So NYE in MSG... This is what I have been looking forward to my entire conscious life, since I first became a Phish fan, and with the incredible 3 nights to start off the run... There were no words to express the excitement that I was feeling leading into 12/31. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I was going to enjoy it regardless of what they played.

Pre-show my sister and I walked the High Line and checked out the Vessel, the Grimace Train, and the Hilton where Luigi murked that CEO. Iconic king, there was someone on the floor N1 in a Luigi hat which was a clear tribute and there was a sticker making the rounds with a Luigi photo and the text "Life Saving Gun"... which had conspicuously not been played this run so far. I also made it to Washington Square Park and was glad to lose $10 in a game to a local chess hustler. Made my way to MSG at opening time after crushing some cheap beer prior to entry. Soaked things in and dropped my beans - I also saved up my molly stash for this evening on purpose and it definitely was the right strategy.

Prior to the show I was talking with some Phishcord members and I mentioned that since I was lucky enough to get a Harpua at Dicks in 2015, the most iconic "rare" song that I haven't seen would be Icculus. Since the still-alive Dolan was taking all of my facial info, digital traces, dancing patterns, and genitalia scans upon entry to MSG, the least I could get is an Icculus for my troubles. The sentiment expressed was basically this: "Real fucking Phish. NYE in the Garden. Beers taken all sorts of ways. People singing Silent Night in the parking lot. Getting a pre-show handy. Too bad the band hasn't been good since 1993. Looking for an extra for the wife's new companion." It is wild that the Clones gag was five years ago at this point, with Trey getting stuck up on the ledge there all by himself. Truly feels like another era.

There was a "face" in the rafters for the first 3 evenings of the run, and NYE included. You could see it slightly but it wasn't moving and it wasn't referenced. I assumed it would be a part of the gag. There were little white curly paper spinnerets hanging down from the rafters under the stage, and there were white sheets covering large LCD monitors. All of these figured to come into play later.

Set 1 was a Greatest Hits for Me. It began with my first ever Mike's Groove. Was hoping for this prior to the run and it was a hot start to NYE. Continued the trend of recognizable openers and this one got the crowd into it early. Bouncing Around the Room was literally the first ever Phish song I heard - way back in 2013 on Pandora Grateful Dead Radio, and it instantly captured me. BATR and Weekapaug Groove were both formative in my Phish introduction, and Weekapaug Groove is possibly my favorite Phish song. Was having such a good time at this point in the show already. Stash came next and it was nice to see them get out there pretty early on in the show, and in a way this sort of confirmed that there would be exploration in both sets prior to the third. A solid version, nothing next-level but very good quality. Evolve was next and this one really got me bouncing around the room - it's one of the best 4.0 tunes and my favorite from Trey's solo pandemic work. Had gotten one at Dicks N2 but the bliss was just as good if not better. Llama came next and this is always welcome - just pure heat. Split Open and Melt was an inspired choice for the next song and this was a fantastic rendition. I'd take Melt at every show I go to, I love the style of jamming and how good they've been playing it lately. They had a great un-syncopated burst of energy towards the end that I really enjoyed. While not as strong as some of the previous recent Melts, it did the job. The set could have ended there and I would have been happy, but then Backwards Down the Number Line arrived and I was really happy about that. I was belting out the lyrics and sharing in the groove for the duration of the jam, it was incredible. Just great vibes around my seating area as well. Carini drop was perfect to continue the dance party, and although it wasn't really taken for a walk it is always nice to get one of those. Squirming Coil was a perfect choice for the set closer. I got one at my first show to end the first set as well (10/17/2014 Eugene) so that was a full-circle moment for me. A potential reference to the spinny devices that were hanging from the rafters, they nailed the composed section and Page brought it all home at the end. The ovation was thunderous and I swore I could feel things shake just a little. This was a really good first set, especially for an NYE show, with basically every song something that I was happy to hear.

Anticipation was through the roof as there was a non-zero possibility the gag could come early for Set 2 as in last year, but I didn't necessarily expect it. I just wanted a set of killer music, and that was what we were confirmed to get with the Sigma opener. Love that tune. It also continued the trend of the run where songs were not getting supercharged right out the gate, but instead it would be the second song of the set where the true exploration would begin. This was solidified with My Friend, My Friend. They had to play this song as it was the song of the year, with killer versions at the Sphere, Alpine, Bethel, and more recently Dicks N4, where I was lucky enough to catch an 18-minute *first set* version. The MFMF here at the Garden was similarly unbelievable - it was dark, it was clean, and it was pure serotonin. Teases abound and there were several distinct rhythmic movements. It sounded like towards the end Trey was leading a vocal refrain, perhaps "he's got a knife" or something was being sung to close it. After the drill, a clean break into Sand was a perfect choice. Both Sand and Golden Age have a pretty good amount of jamming in their relatively shorter timestamps, but they do work. And Golden Age is always a song I'm interested in hearing. After the Golden Age came to a close, WTU was another perfect setlist choice and it was such a cool moment. MFMF through WTU is 50+ minutes of true Phish magic. Taste was a bit of a surprise to me and it doesn't really go anywhere, but they bring the set to a close (or so I thought) with a powerful Golgi - always welcome to me, I love Golgi. I was again surprised to see First Tube - now this one was absolutely magical. I was lucky enough to be at the supercharged "First Tube is My Lube" version from Dicks, but this one was perhaps even more memorable. Trey engaged all sides of the crowd, first the left, then the right, then behind him.. This is a must-hear version. There are like 4 or 5 separate crowd "pops" that really brought out the rock star mode in everyone to close. Incredible moment to cap off an incredible set. Two blowouts and the gag was even yet to begin!

I was almost beside myself with anxious energy about what was about to happen. I had a sneaking suspicion that What's Going Through Your Mind, the other Song Of The Summer, would get some sort of rotation in the next set as it hadn't been played the whole run. When the lights went down for S3, there was just this incredible feeling. They had put down stage stands behind/next to the stage between S2 and S3 so everyone knew there was something dramatic planned. It was thus interesting that Character Zero opened the set - again, a recognizable opener, perhaps so the gag wouldn't be on the YouTube opener or something, but not one that figured in the gag itself. It was very good and got everyone going. PILLOW JETS came next and this was special. One of my favorite recent tunes, caught one at Dicks that was maybe the centerpiece of that show, so glad that it was getting center stage for NYE. I wasn't sure what was going on until after the main chorus, as the fun officially began. The spinnerets came down from the rafters, the LCD screens began showing light formations, and down came the giant face from earlier, in parts and then fitting itself together. The gorgeous yellow flowed down from the face and design and the yellow-robed chorus began to add to the song - just a powerful, powerful display. I couldn't believe what was happening! It went until NYE officially began, after which the crowd went wild and Auld Lang Syne began. Soon after, WHAT'S GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND opened. I fucking LOVE this song and was so glad that it was getting played here! It was literally the only song I was hoping to hear at Dicks and it was played and jammed there.. so this was going to be good regardless. The lyrics are great and I loved the additions from the choir.

Almost as soon as it felt like it began, out came the added beats. I was just standing in awe at what they were coming up with when it dawned on me that they were remixing their OWN songs! The lines that they were coming up with - the Blaze On line, BATR, Wolfman's, Lizards, Comet, and Martian Monster lines.. all fucking incredible. When I realized what they were doing it was pure bliss. It must have been so much fun for Trey and the band to come up with these. This was otherworldly - I have no idea how they managed to pull it off, but immediately I was enthralled. And dancing my ass off - maybe the most fun 15 minutes of the year for me. It felt very cathartic after everything - the trauma of the year, the 8 sets leading up to this, and the weight released from everyone's shoulders. After the dance party finally came to a close, there is an all-timer segue into Chalk Dust Torture - a must hear as well. The crowd was on top with the lyrics, as it continued the celebratory affair. ST3L was a bit of a surprise choice for next, having definitely room in the set remaining, and it's a solid version, nothing special, but nice. Life Saving Gun is a very good version next - again, it's not the longest, but there's a lot in there, and it really shows the band just saying "fuck it lets jam some more" and they put so much into the LSG. The notes say Mike was on a mini-keyboard - I didn't catch that live from my vantage point but it's cool that he is doing that - I don't remember this from previous shows. LSG hits a nice peak and then Santos to close - this is an above average version of Santos with the crew just rocking out as hard as possible - everything after WGTYM is just pure catharsis.

I didn't know how to even process that, I didn't even sit down afterward. I was in a daze of some sort lol. They came out for Grind and I loved to see that, it just shows their sense of humor is always shining through. This was very evident in the next song, Icculus! I was so hyped for this, I could barely sit still. This was not only called by me but I was just overjoyed that I would be getting one - I have now seen basically all of the main chase rare hits and it was a dream come true, literally. I remember how it wasn't in NYE last year, so it made sense that it would be a callback to last year. I felt like it was funny that Trey was basically acting like he was mechanically forced to play it and he was just getting it out of the way for fan service. Very amusing and it was a satisfying peak. Tweezer Reprise of course was always going to close and that was the perfect cap to the evening, everyone getting down one last time. Unbelievable show.

I stumbled out into the evening and there was just such a celebratory mood - high fives all around. I met up with some friends and we were walking the streets around MSG, unable to comprehend what we just saw. I didn't get back to my sleeping place until about 5:00am - it was just such a wonderful evening.

My attempt at a more detailed read of this gag goes back to NYE 2023-24 with Gamehendge - that was such a great show, the ultimate fan service, and a look back at a project from the Early Days of Phish. That was a look into Phish's past - this was a look into Phish's future, deliberately done so. I feel like this was a conscious choice after last NYE (and the idea of how to top it, if at all?) - obviously, it could not be topped in a nostalgia sense, so the idea was to approach things differently and look into Phish in the future rather than back. This resulted in a completely new ballgame. It was a cute way to get meta with themselves, I haven't seen much commentary on that but it was a cheeky way to give their own stuff a second whirl.. since they don't often do that in such black and white ways. The idea of remixing their old songs into the EDM mix was a genius maneuver - it allows the artists to repackage aspects of their old art into a new, modern approach, and to have a sense of familiarity in the new genre. Speaking of the genre - it's like the relationship of Mount Fuji to Japanese and Tokyo art specifically - all art includes the mountain, and if it doesn't, the absence of it is a conscious choice. This is similar to the recent resurgence of the Disco Biscuits playing well again and other jam bands adopting EDM flair into their music. It's hard to imagine this happening without the musical path being paved prior, even if obviously it's not referencing anything specific. It was also hard to ignore the success of Charli XCX's album Brat this year, something that Trey would be intimately familiar with living in NYC and likely through his children and just having an ear to the ground in the current music scene. I feel like that is a clear influence here, especially in terms of Brat and Charli's remix album being such a big hit this summer. While neither of these connect explicitly to the EDM Gag, they are important when putting the context of the gag in with the influence of other modern day artists, both popular and in the jam scene.

I also wonder when the decision was made to include Pillow Jets and What's Going Through Your Mind in the gag. Was it before or after they debuted it with Billy and had him sing it? Was it before Pillow Jets had 3 stellar versions this summer? Very interesting to think about.

As far as the power of this show - I think that this show was headed towards being a top tier NYE show even before the 3rd set even started. The first set is immaculate and the second set is some of the best non-gag NYE stuff in some time, especially the MFMF through WTU stretch, plus the barn burning First Tube.

After the show I took it easy on New Year's Day and then flew back on January 2nd. The only negative was that I definitely caught the wook flu but I'd catch that for the rest of the year if it meant I could get a show like this one on 12/31. This was one of the best experiences of my life, the whole week in NYC.. the friends, the family, the food, the shows, the community. As good as it gets. This was everything I wanted and more - thank you Phish for making it possible.

My closing take is that I absolutely loved Phish EDM and I hope to see it more in upcoming shows. Give us Bass Drop Phish. Give us Remixed Own Songs Phish. I love it. I love when Phish does new things and continues to grow in new ways. Give me anything and everything! Hope to see you all in the Pacific Northwest sometime soon!