All shows will carry a jaded vet’s bias. For me, this was as close to perfect as phish gets. From 46 days —> tweeprise this was a balanced display of creativity and rock.

Though some are quick to compare or rate other shows against one another, most should know that this show doesn’t require such drivel. Simply put, 12/29/18 is a complete, precise execution of fire. Easily top show of the year and I can candidly say top 25 of all time. Opinions are just that, but for me this was the kind of show I hope for every time I walk into a venue.

The first set gets going with a very strong Blaze On and the trancesdent second reading of Turtle In The Clouds. Later, the first frame features strong funk and bliss jamming from 46 days > Cities and 46 Days’ musical cousin, Wolfman’s Brother. Wolfman’s features Party Time quotes and is arguably a mashup.

The second frame starts with a fiery but short Carini, which Trey soon favors for Tweezer. This is a superb, heavy hitting Tweezer jam. After 20 minutes, Tweezer’s roar bleeds into Death Don’t Hurt Very Long, which shines greatly in its’ second reading. This heads back into 8 minutes of relished Tweezer jamming. This is in an exquisite jam that features some great funk jamming and 2018 “minimalist roar” from Trey in a fun mashup style. Later in the set features groove based dance fests with 2001 and First Tube.

Overall, this was an incredible Saturday night dance party, with the second set making it a show for the ages. Can’t wait to to back and do it all again tomorrow!

Terrific, complete show. Nice lil jam in Blaze, neat 46 jam and -> Cities. Wolfmans->Party Time->Wolfman’s->Party Time (or something….no matter what the setlist gods decree, Party Time is in there somewhere). Two Tweezers really and outstanding jams both. I kept hearing I Know You Rider in the first one but some of the best peaks regardless. Intriguing if hollow DDHVL but a neat -> into Tweezer #2. No Quarter/2001/First Tube collectively not much above average-great…butbutbut…how’s that for Zeppelin in the ballad hole and a pure dance ending?

Top 5 esque show of the year upon first listen and the Tweezers may be even better upon relisten.

I must add to the praise of this show: a spellbinding juggernaut of energy, showmanship and just a brilliant entry into the beloved lore. Make the time and do not hesitate to listen to the whole thing. An all-time great one. A relentlessly fun first set, which has a revamped poppin' Turtles or TITC (i loved typing that), keeps crackling with musically tight moments of sonic discovery and humor, and as a filthy Wolfman's winds down, we have one of the the best 1st set of the year. By the time the second set 'winds down', we have one of the great shows of all time. The second set drives us into that outrageous place where only Phish can go.

With all due respect to @phish123, I’m not sure that there’s a way to make some kind of perfect rating system possible. For someone like me, who didn’t start seeing Phish until 3.0, but has now seen 87 shows - last night was perfect, and one of the 2-3 best shows I’ve seen. It’s not fair to expect every person who’s on this site to be 250+ show, 20+ year vets, so unfortunately, in 2018 you’re going to have to respect the opinions of people who don’t “know” Phish as well as you, and realize that the ratings aren’t going to be perfect. I wasn’t at NYE ‘95, or Gorge ‘98, so no matter how amazing those recordings are, it’ll never be the same as being there. I can’t help but be biased by being inside the world’s greatest arena during last night’s show and being surrounded by 19,000 other people, 99% of whom were having a 5.0 experience.

As mentioned before, when the piss break song of set 1 is Corinna, and the cool-down section of set 2 is No Quarter, I just don’t know what more you can ask for in 2018. How many times have we seen 3.0 second sets that seem destined for greatness and then derail with an Alaska, Twenty Years Later, or Show of Life, etc? To me, this is as good as it’s gonna get in the present day, and that should matter in rating the show.

That said, these things have a way of taking care of themselves over time - 16 of the top 20 rated shows here are still ‘93-2000 shows.

5/5 for me for sure. I have been seeing them for 26 years and this show was as fun as any I have seen. I will never be the 19 year old that first saw them in college and they will never be those guys again either. But I could have never imagined seeing No Quarter in 1992 either. Any show where The Sloth or Corinna might be the low point is just insane to me. The Garden was ROCKING tonight and I for one left looking for my face. Thanks as always boys.

Watched the webcast, and I’m still looking for my face. I think it melted down into my hoodie. A nice Blaze On to get it going after a standard Buried Alive opener. Trey and Mike’s dancing during Turtle in the Clouds is a riot while Page is hitting the funk with the keys. Standard Sloth, and it’s nice to hear 46 Days here instead of a second set opener. The -> Cities is nice and then a bit of a breakout with Corinna. Ya Mar let mike get into things before a stellar closing with Wolfman’s -> Party Time -> Wolfman’s.
Carini starts off the second set nice and dark. Even though it was short-ish and didn’t jam much...I think Trey was just feeling the energy and couldn’t wait to get into Tweezer. An all time epic Tweez. Twenty minutes of sick spacey muddy funk before an amazing peak then > DDHVL -> a Tweezer that holds its own as a jam, not just some novelty of a few measures of the song, but a straight out Phish jam! At this point, I didn’t care if I was Buried Alive, Death Don’t Hurt Very Long after that. No Quarter is a perfect landing pad to calm everyone down a bit before the pure dance party 2001>First Tube closing. Encore could have been a cover of John Cage’s 4’33”...didn’t matter at that point. Epic show. One of the best I’ve ever seen, certainly the best of 2018. Hope they lay it down tonight with typical 12/30 (or Sunday) style before we get to see what the gag is this year. Happy New Year Pham!

We just witnessed the best show of all of 3.0. As far as non festival show it was easily the greatest show of the modern era.

These guys were pedal to the metal all night. Never let up. Played into the audience and we played back. 27 minute tweezer>death don’t sandy.

Five stars al the way.

It’s rare that I decide to review a show online, but this show deserves to be talked about for years. I had a lot of enthusiasm goin into the venue because I thought the night before was just ok and they’d bring the heat tonight. I was not wrong. This show is my favorite that I’ve ever seen since 1994. And here is why...

Buried Alive opened was nice and clean. Good indication that the band was in sync and ready to roll.
Blaze on was solid. I thought the first set Blaze Ons have been a lot better in 2018 and have had solid endings that ripped. This version was no exception. The 3 min close to this had me smirking.
Turtle in the Clouds confirmed my suspicion that it was gonna be one of those nights. You could tell with the theatrics that they had something in store for us and they’re having a blast.
Sloth was a surprise. Always cool to hear. And a solid quick version.
46 Days is where the set turned a corner though. Crisp open to the song that segued into a really cool jam that plinko’d into Cities. Very cool transition. Jam in Cities was a dance party for sure.
Corrina was a cool drop. Silky tone and was a perfect smile break.
I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I heard Ya Mar. was a nice upbeat insert to the set.
Wolfmans was definitely the the stand out of the set. Maybe better if it was called Wolf Party. The funk section ripped into Party Time lyrics and screamed into another 10 min jam dropping in and out of Wolfman and Party Time lyrics. Fantastic close to the set.
Big bow from the boys and the crowd was eating it up. Raging close to the set!!!!

Thought Tweezer was gonna open the set but they come back on with Carini. All versions as of late have been amazing so I was pumped. Clean chorus section and short jam. The jam rolls heavily into Tweezer almost as they though they couldn’t wait anymore to show us this Tweezer.
Clean open and throws down with amazing stalls in the jam. The crowd throws down some Woos in the middle, which I’m usually not a fan of, but these seemed fitting for the situation. This Tweezer is multi layed with several epic sections connected beautifully.
My Fav KV song opening notes sneak into the jam and they drop into a Swampy DDHVL.
Suspicions confirmed, this song has endless potential. This Phish is my favorite. I was freaking out. They drop back into Tweezer and not just for a sniff. They go back for another 9 mins and rip through. I’m in awe. Literally shocked by what was going down.
The Tweezer jam slows into a sultry version in No quarter. I can’t name a show when they played No quarter that didn’t rock. It was comical the way they were pulling heater after heater.
2001 just added to the lunacy that was this set!!! Fantastic version, little extended jam and once again, we shook that place like no one was looking.
First Tube was smoking! Trey got to play rock star and hopped all over. He sure had a blast and really let us know this during FT. Last shot of Adrenalin beige the set close. Place explodes with applause. Extended bows and again, well deserved.
Encore was Shine a Light which was solid version, and nice cool off before The TwPrise. Place went nuts. Nobody left early, and a lot of people stayed late just to sit and gather their jaws and thoughts!!! Bravo boys!! This Show is the reason that I continue to spend ridiculous amounts of time following this band around the country.

In attendance - Cannonball run from Syracuse and back. Most importantly, it is my brother’s first. We pregame at a local establishment within stones throw of MSG and we are ready for an 815 start.
This show was a perfect show for me. High energy during the whole show with crazy improve and butter segues. The energy during Turtle in the Clouds was unbelievable and will not be forgotten anytime soon. It was nice to hear Trey talk about feeling the crowds energy on AskTrey. Trey was locked in on the crowd last night. Highlights galore in the set: Blaze On, 46 Days, Wolfman’s Brother..
No time wasted to start the second set with Carini blasting out of the gates and quickly into an amazing Tweezer sandwich with Death don’t hurt very long as the middle piece. No Quarter was perfect for my brother - a big Led Zep fan. The dance party got in full swing with 2001 and First Tube with full rockstar Trey on display closes us out. Shine a Light and the best 4 minutes in rock and roll is the cherry on top.
Thank you Phish for completely spoiling my brother for his first show.

Bravo boys! Truly inspired and joyous! Keep the dreaming alive.
Ever since the 90s when buried alive would start out many a grand show, it is so nice to see it making a return to spot one!
Maybe just maybe I’ll have the joy of being in audience when that opens up another ripper in the future.
They just keep getting better!

I walked out of MSG looking for validation. Maybe the best(my favorite) show I’ve ever seen. I do have a tendency to feel like that after most shows I see. Especially when I’m in the perfect head space to enjoy all the phish has to offer. And I’ve been known to drink the kool aid from time to time.

As soon as I got back to my room I started texted friends who weren’t there to get their opinions. It seems as though I was correct.

Just a smokin’ show right out of the gate with buried alive. The show seemed like they were just on the gas the whole time. Restraint wasn’t in their vocabulary that night.

The second set was really the highlight of the night for me. Just seamless jamming from one tune to the next. it didn’t hurt that it was just one of those nights where I could really feel the whole crowd just burning up along with the boys. One of those shows that I can listen to over and over and feel transported right back there in my mind.

12/28 was supposed to be my 73rd phish show and my mom’s first. Fate being what it was, flight delay after delay forced us to miss the show. I immediately put up a post on CoT explaining our circumstances and several offers for tickets came in. I want to send out big ups to the entire Phish community and jsmrtic in particular for getting us in the door and even in the same section for 12/29.
Moms was truly blown away by the music and the love flowing through the Garden. BRAVO PHISH!

12/29/18: Wow.. what a night
Set 1: Highlights of the set include: everything from buried alive > cities (followed by a nice breather) and the ya mar>Wolfman's>Party Time>Wolfman's. [where's the love for Party TIme guys?] The buried alive was rocking followed by a in-and-out Blaze on (I thought this version was good, fishman pushed the band with good pace to a decent peak and included a a good funk/rhythm section). The Sloth. F**k yes! [NSFW]. I’ve been waiting for this one (played only 5 times since I started seeing phish). The energy in the building was NUTS for this one. Me and my buddy were power rocking and just totally enthralled by the energy this classic tune brang to the Garden. I thought the 46 days was an especially good jam with a slinky segue into the cities. Trey working his magic with the Bm/D switches and the band all together was locked in after 46 Days started to liftoff. Next up, the Ya Mar. I love this goofy song and got a little plinko-ey just before coming to a smooth close. [although we first miscalled it for waves at the time - sorry people next to us, we’re scrubs]. Finally, the only thing that can compete with the 46>Cities is this Wolfman’s>Party time sequence. The wolfman's started strong and found really nice space in a minor key, followed by more exploration. The vocal jam was a “makeup call” IMO from Mansfield ‘16 when the sound cut out (thanks boys) and was really cool INTERWEAVED with Party Time. Just the band again showing us that they’ve been practicing and I thought they were just in tune the whole set - giving room for every band member to thrive in their moment. Also I’ll note that the bands changes were clean and smooth all set (this theme will continue throughout the run). BUT I felt this was on 12/28 after set 1. Are the boys going to be able to keep the energy up for all 4 quarters?...

Set 2: Highlights of the set include: The whole dang thang. I have been caught a few times in just moments of this feeling. It’s awe and disbelief and appreciation for what this band can do - even though it is hard to describe, we all know what it is. (jam night, powder night, 12/30/16, 12/29&30/18 are some of mine). That tweezer had me jaw to the floor when it came back (and with a strong extra 7 minutes). The carini finds a nice jam and peaks but is just cut a little short and shadowed by other monsters in this set. Namely, the tweezer is just an amazing jam with good diversity and I think the Kasvot song fits in there perfectly. When they brought it back you could just feel the entire Garden go nuts (similar the way disease came back from melt during the Dozen imo). Then the No quarter was a nice breather. Led Zeppelin felt like a breather, woah. I’ll take that in the ballad slot every night. 2001>First tube is a great ending [dare I say perfect?] to an Phish set, with the 2001 being slightly extended at the beginning and a longer set of peaks (first opinion, haven’t compared times thoroughly though). Let me note here again that the bands segues were really clean as they just slinked from one song to the next all set (and all night). *Note: I liked the woo section here, but I wish it stopped here. I feel like they were asking for it all weekend, lets just get back to stop-start jamming. But I digress...

Encore was good-not-great again. I love the “make every song you sing your favorite tune” lyric and it was appropriate for the night. Followed by the “greatest 4 minutes of rock and roll”, and absolutely stunning night of Phish was capped off. Overall, I thought tonight was a barn burner. Everyone was talking about 12/30 being THE night or 3rd night of the run being the best, but, let us not forget that Phish is the band of ultimate regret. And they’ll make you pay for missing a “sleeper night”. I’ll hold off on making any sort of ‘97 comparisons for now. But this show deserves being discussed for a long time.. As will the next..

Ha! Love that we disagree rating Phish shows!!! 123 I agree with however!!!!! Last night was absolutely smoking and deserves the high rating it’s getting woooooo. OMG Wolfman Party Time Carini Tweezer etc played as well as I’ve seen them play! What a show. How fun to be a fan of a band that gets better w age. Wish I could say the same about me lol..Love you guys KEEP BRINGING IT EVEN IF WE DISAGREE. LOl peace

I sing this show's praises so often that I decided to just chime in with my $.02 about how good it is. IMO, this is a perfectly-executed Phish show, if not necessarily the most exploratory or experimental. Doesn't matter - everything here is, for the most part, perfectly executed. Psychic link on 100. Not a dry undergarment in the house.

I left with my jaw on the ground in utter amazement at how hard Phish crushed the Garden this night. EASY 5 stars. Listen immediately and accept no substitutes.

@ITCH_TO_THE_NAG summed it up perfectly. I can't say any more. If this isn't the Phish you crave for, then you're missing out.

Absolute fire Set II. I turned around and saw a lot of hands over mouths before the encore. Just simply stunning display of funk jams which rolled continually. I enjoy every show I'm lucky enough to be in attendance for, but I share @ITCH_TO_THE_NAG's sentiments in saying this is definitely the type of show I'm looking for.

Just in response to phish123, and with complete respect, the band simply MUST be getting better with time. The things the band had thought of and were capable of playing in 1997 were 20 years of experience shy of the things they've been able to think up and play since. I completely agree about this source (phish.net) being key in helping us to roughly differentiate between shows played really tightly (for them), with few "mistakes' in composed sections, with energy, creativity, joy, etc, and those shows that may lack slightly in chemistry, energy, and all those same metrics. I am certain, though, that many of the qualities people are rating are very subjective. Yes, you'd think that over time, the average score would remain relatively constant as the pham grows with the band, but at the same time (and I have NOT seen 270 shows, but a few dozen live from '97 on, and many couch tours - as with last night), there must be an increase in the appreciation of older phans who are still blown away by what they're doing, and I can personally attest to the fact that the best live shows I've seen (with a few exceptions) are the later ones (Nashville was most recent), as they are doing things they had not or could not do back then (not to mention the songs they hadn't written yet). Nashville is a great example actually; For me N1 was absolutely outrageous, and among the best shows I've ever seen, while I'm sure many preferred N2. For the longest time the 2001 from Gorge '98 was the greatest musical experience of my life, but it seems I am having those moments more and more often since (see 10/23/18 Everything's Right), and that is partly due, I think, to my relative 'openness' to the music. To analogize, I've had the same brilliant single malt scotch on two different nights, loved it one night and thought it was harsh the next. Anyway, I hear what you're saying, and it's a great point, but be open to the possibility that the shows ARE getting better! Loved last night btw. Epic performance. I too heard either I Know You Rider or an undefined Allmans tease for the record...

I have been seeing phish since 1995. I have seen many of the 'great' shows. This one was way up there for me. I brought my dad to NYC with me (he's a suit in his 60s). He was so blown away by, not only the community, but the quality of human beings that interact at shows. My phriends asked me to keep bringing him to shows hahaha. There were four of us in our group who were 100+ show vets, and we are anywhere between 8.0 and 9.5....I'm more near the 9's. I thought this show was pretty perfect from start to finish. That Tweezer is the best one I have seen in 2.0 or 3.0. I think the entire run was quality. They are having fun. I was surprised to see this ranked #2 of all time, but I think it's definitely top five. Hope you all had fun! Happy New Year!

Really enjoyed last nights show. It was show 270 for me. While it was probably the best of 2018 so far, it’s hard to imagine how people are rating this show so high. As of now, this is rated the second best show in Phish’s history. I don’t understand why people are so quick to give shows a 5/5 rating just for being great. These shows need to be compared to shows in the past because if every great show is given a 5/5 rating, we will never be able to differentiate certain shows from others. The average phish.net rating for shows in 1997 is a 3.80. The average phish.net rating for shows in 2018 is a 4.11. To me, this makes no sense at all. I’ve been to shows like big cypress, 2/28/03, 11/17/97 and these shows were on a completely different level. The ratings on phish.net the past few years have been inflated and it’s in some ways an insult to the shows that have withstood the test of time and are considered to be among the greatest phish has ever played. People are now just reflexively rating these shows 5/5 because it was great. All fans should be able to look at phish.net as being the most reliable source for show reviews/ratings.

This isn't a proper review, just a commentary. After the show ended, I left YEMSG with such ebulliance (and maybe I left my brain in the Sky Bridge), and was completely awestruck. I found a super-chill bar in Greenwich Village that was decorated with Star Wars memorabilia, and basked in the glow of this show with my other fam. Trey is a Jedi.

A general gripe about phish ratings: I was at this show and it and the next night were the best non festival shows I’ve attended. In the grand scheme of phish, this show is very good but not legendary material (i.e. 7/25/17, 12/6/97, 7/17/98, 12/31/95 you get the point).

That being said, the fact that this show is rated (currently) behind some shows that were not bad but no where near as good (12/30/16? I was also at this show and it doesn’t hold a candle to this), demonstrates that people will downvote shows they know are good just to balance out the overall ratings chart. Nothing should ever top 12/31/99, and this show is not better than 8/22/15, but having it hardly rank as a top 60 phish show is a crime especially when you look at the top 60.

Please do not downvote shows to balance the charts. It will happen eventually and does a disservice to new fans who use this information as a launching point for what is high quality phish.

@phish123 has a point. I’m inclined to agree. The folks who run this site might want to wait 48 hours or so before a rating can be submitted? Or allow half-stars? That way we are not forced to wade through shows with “padded stats” trying to find the true “diamond-in-the-rough”! The dizzying effects of a wicked-awesome show by The Phish are truly exhilarating! I’ve been there, phrends! YEAH! But, sometimes a little time spent in reflection and truly digesting what transpired may cast a more accurate light on the affair. In the end, it is all subjective. We all are entitled to our opinions. There is no right or wrong answer - there is only, and always will be: The Phish!

One undeniable thing about this show which does deserve mention (so this counts as a review and not the rant of some “jaded vet”) that second set is straight-up FIRE! You can’t deny the strength of that Tweezer sequence - more than once sounding like The Tahoe Tweezer (even without the egged-on “woo” section from last night). The very end of No Quarter is jarring it stumbles into Also Sprach on the official take - wonder what it looked like in person. It’s about to be 2019 and I still listen to The Phish almost daily since late 1991. They are the best! Thankfully, they don’t play their best show ever every night.

Great show, a solid 4.5/5 for me!!! Decent set 1 with some nice surprises to behold. Well worth the listen! Very very fun set 2, Carini was a blast but cut early and a bit roughly IMHO. Real nice blissy peaks and funk dance party modes in the Tweezer, this ones a smoker! The > DDHVL transition was a bit jarring for my taste, and even though the funkier of the Kasvot songs, just didnt do it for me in its second outing and in its placement. However, once Tweezer started back up, the fire playing resumed with the rest of the set being straight Phishy butter! You could tell they were having a blast up on the stage and with each other. So fun to witness! That being said, however, I still don't understand how this is rated the #2 all time Phish show currently! I can count several other shows at MSG alone that far surpass this show in adventure, tightness, and transition execution in my opinion in the 1.0, 2.0, and even 3.0 eras!!! I was not there, but did couch tour it. After listening back to the entire show again today a few days after the buzz, it still holds up as a super fun show, one of my favorites and def top 5 shows of 2018 for my taste! Kuddos boys!!!! This is how you keep us coming back for more!

In spite of the Kasvot songs. . .and in spite of night one Minus the If I Could . . .this is one heck of a NYE run! The Tweezer is the highlight for me even though i hate the sandwhich song it was very funky version and i hate the lyrics but that music is fun i cant lie. . .i dont like No Quarter very much i like other Zepplin songs much better but it is very psychedelic as was the theme this run and the set closers were amazing. Love you guys so much . . .keep up the amazing playing