Came in jaded, tired, zero expectations, wondering why I keep dragging myself to see this band again and again.

The band had me hanging on every note. The sound, the playing, everything so dialed in after all these years. I'm sure I wasn't the only feeling like this.

This was a perfect show. On paper it might look what ever but the whole band really just put extra mustard into every moment.

Bold as Love encore? What more could anyone want?

We're so lucky

Really strong show here! Blew last night out of the water.

Set one had a great and memorable version of Caspian. From there on this show got insane. Runaway Jim was filthy good - the YEM > Ghost was tight and about as good a 1-2 punch to end the first set as you can ask for

Set two is defined by the 37 min Ruby Waves, another behemoth jam to add to a year of many behemoths. There was some great grooves going on during this thing, a true jam for the ages in MSG tonight.

Waste was a great cooldown. Fuego was strong, and the CE&P was a great call. Phish brought it home strong

Bold as Love encore was a cherry on top of the heater. See you guys tomorrow. We got a great one tonight!

Set One: A
Set Two: A

Score: 4.5

Never miss a Sunday YEMSG show. Got-damn! First set was full of great tunes that had a little extra mustard peppered in. Kuroda crushed Caspian on the lights. Monsters earns its keep among all the 1.0 songs in that set. And then wouldn’t you believe it, a YEM > Ghost to close things out. That Ghost was powerful.

Second set 38 minute Ruby Waves was as great as you think it was. Gotta love those Frankie Says teases baked in. Fuego / Crosseyed… say less. Bold as Love to close it out. Great fucking show. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Phish just threw down a perfect fucking show. I’m completely speechless. I started going to Phish shows many years ago and tonight was my 382nd. Holy shit tonight truly blew my mind. The garden was on fire all night!!! I will forever be grateful for the impact Phish has had on my life. Tonight was as magical as it gets.

This is one of those cases where a 4.5 rating option would probably be great for some people. It would seem impossible, almost criminal, to rate this show only a 4. But when it got real dark and insane the woman behind me looked terrified The dude in front of me looked like he was on his third orgasm. So in the end to each their own. But that was undoubtedly a killer Phish show. Smashed the 5 button. No choice. It was awesome.

Wife Kat and I have had a long tradition of catching only 12/29 in the four day NYE run where we couldn’t do NYE or more, due to kids, money or whatever. The first year of this tradition was Providence 12/29/94, thirty years ago, and that show contained the longest and wierdest jam to date, the 31 minute “Lassie” Bowie.

Last year’s 12/29 was a rager. I recall thinking at that show as well as the kast year’s SPAC WW Benefit N2 jammed out “Chalkdust” and the last night of the 10/25-27/24 hurricane benefit shows at my hometownish shed Knickerbocker/Pepsi/MVP Arena N3 10/27, also on my download rotation, that the shows Phish is playing these days surpasses the 1.0 level of quality, intensity and consistency (% truly memorably great vs. “average great” shows).

I won’t go into a play by play recap because others above have done that aptly and much better than someone who kinda sucks at the Phish in terms of musicology. But I’ll say that the exploration that happened in Ruby Waves was jaw dropping and that Section 112 behind the stage at MSG is one of the best places in the world to see Phish. Our 137th show since 5/6/93.

Never miss a Sunday Show, indeed.

Set 1 set started strong enough, with solid but standard "Sample", "Bag", and "Moma". But already the energy was different than N1, at least that is what I could feel. "Rift" > "Caspian" was a turning point for me. I have always loved "Caspian" for the way it seems to plunge me, full body, into the rolling ocean, and this jam felt particularly submersive. I guess "Monsters" is not exactly beloved judging by the amount of people who left to pee when it started. I, for one, really enjoyed it, particularly the slow build into a rocking finish. After a truly mind-bending "Jim" Jam (Page should play more Clavinet, that shit is dirty as hell and I LOVE it), the delightful surprise of "YEM" and the double surprise of a high energy "Ghost" closer, I was left buzzing. I thought, in the moment, that it was one of the best first sets I had heard in some time.

Then, Set 2 left me thinking that this was as perfect a show as I've ever been to. The "Gin" opener kept the energy from the first set flowing. And then came "Ruby Waves". I love that this song, in the hands of Phish, has become one of the most reliable jam vehicles of this era. Even before they launched the jam, I felt the spectre of the Alpine Valley version in the room with us. This newest version bears relistens, I'm certain. The peaks and valleys (waves, if you will) of this jam felt so incredibly in tune with the vibes in MSG, thanks in no small part to CK5. Fishman REALLY shone in this one- his steadiness allowed for the other three to get especially weird just before the landing was stuck. "Waste" being the first dance at my wedding is a bias, I grant. BUT I'm going to go out on a limb and say that "Waste" was the first dance at a LOT of people's weddings and it was absolutely a perfect come-down. "Fuego" in MSG is a special thing- a moment to notice the sheer magnitude of the place. I don't know if "Crosseyed and Painless" was faster than is typical, but it certainly ripped. "Bold As Love" was the perfect cherry topper (I like when jam-filled shows end with straight-ahead rockers). I think Phish pitched a perfect game.

I left N1 feeling not-so-great. It wasn't a bad show, exactly. As a matter of fact there were a few moments which I thought were pretty great. But overall it felt disjointed to me, and left me a bit tired. N2 left me feeling EXACTLY the opposite, and incredibly excited for the final two nights. What can I say? This is why I've seen this band dozens of times- because they have never lacked the capacity to pleasantly surprise me. And what a gift that is.

5/5

Night 2 at the Garden, and already, it’s clear that the boys were in the mood to rip shit up, big time. They work in the ass-kicking business, and business is good.

Sample in a Jar is standard, but a fine way to open a show. Bag is pretty great, it has a nice type-1 jam, perfect for the start of a show. Trey is playing really well here > an excellent Moma Dance. The intro is extra funky this go around. This Moma is very lax, and gains tension very slowly, making the climax that much more satisfying. Fish is feeling very exploratory, and I’ll always support that. This is a great Moma > A standard Rift, but very well played. Lots of energy > A very dark Caspian. This one starts off extremely atmospheric, mostly due to Fish’s stellar playing. The guys just seem really happy here in the beginning, and that makes me happy (that won’t last for long). Trey does some truly mindbending stuff around halfway in, and the band begins to show their dark side, and the jam turns mean. The hell being raised here is unmatched. This Caspian comes from an alternate reality where he turns evil, and wreaks havoc upon Narnia. Monsters is next, and this one is very well executed. Trey proves to everyone that his voice has improved from the night before and, damn, it really hits hard. His solo is just amazing, it’s so choice. I recommend everyone listen to it, if you have the means. Runaway Jim is very, very solid. Some great exploration by everyone in the beginning. The jam that ensues is thoughtful, and is a nice gradual climb to the peak. The middle is when shit goes sideways, and Trey turns on his malfunctioning sounds. It gets downright eerie for a minute, as all the guys become increasingly dissonant. However, they manage to tie it back together, and group up for a nice climactic ending. This is a really good Jim. YEM is solid as well, it hits every mark a YEM should. There is an excellent Fish display during the end, before/during Mike’s solo (which is also really good). Just a fantastic display all around. We get a nice vocal jam, and Fish starts up -> Ghost while the vocal jam is still happening.. brilliant. This Ghost has a lot of energy, and is more rock oriented. A perfect end to a perfect set.

Bathtub Gin is kinda short, but very sweet. Mike takes the jam in a cool direction > an absolute beast of a Ruby Waves. This jam is very interesting in that the tone of the jam fluctuates between these moments of energy and rage, and these episodes of pure beauty and bliss; it weaves the two seamlessly together to make a perfect jam. The first 10 minutes or so is pretty tame, they’re just riding the energy and constructing a concise groove. However, at about 13 minutes, the jam takes a slower, more reflective tone, as Trey does some Gilmour-esque effects. Floyd is a great way to describe this section, psychedelia at its’ finest. There’s some great Frankie Says quotes from Trey. However, this moment of calm slowly evolves into a storm; a complete typhoon of sound. But it slows down yet again, and turns into a beautiful, joyous soundscape. Page completely stole my soul at about 22:00-24:00. This blissful moment slowly evolves into a funky groove, with Page and Mike paving the way. It’s almost reminiscent of ‘97-style funk, but it becomes something much bigger than that, as the science lab noises start happening, and the jam goes full sci-fi, but snowballs into a dark, angry ending. This jam is perfect in every way. Listen to it immediately. Waste is standard, but was desperately needed after that behemoth. Fuego takes no time to get weird, as Mike lays down the coolest crunch sound effect I’ve ever heard from him. The jam is concise and intense, and I like it a lot > Crosseyed and Painless is above average, and Fish is certainly the highlight. This is a lot of great energy to end a set.

Bold As Love is a nice choice, and this one is really sweet. The guys are lovin it.

Overall, this show has so much more meat than N1. Not that night 1 was bad, but this show completely blows it out of the water. Almost everything here is a highlight. Fish is really the powerhouse of this show, I think he takes hold of most the jams. If this is how hard they’re going on Night 2, then I’m excited to see what they can do the next two. Check out the whole first set, and the monstrous Ruby Waves. Sorry about my long reviews.

Came in pretty beat after night 1 and had one of the best nights of live music ever. Everything in set 1 was well played, but the caspian really took an interesting jam… haven’t really heard one like it before. The Jim was top notch and then that YEM>ghost transition left me jaw dropped.. the ghost itself blew the roof off and it became clear tonight was going to be special. One of the longer first sets of the year (or sets in general).

Gin set up a ruby waves for the ages that I’ll have to revisit again and again to fully digest but safe to say it was incredible. They could’ve easily coasted it a little longer to make it the longest ever but whatever! Every note the rest of the show was pretty dam perfect, peaks galore and what an encore to send us home. The cup is full and whatever they have left in store is just gravy for an incredible year and one of my new favorite shows. Thank you phish!!!

Quick thoughts on what was a top tier Phish show, even by MSG / 12/29 / Sunday show standards:

Set 1 broken the standard structure of what can sometimes be basic first set songs for Bag, Moma, Caspian and Jim. I think that meets the definition of “above average” set alone, then they drop a YEM>Ghost?!

Moma was way slowed down with Trey taking a meaningful step back, seemingly wanting to listen to his band mates. Through their history Trey has tried gimmicks to not overwhelm the band (drum kit, mini keys, heck even the funk is him staying in the background) . Mike in particular was front and center for this one (Happy Hanukkah Mike!).

Caspian was EVIL.

Trey was definitely NOT in the background for Monsters and by his vocal performance here also not under the weather.

I’m dubbing this the UFO Jim.

YEM was a house money call.

Ghost was doubling down on house money and fit 20 minutes of energy in 10.

Was shocked to see Gin was under 10 minutes as it quickly went places.

Was also shocked Ruby Waves was almost 40. It was seamless, as if they dropped one idea when it reached completion and immediately had their next one at the ready. Clearly need to relisten IMMEDIATELY.

Waste is always meaningful to me personally, wedding song and one I played for my boys when they were in the womb. Great cooldown.

Fuego>Painless, good god. I was behind the stage in 112, have been there many times, and I do not kid at all that I was scared for the structural integrity of the arena it was bounding so hard.

Axis, wow what a call.

What a show. What a band. See you tonight!

NYC is so incredible when the "big city" to you is Portland or Seattle. It feels like a different world or different country at times. The wealth of food, the ease of public transit, the sights.. It's wild. We spent a lot of 12/29 during the day at the Met, Central Park, and meeting up for the show with the Phishcord crew at a nice sake/ramen bar near MSG. I totally now get the charm and the draw of meeting up with the same crew members again and again at different shows. We ended up Taking the "A" Train into the venue.

Anyways, this is a top-tier show among top-tier shows. Let's get into it...

Sample was the opener. Great to get the crowd going early. This was also in the first set of my very first show, 10/17/2014 Eugene. I was selfishly hoping that there would be some sort of a Sample jam, such as the vaunted opener of Jam Night here at this very building in 2017, with *that moment* once we realized what we were in for. Not to be, but then another great opener next, and a great placement for AC/DC Bag. This actually gets out for a nice little stroll, it's 9 minutes rather than 6 minutes. Crowd very engaged at this moment and I think Trey picked up on it as they really really really extended the opening for Moma Dance (which was clearly a tip of the cap to the MOMA in NYC /s). This is worth a listen as it's special. I remember seeing Trey looking towards Mike and they were playing off of each other. I know they have been playing around with the opening a bit lately, sometimes extending it, but this one had me more convinced than any other in recent memory that they might omit the lyrics and just do BEK instead. I know I wasn't the only one to think that either. I wouldn't be surprised if this happens sometime in the next couple years. Either way, they did eventually get to the lyrics, and this is a really good Moma Dance. I knew at this moment it would be a special show. Rift is always cute, and Prince Caspian is the first big surprise of the run. This goes out for quite the walk and there is a very nice jam attached to it, and a very fine return to the song proper. Monsters is such an absolutely amazing song. It goes along with Mercy and Lonely Trip as some of the most genuine songwriting Trey has done in a while, and he really has reached a new plateau in that realm ever since Ghosts of the Forest and the pandemic really opened up his and a lot of our eyes on mortality. Was very pleased to be able to sing along to Monsters and the crowd healthily rewarded Trey's efforts.

The hits absolutely continue to bang with Runaway Jim. This jam is so wild. It immediately gets into this Plinko-esque realm with far more abstraction than usual - there's some Melt-type jamming and it really really gets out there for the amount of time it contains. A must-hear. I wonder now knowing the NYE gag if that had any influence on this jam. To continue this blowout set, they drop into YEM, which was such a treat. Not only was the crowd almost delirious at this point and time, but there is this fantastic rhythmic section prior to the B&D that Trey really excels at. He was very animated with his dancing as he was dropping the funk riffs. To throw a curveball, the vocal jam is trundicated, the band never leaves their instruments, and they sing a segue into Ghost. Super cool and there's a nice peak to end the set. This was an absolutely electric first set and everyone in the building knew it. So much excitement was in the air for Set 2.

Bathtub Gin started Set 2 and I was immediately hyped - always a good sign when that gets the late treatment. It sort of had a moment of excitement before they brought out Ruby Waves. I think at least for this run they started all sets with a short tune, perhaps for the YouTube crowd or something. The drop into Ruby was hype - it's been such a good jam vehicle lately! It also reminded me of Alpine N3 where they tried out Mercury before going deep with Ruby. And holy shit, did they go deep with this Ruby Waves. I would have to listen again for a full review, and I will leave the details to someone else, but that was where I elevated to a new level with this run. It felt like they were just doing incredible movement after movement. And I was so hyped, cheering them on. It was mind-blowing. They would discover a groove. Then Trey would dive a little deeper. And then another groove. And repeat a dozen times. It definitely held up on my first re-listen last week. After it (finally) came to a close, the band paused for a moment to let the crowd pop, and it was absolutely ELECTRIC. Once it finished, I was screaming my head off completely. And then Waste was the *perfect* choice for a slowdown. People were literally hugging each other around me. The backdrop was that to my left, there were a few of the more "jaded" old heads who didn't quite appreciate anything new. Hate that attitude, but they were there near me. And after that Ruby > Waste combo.. I mean people didn't know what to do. Hugs, fist bumps, wouldn't be surprised if the emotions just swelled for everyone. That pairing dissolved everyone's biases and just was an electric moment of crowd communion. Waste everyone sang along to and I was expecting maybe something again on the slower side... Fuego! Boom! A great idea, a thunderous jam that *everyone* in MSG sung along to - that song has POWER... A nice jam to boot and then I was maybe expecting Hood or something... God damn the opening notes to Crosseyed came. One of my favorite ever Phish covers. An absolutely inspired choice to play that at that time. I was jumping up and down by this point, on Cloud Nine. A ferocious finish and the ovation was thunderous when they dropped the closing chords.

I did not know what was going on, it was so wild. Everyone knew immediately that this was a legendary show. Bold as Love was an awesome encore choice - that was the first time I've gotten that one live. It almost felt like a bit of blue balls that they were just ending the show there, but they knew what they were doing. Leaving everyone else hooked for the next two nights. Simply amazing to see this band at this level - if the first amazing night wasn't enough, this night confirmed that I made the right choice to fly out to NYC from Portland. It's shows like these that show everyone what they are capable of - just performing at such a high level. I would not be exaggerating to say that this band is easily the most rewarding interest or passion I've ever had. We are lucky to have them doing so well lately. Did the Gamehendge AC/DC Bag flip a switch in their brains and push them to even higher heights?

Afterward I hung out at a bar with a guy who runs the King Gizzard equivalent of Phish.net and there were some great stories exchanged. That guy was only coming down for one show, and obviously his gamble paid off as maybe he saw the best show of the year. Another fellow we met in the bar claimed that Mike Gordon smoked a bong with him in his garage in Lawrence, Kansas, when Mike went there for a solo show. It sounded somewhat unbelievable since the guy was pretty wasted but it does appear that Mike has played Lawrence, Kansas at least twice, 3/15/2011 and 3/12/2014, so maybe it really did happen.

Yeah, Bathtub Gin was a bit of a mess - but boy oh boy did Phish bring the juice for this show! I was only able to do one show this run and I'm so glad to have caught this one. I'm really starting to become one of those "never miss a Sunday show" people. Thanks for making #175 such a special night, boys! The Monsters, epic Ruby Waves and YEM > Ghost were probably my highlights.