Complete slammer of a second set. The best placed Rift ever? The best one jam Mike’s ever? Incredibly refreshing and inventive jamming all night. They were full of ideas. Halley’s Comet, Ghost and Simple were great fun. On the other hand, Bathtub Gin, Mike’s Song, and A Wave of Hope are must hear!

If you attended/watched/listened to this and still wanted more from a N1 show, I’ll eat my whole hat.

Both sets and that half-set encore are chock-a-block with goods. Special attention goes to the Gin-Ghost combo, the multi-suite WOPE, and the boogie down Mikes.

Here’s a hat tip to tonight. See y’all kids tomorrow.

PHISH, THURSDAY 12/28/2023
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
New York, NY

SET 1:

No Men In No Man's Land: Standard.

Halley's Comet: Good jam. The second time they jammed it out this year and both of them were at MSG. Each is quite a bit different. I think I prefer this one more though. Would recommend!

Sample in a Jar: Standard.

Runaway Jim: Trey has some whale call going on in here – little abrasive. Page shines brightly in here on the baby grand.

Bouncing Around the Room: Standard.

Axilla (Part II) - Nice, little jam here – little more whale call stuff like there was in Jim – some cool effects from Page >

Funky Bitch: Trey gives this a proper ripping. Nicely done.

Bathtub Gin: More gross whale call. Sounds lazy and abrasive. Once he starts playing with his pedals in the late 8’s – the whale goes away. The pedal/effects laden stuff doesn’t last for too long. From there this transitions into a canned bliss jam. That same one you have heard a million times since 2017. They do in fact finish this jam and then some effects and then it segues into Ghost >

Ghost: Bliss jam, see Gin comments as they apply here as well.

SET 2:

The Howling: Standard. >

A Wave of Hope: The wah stuff that Trey was doing in the late 11’s sounded cool, but it was kind of brief unfortunately. It harkened back to Fall 97! Nice clean tone from Trey in the 14’s and 15’s, some very nice licks! Unfortunately, this section is brief and from the 17:20 mark through the end it just devolves into the same canned bliss jam. ->

Rift: Not as sloppy as some have been recently. >

Mike's Song: Lol at those ridiculous howling samples to at the beginning. The beginning of this jam is your fairly typical pedal heavy jam from Trey. Trey doesn’t actually play his guitar until 7:14. From there he has a nice, clean tone for about a minute. He then implements some wild effects and when he comes back out of that it into the part that would wind down the first jam – this meshes really well with those effects. Very cool. Then into Simple, that was really good stuff right there, would recommend. >

Simple: Good jam here. Starts off very quiet, lots of headspace and room to breathe initially with some subtle effects from Page that help paint a nice portrait. Eventually this transitions into a very Trey centric jam as he has a bit of whale and a bit of reverse reverb. The last couple of minutes threatens another return to the dark abyss of a bliss jam but thankfully they show enough restraint not to let it get full blown. Would recommend this jam. >

Blaze On: Pretty good jam, Page and Trey are way out front. It’s too bad we cannot hear Mike anymore.

ENCORE:

mercy: Trey sounds hoarse as this starts out.

The Squirming Coil: Beautiful solo from Page.

Weekapaug Groove: Standard. >

Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. - Standard.

Summary: The current rating on Phish.net is 4.322/5 (199 ratings). I think it is a strong Phish show when you take into consideration the entire of body of work. For me, I have three tunes that I would return to Halley’s, Mike’s, and Simple. The encore is fantastic, and it shows how excited they are to be back on stage and creating art for the fans. Good stuff. I would rate this as a 4/5.

Replay Value: Halley’s Comet, Mike’s Song, Simple

Trey teased San-Ho Zay in No Men In No Men's Land. Mike quoted No Men In No Men's Land during Ghost. Mike's Song contained sound effects used earlier in the show during The Howling.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 4.322/5 (199 ratings)
TEASES
No Men In No Man's Land quote in Ghost, San-Ho-Zay tease in No Men In No Man's Land

As my friend and I entered the stairwell after the show last night, there was a man’s voice echoing down the flights. His words grabbed a hold of our ears and we turned to one another and giggled like fools. What he said was something I hope to never feel the need to say, but truly don’t believe I ever will if Phish continues down the road they have spent 40 years paving. “It was a safe show.” He said this in a way that confused me. Were we at the same show? Have we ever been at the same show? Will I ever feel the same way about a show? After 51 shows I can safely say….I’ve never seen a safe show and I don’t believe anything I’ve ever seen them do could be considered safe. I mention this encounter only because I know there are people out there who love every minute of every show they attend. Even if the Farmhouse doesn’t land the right way or landed in an odd place in the set, they never disappoint and last night was no different.
Starting off the night with what is one of my favorite tunes was a nice little No Men coming in to get my body moving. Followed by a synth filled Halley’s Comet that felt longer than it was. Perhaps it was my seating right on the side of the key master himself, but I could tell Page was going to have a little night for himself. Sample followed up and made me smile the way only Phish can make me smile.
This is where the set started to take off for me. Runaway Jim started and as it began I turned to my friend who was entranced by the tune and I thought “Here we are.” With twisting solos and a solid Page, the song hit the spot. An unexpected Bouncing began and it felt simply spot on. Fun. Always. Axilla crushed and once again the synths made the highlight of the song. Funky Bitch followed it up in epic fashion and every bone in my body was dancing.
Bathtub brought us into outer space as my personal song of the set. Plenty of eye closing moments and plenty of stare out at the crowd moments. Just when I thought “Let this jam go on forever”…..they hit me with Ghost and I easily accepted the change of tune and it continued the incredible vibes Gin left behind.
Set break upon us and the house lights on, the first thought is usually “woah”, followed by “yeah, this is the place to be.” Phish at the garden is always the place to be. Walking amongst the folks I’ve spent so many endless hours with over the years I felt more at home than usual. We were all ready for the second set.
The Howling funked us up right off the rip and everyone was having a blast. A hot take, but Wave of Hope has been my song of the year. Each time I hear it I love it more and more. 23 minutes of glory and evolution. It’s a jam that is easy to get lost in and this time was no different. Rift hit the spot to follow up Wave of Hope.
Perhaps it’s the fact that my friend’s name is Mike, perhaps it’s because the song is awesome, or perhaps it’s all of the above, but this song never feels anything short of spectacular. At the start of the tune I almost turned to him to tell him I hoped they would play Simple next. The two songs to me go hand in hand. I can probably blame Chicago ‘94 for my strange hunger for Mike’s Song/Simple. At long last I got the combination I had been waiting for and Simple may just take song of the night for taking me to places reminiscent of the days when I wasn’t sober many moons ago. Blaze on was a great way to end the set and the dancing continued until the very end.
Time for the encore. I had never heard them play mercy and although it didn’t become a fast favorite, I appreciate them going for it. Now Page got his well deserved moment with Squirming Coil which I honestly thought would be the Groove we all expected, but instead we got the unexpected Page bonus followed by Weekapaug instead. I was quite pleased. To top it all off, S.A.N.T.O.S. showed up just to let us know that the show wasn’t over.
There’s something about the first night of the New Year’s run that I find so exciting. It never fails to kick the run off right. This one hit just right. One down and three to go. We are off to a great start. If you’re out there and you’ve made it to this point, thanks for reading. Unlike Phish, stay safe out there.

It's easy to take for granted, but Phish are really magicians when it comes to crafting long-form experiences. It occurred to me last night, before the opener, that they were about to play 9 distinctive sets over the course of 4 nights, comprised of any number of distinct pieces of music. Again, that is easy to take for granted, but there aren't many other bands in history that could even approach that. This was a pretty stellar Night 1. If this was your first show, I think you got a pretty solid indicator of what Phish is about, and what keeps us coming back.

The first set did what a good first set of a run does- rocked. Straight-ahead rockers like "Axilla II" and "Sample", the latter delivering some true bliss from the Hammond B3 at the end. Not to mention the always-welcome "Funky Bitch". "Runaway Jim" is nothing but fun. "Gin" and "Ghost" boasted excellent, exploratory jams (and a harbinger of what was to come early in Set II) - neither veered into territory that the band couldn't easily find their way out of and both stuck the landing.

Set Two is what I came for, it turns out: surprises. "The Howling" and "A Wave of Hope" are examples of songs that feel, to me, a bit flimsy. "The Howling" is silly- Sci Fi Soldier in general is a little silly, which is CERTAINLY a big part of what makes Phish who they are, I just feel they have better, more interesting silliness in the catalog than this. But that GROOVE, though...this worked INSANELY well as a set opener, I thought. Page was on fire this set, and it started here. "A Wave of Hope" feels, to me at least, like bad poetry set to a neat groove. If that song speaks to you I am glad, it just doesn't do much for me normally. So it was to my delight that it ended up being a highlight of the set. This was a multifaceted jam that veered into unexpected new key areas, grooves, and motifs that only could come from four guys who have spent a lifetime listening to each other and responding. On a different night Trey might have pulled the ripcord at some point- he never did. Landing in "Rift" felt like the perfect move after that and the crowd seemed to agree.

"Mike's Song" is good anywhere. It can open a set, it can open a show, it can be a closer, it can be an encore. In this case, it signaled that we were, perhaps, coming in for a landing. This could have been a Mike's Groove to close the set. Phish is, by their nature, unpredictable, so it's funny that a thing like "Mike's" showing up midway through the second set made me think I could predict what was coming next. Color me surprised once again! First of all this was an EXCELLENT "Mike's Song", particularly the middle, minor, funky bit which felt filthier than usual. Segueing into "Simple" isn't unheard of, but it was a great moment of "Party ain't over yet!". And we New Yorkers do love our skyscrapers. "Blaze On" also jammed to new and interesting places for an excellent set closer.

The only true stumble of the night for me was "mercy". That song definitely does not do anything for me, and hearing Trey struggle through that vocal had ME begging for...okay I'll stop

"Squirming Coil" was just what I was in the mood for- Page had an excellent night and I felt full of joy as he played out the piano Coda. Finally, "Weekapaug"! although, again surprisingly, NOT finally. "S.A.N.T.O.S." has a fun, flight-filled history at YEMSG so it feels kind of nostalgic now. I think it's safe to say that I and all of my 19,000 friends went home happy. See y'all tonight!

Incredible statement made here. First set was very straightforward nothing too crazy. Gin and Ghost had some great moments.

Second set was special, new inventive exploration and sonic discovery. Howling was a great tone setter then ANWOH just dove in and took us there. The Jam in Mikes song was perfect with a beautiful Simple to boot. Why stop there, the encore was an incredible cherry on top with a shorter Coil into Weekapaug that didn’t disappoint one bit. All to find all of us screaming Say it to Me SANTOS to end the night!

Lots of energy, loved every minute. Thank you Phish!

First time ever that the first of 4 shows as the MSG NYE run is not a dud. Enough said And has I am water mercy I rely on Grace or Mercy, so I’ll take the latter or the former It’s weird when they break up Mike groove so often now But whatever keeps Trey playing as an old man works for me. I hope they play till I’m dead but I know that’s not possible because I’m 41 and Trey is more like 61.

Fantastic show on night 1 of the run. It was certainly one of the more undersold NYE shows in recent memory. And Phish brought the heat. Dare I say the reviews are under-selling this one right now. 1st set was super solid with little rust and that Gin -> Ghost combo was straight amazing. Better than anything in S1 of 12-29-23

2ns set though, FUHGEDDABOUDIT. Howling got us going and Wave of Hope was the highlight of the whole show FANTASTIC JAM, must hear stuff. The transition to rift was perfect phish. And the mikes afterwards was straight up nasty stuff. Simple also came in with another inventive jam. What a nearly perfect 2nd set this was and makes this a show worth 5 stars in my opinion. As of right now, this show is underrated guys.

This show is a good listen and highly danceable as well!

Energy is high in the first set with a fun Bathtub Gin (longest song in the first set).

Second set is freakin' awesome! Wave of hope is a stand out (longest song of the 2nd set) with an interesting section that sounded like Nintendo video game music from the 90's. Mega Man 2 anyone?! Leads into a very danceable bliss jam. Personally, I love a bliss jam. C'mon, Page on the baby grand, just shinning bright!? You gotta love the bliss jam. Mike's Song was funky and featured a nice chunky bass groove. (That, right there, was quite possibly the most nerdy Phish thing I have ever said.) Second set closes with a barn burning Blaze On. The last 7 mins of this song was so much fun to dance to. Same can be the said for Weekapaug in the encore- to me this was the real show closer.

It's Phish's 40th year as a band. I turned 40 this year. And by the end of this year the total number of shows I'll have seen is....39. But its really all good, I saw 7 shows in 2023! I've been listening to Phish since I was 15, and this will sound so cheesy (and maybe even pathetic ????), but when I reflect back, getting to listen to Phish really is one of the highlights of my life. And I have kids!!

This show is a good listen and highly danceable as well!

Energy is high in the first set with a fun Bathtub Gin (longest song in the first set).

Second set is freakin' awesome! Wave of hope is a stand out (longest song of the 2nd set) with an interesting section that sounded like Nintendo video game music from the 90's. Mega Man 2 anyone?! Leads into a very danceable bliss jam. Personally, I love a bliss jam. C'mon, Page on the baby grand, just shinning bright!? You gotta love the bliss jam. Mike's Song was funky and featured a nice chunky bass groove. (That, right there, was quite possibly the most nerdy Phish thing I have ever said.) Second set closes with a barn burning Blaze On. The last 7 mins of this song was so much fun to dance to. Same can be the said for Weekapaug in the encore- to me this was the real show closer.

It's Phish's 40th year as a band. I turned 40 this year. And by the end of this year the total number of shows I'll have seen is....39. But its really all good, I saw 7 shows in 2023! I've been listening to Phish since I was 15, and this will sound so cheesy (and maybe even pathetic ????), but when I reflect back, getting to listen to Phish really is one of the highlights of my life. And I have kids!!

Wow, what a first night overall. I'll get it out of the way on the front end, they should have waited for Trey's voice for mercy. I personally enjoy it a lot as a song, but its very dependent on the vocals and Trey just needed a second before going for it.

the highlight for me was Wave of Hope into Rift, I think that was a perfect song combo to have in the second set and allowed room for that Mike's Song to take off. I hope they play more material off of Rift during this run, partially because the album has been in heavy rotation for me and I'm ready for a Maze or Fast Enough For You.

@dublindeuce the best one jam mikes ever lol.

i can think of four of the top of my head that blow this one out of the water
11/22/97
12/02/97
7/09/99
12/30/99

this one is decent but doesn't even make the top 10. man talk about 3.0/4.0 show fluffers.

now we know why the rating system got shut down. not that they matter to anybody except to the hatchlings