this is a very interesting show. i feel that it pails in comparision to the two nights surrounding it, but that mostly shows the strength of those two shows. it is leaps and bounds better than the 94 msg show, phish's first romp in the garden. they seemed to be a wee bit nervous and apprensive in 94, but they took the stage at the garden in 95 with the upmost confidence.

prince caspian is one of my least favorite phish songs, but it kind of works here in the opening slot at the garden. also, it also serves as a good precursor to a 2nd song in the show 2001. this one is not as deep as some of the ones they would get into in 2 years, but for 95, this is a pretty damn good 2001. page gets in some nice dark funky licks while fishman and trey work the tension and release. suzy comes burning out of this 2001. page, once again, was really jamming on this one. a nice intricate midset bowie works well out after suzy, and this is where trey really starts to take off. this bowie is not the best in the world, but for this part of the show, it is well-paced with some decent exploration. did somebody say sky scrapers. a nice early version of simple shines after bowie. like 2001 earlier in the set, this one does not take off like it would in the next couple of years, but it certainly rocks and the shorter jam at the end gives one an idea of what might be to come out of this one in later years. it's ice comes out of the spacey ending of simple, and they delve deep in the middle section finding kung. trey must have listened to the louisville tapes from the fall and decided it was so sick they should do it again. they wrap up this super sharp ice and dive right into tmwsiy/aven/tmwsiy. this one is one of my favorites, and they tear it up hear, rocking the garden crowd. the divided sky soars, as trey really zips after the silent part. they take on a bonus sample for good measure.

so your at the garden. its cold as shit outside. hmmm... what to open the second set with. oh, summer time breezey yamar should work. this is a very fun yamar with some decent trey licks scattered throughout. then, they keep you guessing by springing a pretty rocking free. this jam really develops through '95, and they put out a really strong version of this song at the garden as the year comes to a close. they didn't know they could put a funkier jam on free, so they are really giving it a hard edge here. good stuff. keeping the crowd guessing, they throw out a monster harry hood. page and trey chase each other brilliantly through this one. hood was another song that was being played really well in 95, and this one might take the cake. fishman and gordon keep the tempo brilliantly and trey and page just dance. after making us feel good about hood, they slam right into a rowdy ac/dc bag. this one is not the jammer they would through out exactly 2 years later, but it is played very well, like most 95 versions of this tune. life boy provides a nice dark cool down before it is time to smell the mule. typical mule insanity then ensues. like the rest of this set, this one is hot. trey really nails the middle section. a nice rocking cavern appears to close down this set before they kick down a bonus antelope. trey really gives you a taste of what is to come the next night on this antelope. very hot trey licks. after debuting aditl over the summer, they spring on the msg crowd in the encore slot. it is well played and well received.

overall, this is an impressive show, even on the stout " 95 ny run" standard. while this show lacks really monster jams, with the exception of hood, it still works. the first set just had that excellent flow. it is like they never broke stride, and every song compliments the song before and after it. the next set was one to keep you guessing, from start to finish. they seemed to be really going for the juxtaposition thing in the second set. the run from yamar-free-hood really covers a lot of ground, and it fully display phish's many styles and talents. also, throughout this show, it seemed they played the songs that they had really been playing well all year. sure, some of them were kept in the stable until nye, mike's song, reba, maze, yem, etc., but they through some sure fire 95 winners out there, simple, ice, bowie, free, hood, bag, mule, antelope. good strong show. if you want to know what 95 is all about, at its best, check out this four night ny run, especially 12/29-31.

highlights:

set 1:

2001>suzy, bowie, ice/kung/ice, divided sky

set 2:

free, hood>bag, mule, antelope

This was my first show.

I had only become aware of Phish when DWD started hitting the airwaves the year before. It intrigued me enough to go out and buy Hoist. Pretty soon, the album was in heavy rotation, and stayed that way until A Live one came out. Bought that immediately; took it home; played it... went back to the record store, buying Junta and Lawnboy. There was nothing but Phish in the player for months. Started looking into when they were playing in my area, finding that I had just missed them at Jones Beach...

... but there was going to be a New Year's Run at MSG!

Already aware they didn't repeat material during a run, I tried for, and got, tickets for both nights - blissfully unaware of how tough that was to do. 100's - directly in front of the stage.

Knowing the albums as you do, take another look at the set-list. You can see what I was intimately familiar with, what I was introduced to, and the layout of those songs within the context of the sets. This was the Best Introduction to "The Phlow" I could have possibly gotten.

Then came the now infamous NYE '95 and the rest is history. I have been to many a fantastic show/festival since, but these two nights will always remain my favorite for their ability to still shower me with lightness...

If you have the time, hunt em up. Play em again. Listen with my virgin ears... Can you hear what I did?

Peace,
Elmar

A show from my 1st year seeing Phish, being class of '95. Reviewing this setlist, I am reminded that I was just left mouth open at pretty much every tune. Some of these I had heard from Picture of Nectar and Hoist, the two albums I listened to for the year or so leading up to these NYE shows (before they were called YEMSG!). Also Sprach Zarathustra was a joy, as it was a familiar tune but hearing Phish jam it out gave me a new-found appreciation for the musical classics out there. Suzy....what more is there to say when you're a Jewish girl who went to a liberal arts school but never took sociology. By Bowie I was feeling nice and cozy, but It's Ice->Kung->It's Ice was a true mind expansion. Part funny, part messed up, part confusing! The floor on the steps near us was wet as someone had dropped a cup of water. So when it's Ice came on "He's fallen on the ice it cracks," fed into my anxiety that someone (aka Me) would fall and trip on the slippery steps. But then the Kung part....I really had to sit down, I was so blown away. But then when they are yelling to stand up, I just knew that the wet steps would be ok and to laugh and have a good time. TMWSIY unbeknownst to me was Trey's masterpiece which I printed out probably the next day and studied as a manual, but naturally the Avenue Malkenu was tops . Ending the 1st set with a Sample which is a tune that I knew from the aforementioned albums was an honest to goodness way to just keep my face melted and keep me happy and lov.I.n.g. This Band From Vermont!!!!

2nd set was just So Much Fun! Ya mar such a fun song to open a set, but then the message really gets across in Free and you know that is placed so strategically as if it say, "get ready to just let it all out for this stellar second set, you deserve it, guys!" Harry Hood, being from New England and having known about Phish and missing all their shows while in college in Boston, well that was like a homecoming song to me. Cavern you think that the show is over but it's Antelope and you're so happy to hear it, since it's not the 200th time you're hearing it live.

Mind blown too when A Day in the Life comes in, as if to think, "Who the heck are these Thinking People who are Obvi influenced by Good Musical peoples who run this band called Phish.?

What can I say about my first Phish show! I was blessed to have seen divided sky,run like an antelope, Harry hood and David Bowie all in the same night! I was only 15 years old when I took the train from Long Island to Madison Square Garden. When my friend Marc & I got to our seats we were surprised to see that they were already taken. We quickly found another couple seats to dance by. Although I didn’t know half the songs they were playing back then the show completely blew me away. 20% of the people were dancing in the hallways with devil sticks spinning around. This was certainly not like the shows that we go to nowadays. The scene was completely different back then and the love was amazing! Phish’s energy was amazing and the Yemsg show was so incredible! So happy to be part of such an amazing scene and blessed to have seen Phish in their 1990s prime! I remember the incredible energy in the air during Its Ice and it’s crazy they played TMWSIY at my first show. My Phish cherry was popped that night and I never looked back. ????????????????????????✌????

This was my very first Phish show as an 18 year old. This was also my first attempt at getting NYE tickets which failed, and I ended up with 12/30. Oh well, time to catch a train with a friend and get to the show! Caspian, 2001 was a nice one, two punch to start. I was still trying to take everything in at this point. I feel like when Suzy started, people lost their goddamn minds! I can still see all of the beaming smiles, people jumping up and down, using the railings as leverage to jump higher, screaming like they had just hit the lotto, etc. I thought, so this is Phish....I can get down with this. I wasn't familiar with Suzy at this point. I started listening to Phish somewhere in the summer of '93. I had Junta, Lawnboy, Rift, A Live One, and Hoist all on cassette. I had heard some live stuff that i liked (mostly early 90's Gamehendge songs with narrations), and all of the songs on the before mentioned albums. I couldn't understand how this hidden gem of a song was so well known by all of these people packed into MSG. They seemed like they had all heard Suzy 100 times. I loved the rest of this show mixed with songs I knew well, and other ones that I was hearing for the first time. Other highlights included Bowie, Ice, Divided Sky, Sample, and the entire second set. Free in particular was another great song where everyone sings the chorus. "Freeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!" It felt so true. I was free, without parents watching over me, out of state in a strange place, it felt....perfect. I'll never forget the feeling of joy that i got from that Suzy though. It was a life changer, and I will forever be grateful to have attended such a high energy experience as a young man.

My second show.
My first, a year earlier more or less, in Philly.
This was MSG. With my friend J High. He is the $hit.

This introduced me to 2001, some Gamehendge lore, and a massive second set dose of awesome. I recall the MSG crowd's infectiousness.

Head, mind blown. That setlist. My happiness.

Sixtus

The third night of the 1995 NYE run, and the precursor to the fabled 12/31 show, is a very respectable show on its own. As I've mentioned in my reviews of the first two nights in Worcester, this whole run is pretty strong and well worth listening to. And while this might be the weakest of the four, it's still way better than a lot of other shows.

The New York shows are really different than the Worcester ones from the run in that they tend to emphasize songs over jams (though 12/31 has more jams than this show). But the songs are really, really well played... rockin and energetic. I find it best to think of these song clusters as nuggets when analyzing this show. When I look at it as a 7 song first set and an 8 song second set it makes more sense. But even so, that's a lot of songs! Don't expect deep, contemplative jamming here. But if balls to the wall rock works for you, you may just be in love!

Highlights:

Set 1 - Caspian/2001/Suzy (energy abounds... welcome to the Garden!... this is really one 15 minute song), Bowie (a strong, hard rocking 1st set version), Simple (another steam roller version), Icy Kung (rippin Ice with a pause for Kung), Avenu (the wailing version surrounded by lilting TMWSIY bookends), Divided Sky (in your face, brah)

Set 2 - SOAM>Cavern>Antelope (thunderous!)

Nice show.

While not usually regarded as stellar a performance as the next night, this show is certainly not to be overlooked. What it lacks in "big" jams it makes up for in grade A performances throughout. Just re-listened to it yesterday, and the performances and song placement/selection make this a great show to listen to start to finish. The Harry Hood may be one of my favorites. The Divided Sky, free, Antelope, Ya Mar, and It's Ice>Kung>It's Ice are also highlights. Free, in particular, has a nice jam that is typical for the early versions. Point being, a fun and energetic show that you definitely shouldn't skip.

My first MSG experience, I was in NYC for a week my friend was attending school in Manhattan and I figured I would visit for a true NYC experience. I was heading to the ball drop the following night and did everything in my power to trade my tickets for NYE show, it fell on deaf ears, very tough ticket to possess. Anyway I was lucky enough to catch the night before.
SET ONE- Caspian, wow! as an opener, Okay. 2001 > Suzie kept the energy in check and the entire venue was feeling this, Bowie > Simple > It's Ice. Another three pump power packet. I was loving this, it's 1995 and MSG. Christmas just passed and New Years is on the heels. Then Fishman began KUNG, Holy Crap! TMWSIY. My first time hearing this, loved every second of this and was completely shocked, another power ballad which emerged into The Divided Sky. A rare treat, I was thinking the set was done, and Phish pulled out Sample in a Jar. At this time I knew this show was going to be and was something of a post Christmas gift.
SET TWO- Ya Mar got us grooving and continued to do so as it continued into Free and Harry Hood. This is amazing and I reconsidered my prior thoughts of trading tonights show for tomorrows. Ac/Dc Bag continued to bring us heat followed by a Trey ballad of Lifeboy, always enjoyed this tune which got very little play, Scent of a Mule. Hoist was being played to perfection this evening, Cavern > Antelope gave us all that warm Whisky feeling as it was going down. I was beyond pleased to have experience a Holiday show in the Big Apple.
ENCORE- A day in the life, it was the cherry on top, love how Page tears the vocals up in this one. Lennon would be proud. A great time in NYC. A great Phish experience and one of the coldest Ball drops on record, the streets of NYC were cold but inside the venue it was nothing short of scorching.

A very, very solid show, smack dab in the middle of a historic Phish run. The show's opening numbers indicate the band is getting ready for some hard rocking to follow. Prince Caspian opened with Trey taking the stage by himself for the opening bars, joined then by Fish, then Mike and Page. Kind of a warm up for Trey-no jamming on this version--I had the impression he was feeling out the acoustics and vibe. 2001 is next, for a preview of the next two night's journey. Set I continues with excellent 1995 versions of Bowie, TWIMSY, and Sample. Don't miss the Hood>AC/DC Bag in Set II. The Antelope is a classic Trey shred platform. The encore of A Day in the Life is one of the finest versions I have heard them perform. Great show!

SET 1: Punch You in the Eye, The Sloth: Standard. >

Reba: All timer! Perfect jam. Rough composed section though.

The Squirming Coil: Rough (Trey). Page’s solo is sublime though. >

Maze: Standard.

Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird[2] > Shine[3] > Fly Famous Mockingbird > Sparkle > Chalk Dust Torture: Standard but super entertaining narration and CDT to cap it is the perfect cherry on top of an amazing set of music.

SET 2: Drowned: They go big on this one – great, great jam. ->

The Lizards, Axilla (Part II) – Standard. >

Runaway Jim: Choppy jam – Fishman rules – Trey gets very funk – just an amazing Runaway Jim. 3rd longest they had played at that point. (7.2.95 and 6.16.95).

Strange Design, Hello My Baby: Standard.

Mike's Song -> Digital Delay Loop Jam: My words can do this justice, so I won’t try and embarrass myself. One of the finest ever played and the DDLJ is so heady.

SET 3: Auld Lang Syne: Standard. >

Weekapaug Groove: Like Mike’s, all I will say is this is a historic version. They take this song to new heights. > Sea and Sand: The segue out of ‘Paug is incredible, a must hear. Page is beautiful on this and he sounds wonderful.

You Enjoy Myself, Sanity: Yet another all timer. When I relistened to this a few days ago and YEM started up I was just shaking my head. The fact that they were throwing down with their biggest and best tune after all the magic they had created was quite a statement. There are two separate jams in this one that just crank. All timer! No B & D.

Frankenstein: Standard.

ENCORE: Johnny B. Goode: What happened to Trey’s voice? Vegas Voice’d.

Summary/Replay value: Reba, Drowned, Runaway Jim, Mike's Song, Digital Delay Loop Jam, Weekapaug Groove, You Enjoy Myself. Many would argue that this is the greatest show they ever played. It is a masterpiece, that is for sure. I feel it is perfect, much like I feel 10.31.95 is perfect. More than happy to rate this a 5 out of 5.