Fire and Flow
With night two tee’d up higher than an eight year olds perfect at bat, Phish came out and hit for the cycle. From the dance groove of TITC deep into the cavernous Walls of the Cave, set one started fuego and stayed fuego. Moma had a little gusto and gave way to a KDF that straight raged. Solid band interplay ensued during Yarmouth Road and set the stage for the remainder of the show as the band locked in early and never looked back. What struck me, from the couch, was finding joy in the little moments like Beauty and the Birds. Watching the band gel in 4K is captivating.

Coming out hot, Carini sparked an all out dance party that had me rearranging furniture to my wife’s dismay. Kuroda had MSG rigged like some pyro on the Fourth of July. The chaotic elegance of the lights truly captured the bands intentions and watching the ring run circles around the floor from the ceiling of the garden, was like watching an artist create a masterpiece. As Carini touched down in BOTT, the reverential and giddy nature of the band was so palpable. I feel like Trey had to remind Fish twice that he wanted BOTT and not Possum; hilarious. The Gin->Golden Age->2001->Sally was so fluid. At points in each I was so lost in the groove I feel like I slipped back in some space time continuum curvature rolling back upon sonic themes, versus the song reprisal the band recently showcased. While both types are welcomed and point to the playful nature of the band, these Thematic reprisals feel like they carry more credence. I continued to be amazed at where lights were situated that CK5 controlled. It seemed like every where possible there was a light with a switch that connected back to that monster control panel and The mastery of such a massive undertaking is beyond words.

The fourth quarter continued the high energy showcase. Hood went the distance, conjuring the themes explored throughout the evening and the one two punch of Show of Life/Antelope closer was like wax being bled, as this evening was stamped sealed and delivered into the pantheon of top rated Phish shows.

Night Two thanked Night One for the solid set up and put night three in notice. WTF is New Years gonna have in store!!

(Onsite for the affair) Well that was something else, I will keep it short and sweet. A fierce funky first set that went the distance in a short amount of time with a fiery first set Fuego and While My Guitar Gently Weeps (What!?). This was great, every song just brought the juice.

The second set from Carini to Antelope just felt right. All of it from the soaring Hood to the short but sweet Sally was just incredible. Totally worth your time on all levels, cheers!

General consensus seems to be that 12/30/19 was the champ, and it's understandable. If you were lucky enough to be in the house you probably still have goosebumps from that Tweezer. Not to mention the 1st set 17+ min Blaze On which should not be missed.

That said, I have no problem declaring 12/29/19 as my favorite of the run. Set I highlights: From the opening Turtle which featured the most emphatic HOUSE PARTY cry I've heard yet, to the amazing KDF (UNTIL I DO IT AGAIN!!!) to the bust out and best Beatles cover I've ever seen live in While My Guitar Gently Weeps and then closing with a raging WOTC.

And then there was set II. People talk about flow. I've never seen a set that was a better example of flow than Carini>BOTT>Gin>Golden Age>2001>Sally>CDT>Hood. It was honestly like one long incredible jam. Actually, I have seen a set with that flow, it was my first show on 8/12/15 which featured Gin>NMINML>Twist>S&SS>Hood (see some similarities?) But as it was my first show I couldn't appreciate it like I did this one.

Show of Life encore made me think about the faces of the friends that I recall, and then to cap it, they set the gearshift for the high gear of our soul.

Every night of the run was special, and 12/30 maybe had the biggest individual moments, but for a full show, and the one I'll relisten to the most in the years to come, I'm all about the 12/29.

The garden was gyrating to the maximum during walls of the cave. What a blast, could’ve been arrested if an authority figure saw what I got up to during 2001>Sally. Wept tears of melancholy joy with one of my best friends during show of life and rallied in to a higher gear during antelope going forward.

Fun show.

Set 1: Solid 3.0 Rock show. Yarmouth gets a little gooey and then the sets takes off from Fuego on.

Set 2: From the first notes this set had me glued to my dancing shows. I wanted another beer but never made it back out. Awesome set with amazing moments. Just listen.

Encore: Show of Life. Then I feel sorry for the people leaving because *boom* antelope.

A Tale of Two Sets on Night 2 at MSG.

I was on the floor where the energy was high amid the boozy jostling. TITC got the Garden swaying and laughing, an ideal start to any show, and Moma Dance kept the groove flowing. I've been a KDF fan since the legendary Set 2 opener on 7-31-15 in Atlanta and rejoiced even as the crowd didn't love the choice. Then we hit the mid-Set 1 doldrums with a series of fairly well executed but pedestrian versions of Set 1 staples. Nothing particularly memorable to recount...until the unexpected and very much welcome return of the Beatlest/Eric Clapton's classic WMGGW. Yowza and hallelujah! A made-for-Trey cover on a night of many covers (not a complaint). WOTC takes us into the break.

My favorite 3.0 Carini is 10-18-13 in Hampton where Page led the band into a joyous major chord exploration. This Set 2 opening jam evolved into dark, spacey territory with lots of dissonant Page synth. Not for beginners. BOTT is functioned as a palette cleanser before the group began a jam-laden, mostly exuberant quartet of Gin-Golden Age-2001-Sally that launched the assembled into rapturous celebration. Trey went deep in Gin (another not always sunny Set 2 jam) but segued to bliss in Golden Age. 2001 was fully deconstructed with start/stops and Woos, and Sally finished the Connect Four on another welcome note (lots of notes, really). CDT and longer-than-usual HH round out the set.

Mirroring the Set 1-Set 2 dynamic, the first encore Show of Life was deliberate and contained, while the brisk (9:07) Antelope finale was a bit of a mid-NYE run catharsis.

Solid show worth a re-listen on LivePhish if you couldn't make it to MSG!

In attendance. I thought the show’s greatness was benefitted by excellent song placement. TITC rocked MSG like last year’s serving. Most importantly was the trade for a Set 1 Fuego for a Set 2 Bathtub Gin. Both songs were fantastic; Gin likely taking home last nights MVP. The Antelope closer was also a perfect choice to send us home in high spirits. The rest of the songs fit all nicely in between.

High energy show from start to finish. I thought Mike really shined in the first set, especially when Trey wasn't taking the lead. Really enjoyed the rarities in the first set; Beauty of a Broken Heart and WMGGW especially.

Fuego through Walls of the Cave was some rippin' Phish. Carini had some nice weird space in it and the Gin was hot, with a different ending thrown in for good measure. I like the unique take on 2001 but the odd start/stop woo section kinda ruined the dance party flow. C'mon Trey, don't woo-n my 2001! Sally had potential to keep the dance party going but Trey cut it short for CDT, which I can't complain about since I love that song. Solid Hood to close it out. Show of Life is all right by me, glad they capped it off with Antelope to end with some high energy.

Attended the show and watched from the Chase Bridge. Set one was great, filled with lots of songs I had never heard live yet like Turtle but also fit in classics like Moma Dance. My friend was lots of fun and the 1st set really takes off with Birds and then WMGGW, which was awesome and got the garden rocking loud.

It all carried over to this 2nd set, which I dare say is near perfect. The transitions and fluidness are just on another level, and great versions glaore of carini, gin and golden age. The Hood has insane energy going in, and Trey holds a note for almost 2 minutes and the garden just got louder and louder. Truly amazing moment. Fun antelope to close it all out. This is an amazing Phish show imo, Bakers Dozen level and top 20 of 3.0, mainly the 2nd set