”, the initial notes of “Simple” were more than welcome. Once through the composed portions of the song, it’s not that the segue into “Back on the Train” wasn’t tight-it was, it’s that the beginning improvisation in “Simple” looked to be going where many fans like Phish to go.  But the eject button got hit. Why has it almost become taboo to jam, explore, or go deep in a first set?

“Waves”

There are several key components to a memorable Phish show. Patience is one. At some point we all know a massive “Waves” is going to leave a mark on our community in a good way (not just in a soundcheck). To give this gem less than ten minutes of chance to blossom is ludicrous. I remain firm that this song holds some of the greatest improvisational potential of any song in the vast catalogue of the band, but when placed perfectly late in a second set more time, patience, and exploring should go down before pulling the ripcord.

12/31/15 (end of set three)

“Horse” and “Silent in the Morning” are classic Phish songs. “Backwards Down the Number Line” is not, but the band loves it, or at least Trey does (for good reason), and the ending does have the potential to rip. But what if you remove these three songs and insert…We might be talking about a true dream set and on a date that historically fails to “get there”. Oh well, the rest of the set and ending of set two was straight fire, but what a missed opportunity.

1/1/16

There are a couple of fun highlights in there, but of the four shows from the run this is by far the lowest quality. No flow, minimal jams, and zero cohesion. Even the long “Farmhouse” encore felt like the band was saying, we dropped the ball tonight.

Too Safe

It was a good run, but “Lizards” and the “Ghost” sandwich from night one felt like the only times where chances in song selection were taken. Hooking up can’t be forced, we know this, but with such a vast catalogue, eight sets and four encores, it’s unfortunate how little rare or atypical song choices were made.

Whats in Store for 2016

Closing out another run at MSG Phish enters 2016 with bright eyes and momentum to build on a 2015 that was arguably their strongest year of playing since ushering in the 3.0 era. Some lucky fans are headed to the bands first shows south of the border in just a few short weeks. Other rumors have interest peaking at what could be a pretty fun summer. Will Wrigley Field go down? Is a return to the Gorge really in the works? Only time will tell, but thankfully MSG left us with tunes that have major replay value, and an overall feel that Phish continues to put their best foot forward 30+ years into an exceptional career, and perhaps most intriguing, that they clearly have more ground to explore.