(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

It all started one year earlier. Actually, Super Bowl Sunday 2002. I started hearing voices and having symptoms of schizophrenia. I spent two weeks in the hospital and after they finally got the medication right they let me out. I lived fine for about six months.
Right around the time the tickets for Madison Square Garden went on sale, I stopped taking the medication. I was really lucky to get tickets over the phone the day they went on sale. A few weeks later I ended up in the hospital again when the voices and symptoms just took control again. I was in the hospital for six weeks and got out on Dec 10th, the week Phish was on Saturday Night Live with Al Gore.
I was completely broke from not working for the previous six weeks. I had been sober for two months and I really, really wanted to make it to MSG. For Christmas, my parents gave me $250 and a ticket to a Big Wu show in Minneapolis on the 27th. During the setbreak of the Big Wu show, my friend called me on my cell phone and told me that he didn’t want to go to New Year’s anymore and that he gave his ticket away to a friend. So I had no ride.
I got home from the Big Wu show and almost started crying. I turned on “Strange Design”, a song that has helped me deal with schizophrenia all along. But instead of crying I started laughing. I was sitting on two tickets for the first Phish show in two and a half years, and all I wanted to do was bring a few companions on this ride.
A little later my friend Jason called me and he was more then happy to be my companion along with his girl. We left for Chicago the next day, picked up Annie, and headed out to New York. We got outside of MSG and it was very crowded. Everyone was looking for a ticket. I split up with Jason and Annie right when the doors opened. Annie didn't have a ticket and Jason was going to help her find one.
I got inside and sat down and just loved the pre-show music. Every song just made me feel so good. Some of the songs I remember were the Welcome Back Kotter theme song, “It Feels Like the First Time”, and “The Boys Are Back in Town”.
It was getting closer to show time and I was still by myself. I figured I was a big boy and I could handle being by myself for this show. But right as the lights turned out, I saw Jason about fifty feet away. I ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. Right then, the band walked onstage and the crowd noise was so overwhelming that you couldn’t hear what the band was playing, or if they even were playing.
The crowd noise died down and it was “Piper”. The song was just building and building and right around when Phish starts singing the lyrics to “Piper” I just started balling. After all I went through since the last time I was at a Phish concert, they were finally back and I was free from being in the hospital and free from schizophrenia.
I spent the entire show completely sober and danced the entire show. The biggest treat for me was when they played “Strange Design”, the song that was the key to my recovery. I’ve never had a show I attended be so important.

Fresh off of a 2+ year hiatus to engage in much needed cleanse of their (and our) respective body, mind, and soul, Phish returned to the biggest stage imaginable: Madison Square Garden on New Years Eve. Talk about making a statement. Having not played together publicly in nearly 26 months, Phish jumped right into the deep end. Even before a note was played, Phish was making a statement that they are back, unafraid, and ready to reinvigorate themselves and their fans.

A scorching 15-minute Piper exploded out of the gates. Rust? What rust? This Piper was lubed up and down with a volatile concoction of WD-40 and C4. They. Were. Back. Although not quite on the same level as the Hampton Fluffhead, this Piper was nothing short of incendiary. Wasting no time to showcase that they still had chops, Phish drops right into Guyute. A well-performed Guyute, near perfectly executed, and with two songs we had our band back. Interweaving fun crowd pleasers (NICU and Wilson) into another composed beauty (Horn) Phish was piecing together a first set that showcased just about everything we could want to hear: power jams, compositions, fun songs, old classics, and antics (as Trey joking introduced "Tom Hanks" complete with a Wilson volleyball snippet from the movie Castaway... these guys are so much fun!) Mound hits next and has flaws, but they are excusable after the fire of the first 45 minutes. Mound, in and of itself though, is always a treat. Coil comes in next and seems to cap a perfectly economical, a perfectly fiery, and a perfectly crafted "welcome home" set. But then we get Bowie. This swirling Bowie contains jamming that could be considered apprehensive, or anxious, but not without passion as it takes an edge meant to conclude what Piper started: Phish is back, and they mean business.

Fresh off of the new album Round Room, an intricate, hypnotic Waves starts out Set 2. The first new song to be played off of the album strikes a chord immediately. What a version! Fans of Waves must seek out this version, as it ebbs and flows and bobs as if the band were performing it upon the Atlantic itself. Waves evaporates into another compositional beauty - Divided Sky. Well executed and containing a truly inspired, soaring jam segment the DS hit a sentimental note unparalleled at the time, with the pause being one of the most sentimentally raucous pauses they've ever engaged in. The antics too return to the stage, with Page crooning us with Lawn Boy before ripping into an evil Carini. Carini in 2003 was not like Carini in 2013 onward. These Carinis never went into major key territory, they were dark, gritty, and nasty. They were meant to be evil. This one was evil. Not exactly a show stopper, but it did indeed showcase a ying to the Piper and Wave's yang. Rift hit next and was relatively benign, I personally found it's placement a little awkward but who I am to judge. Harry Hood saunters into what we would again be fooled as a "set closer" just as Coil did in the first set. This Hood, although not the highest peak, is brimming with happiness and joyful sound. Phish just sounds happy to be playing Harry Hood again. Hood peaks and drops into a raging and unexpected Character Zero, and just like that we return to intermission being equal parts wow-ed and amazed. We are so happy they are playing music again... good music at that!

Sample starts out Set 3 with a fantastic singalong, get-the-blood-flowing rendition that was precisely what the doctor ordered. It united the fans and band in chorus and groove. Very celebratory. Seven Below comes in next, the second Round Room song performed, and this was peppered right along with pretty nifty playing from Trey and Page. Mike doesn't stray too far, but much like Waves in Set 2, this version truly breathes in and breathes out with effortless efficiency, making for a nice little groove accompaided by "snowfall" from the rafters of MSG. I wasn't there but I have seen videos -- what a magical version this must have been to be grooving to Seven Below during a snowfall. Phish makes magic. The snowfall melts into Auld Lang Syne and just like that, we are there ringing in the new year - there is no other place any of us would have rather been. Runaway Jim gets the dance flowing again! A super spunky version, this Jim really rocks and rolls. A truly fantastic segue into Time Loves a Hero puts an exclamation point on the New Years Eve festivities, but really, the set is not even close to done as Taste swirls into the rotation. Syncopated and rhythmic, Taste hits on some original playing that is dazzling, albeit not mindblowing. However, that deep in the third set, Taste was a perfectly placed jam. Strange Design gave us a very pretty respite before Walls of the Cave sends us home... er, sends us to SPACE! This Walls is BALLS TO THE WALL PSYCHEDELIA!!! Please seek this out to have your mind f***ed. Wow! Wading closes the show, and though it doesn't look good on paper, they could have come out and just said "Thank you" (they did) and not played a song and we would have been happy. This sentimental send off was just right for the occasion.

Must-hear jams: Piper, Waves, Runaway Jim -> Time Loves a Hero, Walls of the Cave
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Wilson (for antics), Divided Sky, Carini, Seven Below

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

As I sit in the car with my sister on our way back from dinner, she turns to me and asks "Hey Justin, do you want to hear something really cool?” I then say (In a very excited voice) "YES". She then puts Slip, Stitch, and Pass in the CD player and she starts going through the CD. I then turn to her and say, in a frustrated tone, "Phish again?" and she just nods her head and turns it up. I think to myself, "how come she likes this group so much, is it because her boyfriend loves it also? Sure they're all right, but how come she loves them?"
But as I sat there, I heard something that changed me forever. “Mike's Song” had come on. The opening to that song brought me into Phish. After that night I kept on asking my sister if she had any more "cool" songs like that. She gave me about 3 three CDs and I listened to them all. I had been sucked into this beautiful jam-filled machine. It was amazing. In fact, I loved it so much that I picked up a guitar and began to take some lessons and try to do what Trey did.
After listening to all the CDs my sister had, I needed more. Unfortunately at this time I was about 12 or 13 so I was "too young" to go to a concert (my mom's words, not mine). So I waited and waited till I was finally old enough to go to my first Phish show. By the time I reached this age, Phish had just started their Hiatus. Just my luck.
The day I heard Phish was returning, I froze and said to myself very quietly, "I'm going". So a few weeks later and a couple hundred dollars well spent, I was off to see Phish. Since it was my first Phish concert I didn't know what to expect. I was so excited, and the fact that it was New Year’s added to the excitement. When the lights went down and the crowd went up, I stood and screamed as loud as possible. They came on stage and played a concert that I will never forget. I heard many things about them being rusty that night and they might have been, but they were perfect for me. The set list was strong, the jams were outrageous, and they looked extremely happy to be on stage. My personal favorite had to be “Guyute”, only because I love the middle of the song. It just brings me up.
The energy was definitely flowing that night. From “Piper” to “Wading In The Velvet Sea”, they played like the true kings they are. And the fact I could share it with the person who got me into this amazing phenomenon (my sister, plus her boyfriend) added to the experience. I also noticed that there were a few celebrities in the audience. During “Runaway Jim” I shook hands with Saturday Night Live's Al Franken, and during one of the set breaks I saw actor Fred Savage.
I am now 17 and I have been to about five shows all together. Each one is better than the last. But nothing compares to Madison Square Garden, December 31, 2002. This show has truly changed my life and I will always remember it.

*Disclaimer*: I wasn't in attendance for this show. 12/31/02 was an exciting night to be a phan, and just to be alive. Phish had returned after an over 2-year hiatus, and released a new album 3 weeks prior to the big night, having recorded and released the album more quickly than probably any other in their catalogue. The excitement at the opening Piper is palpable even on a recording--I prefer the soundboard officially available from LivePhish.com, whose initial offering this show was and which tradition would continue to the present day and hopefully beyond--and Piper goes hard in the paint, not something you can say about every show opener or even most show openers. The construction of the first set is somewhat old school, perhaps to ground hiatus-loyal phans in classic songs before debuting any of the new Round Room numbers--that began with the Set II opener, though I digress. The Wilson gag is really fun to listen to, with clips from Cast Away echoing through Madison Square Garden and Page's brother Steve delivering the Blat, boom, ba-diddy-diddy-boom line that always tickled my funny bone for being intentionally(?) divergent from Trey's usual delivery of it. All in good phun. Set II is most interesting to me for the debut of Waves, an essential post-hiatus (or 2.0, as some would have it) jam vehicle that became a workhorse in 2003-2004, and continues to impress since the return in 2009, with a particularly amazing version delivered at the Bethel Tech Rehearsal on 5/26/11. Seven Below was my favorite of the new songs in 2002, so I loved that it was included in a Set III with Phish outdoing themselves again with a winter-wonderland New Year's Gag that I have unfortunately only seen parts of through short clips in video retrospectives. Time Loves a Hero is busted out, and Walls of the Cave actually contains some exploration, as well as a good old San-Ho-Zay tease from Trey. Wading in the Velvet Sea is a perfectly good choice for the encore. I think everyone was glad to have our Phish back, and especially in such fine form. The 2.0 era has gone on to be alternately lauded for its commitment to jamming and derided for what some consider poor technical execution of the composed portions of some of Phish's greatest songs, musically, and I lean more towards the "Yes, jams!" side of the debate. I am retrospectively--as I was not actively following the scene during 2002-2004--very fond of the songs debuted and developed in those years, and I find 12/31/02 a beautiful opening statement to a time in Phishtory that also saw some lows. But how 'bout them highs!

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion . . . )

Where to start? I guess I can look back to the morning of August 14th, when I became consumed by the rumor storm as the online community was whipped into a frenzy and it all became official: Phish would play again. Or on December 3rd, when I received confirmation that the tickets were being shipped and I was going to get in. Either way, I knew that there was no place other than Madison Square Garden that I wanted to be when the lights went down and those four musicians walked back out onstage.

I didn't sleep as well as I could have the night of the 30th. And Istarted to zone out at breakfast and at Les Halles for desert. And my wife Laura knew I was becoming my old self. I couldn't hold it back any longer. I was going to see Phish in, what, seven hours? By the time I got to the gathering at Mustang Sally's and started to put so many smiling faces to names that I only knew from emails, I had become a bundle of nerves. How many times can you check an envelope to make sure tickets are still inside? And when we made our way through the throng of anxious fans at the Hotel Pennsylvania to meet with friends, I couldn't stop moving. The frequent roars from the street-level crowd made their way into the tenth floor rooms of the hotel and did not do anything to help calm me down. I was in full pre-show mode, and just needed to be inside the Garden, as soon as possible.

It was pretty easy to make our way through the crowd of miracle seekers on the way to the show. I did my best not too look smug as I passed those with fingers in the air, and wished them "Happy New Year" and "Good luck." (I can not imagine that any tickets miraculously appeared as the gates opened, but who knows.) And the line to check bags was pretty easy and non-intrusive; you could have snuck in pretty much what you wanted, it seemed. But after that checkpoint, things got warm and snug for the next twenty or thirty minutes; the rush to get in when the doors opened caused a bit of a bottleneck where ramps sloped up and turned ninety degrees. While we weren't in the pack long, it did get warm and uncomfortable.

But once we made our way through the ticket-checking gates, fans yelped and jumped for joy in the cool air as they wound their way skywards up the escalators. Our tickets were not marked with Gate numbers, and that is what appeared above the doors, so I just kept telling Laura that we should simply keep going up until we couldn't any more. We finally found ourselves on the 400 level and made our way to our seats: four rows back, just a seat or two Page-side of center. Pretty damn sweet, actually. I had never sat behind a stage before, and I had a feeling I was going to enjoy it.

At 8:19 p.m., The Hiatus ended. It is almost pointless to try and describe what is was like when the lights went off. The roar, the energy. Yep, it reached a fever pitch. And as it would be for the rest of the night, I could not see the faces of the band members; I was only imagining the smiles and nods of acknowledgment. Without any delay at all, they went to work. I could tell it wasn't going to be the “YEM” that I was expecting. As I strained to hear over the din, it did not take me long to hear the paced build up of “Piper”. Yes, of course! As my friend Rich later said, it was right under our noses! It was perfect. Just in case the crowd needed to be fired up any more, “Piper” did as it always has.

As I recognized the beginning of “NICU”, I leaned over to Laura and told her I was thinking of Brian. My friend Brian was admitted into the intensive care unit one night just a few weeks after I hugged him goodbye after Big Cypress... and he would never wake up. Building up to this show, I thought back on the stories he and Joel would tell of NYE 1995 at Madison Square Garden. I knew that he was up there smiling down on all of us.

The “Wilson” was interesting. From where we sat, balloons were blocking our view to the scoreboard. As we ducked down, we were able to make out the Castaway clip before they went into the song. Right before the "Black, boom, ba-bitty boom" section, Trey introduced "Tom Hanks." A man came running out, received the applause, and then sang the part. He then ran off. From where we sat, we really thought it was Tom Hanks. The man was too tall to be Tom Marshall. Needless to say, we were completely duped and had people thinking in Pittsburgh and Chicago that Tom Hanks came out.

What a fun first set. It was not at all what I was expecting; no Round Room songs, nothing goofy or funny, no talking to the crowd. Just business.

Throughout the night, it was kind of fun to watch the crowd from where we were perched. We easily identified Rich and his crew with his rainbow wig; I caught some guy, Mike side, in the second or third row with a Pittsburgh Steeler-Your-Face shirt, I saw a guy in the middle of the front dressed as "TAB Cowboy Trey", Laura and I saw the girl playing the flute during “Wading In the Velvet Sea” (which was really odd); we couldn't help but think of Bittersweet Motel and the "chicks in the front row" song. It is true that, by the end of the night, the women had displaced most of the men riding the rail. While we couldn't see the band's faces, we could soak in the smiles of everyone else.

The “Divided Sky” in the second set will forever be remembered by me for The Pause. While the energy in the Garden when the lights first went out was so thick (as to be expected) I think the crowd was actually louder during The Pause in “Divided Sky”. The band stood there for what seemed like minutes, just soaking in the crowd. It was deafening, to the point that Laura covered her ears. Again, while we couldn't see Trey's face, I was just picturing him standing there with his eyes looking upwards, soaking in the fact that they were back. It was pretty incredible. I do remember a bit of a flub somewhere in the middle, only to be overshadowed by the wonderful ending.

“Hood” and “Divided” in the same set! That was a pretty nice treat. As should have been expected, there was a bit of a glow stick war during the quiet section. While I didn't see any actually hit the band, the stage became littered with rings and sticks. From across the arena, it was fun to see those bright orange sticks emerge. They looked like they were on fire. As a note in my book for the rest of “Hood”, all I have written is "Shit!" Although there was no "Feel Good!" part at the end; it always feels kind of unfinished without that part.

As “Seven Below” began, I had a feeling some sort of jam would take us into the new year. This second new one was actually was pretty damn cool. As it began to get drawn out, the jamming led into the first lil' bit of spectacle of the night as snow started to fall on Page first, then the rest of the band. A number of dancers then came out from below us, behind the stage, all dressed in white. Snow then started to fall onto the floor and all but the two "little" dancers made their way onto the floor; the dancers on the floor were joined by stilt walkers (I had noticed ladders at the halfway point on the floor; it was on these ladders that two figures perched themselves with white gowns that reached to the floor.) At Midnight, pyrotechnics went off at the back of the stage and white balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling. I did not see any of the disco ball or any sort of countdown but I could make out the flashlights (a la Wayne and the Flaming Lips as has been mentioned).

Amidst the confusion, I could make out “Auld Lang Syne”. Well wishes and kisses were all around.

How can I sum it up? I think they entered the show feeling as though they had a job to get done. Laura expected them to banter more, and so did I, actually. At least a “Thank You” to the crowd, or "It is so great to be back". But they just came out and played song after song, almost business-like, and it could have been seen as even rushed. Almost every song was really well done. Trey missed a few cues, but he sounded really good. Page really stood out on the piano (“Horn”, “Mound”, “Coil”, “Rift”, “Taste”). Fishman, as always, was really solid. And Mike sounded good too, although a bit removed standing pretty far to the right, just bobbing his head. Was the show mind blowing? No, not really. Did they sound different? No, they sounded like the Phish we all were missing.

The point is they are back. And while it will take more than twenty-four songs to prove how they grew during the Hiatus, I for one am happy to have 'em onstage again. It feels good.

SET 1: Piper: Aggressive jam to get this party started. MSG crumbled a bit.

Guyute: Sloppy.

NICU, Horn: Standard.

Wilson: The gag is fantastic. Trey’s shout is visceral.

Mound: Standard.

The Squirming Coil: Standard. >

David Bowie: Solid jam.

SET 2: Waves: I like the Trey/Page funk session in the last couple of minutes. >

Divided Sky: Trey’s segue out of Waves catches Page and Fish with their pants down. Sloppy in parts.

Lawn Boy: Standard.

Carini: Mike really lays it down throughout this jam, he sounds great.

Rift: Standard.

Harry Hood: Pretty solid jam! Energetic for sure. Nice trilling and climax, I’ll take it for the first one back! >

Character Zero: Intro is very bad. Standard version other than the flubs.

SET 3: Sample in a Jar: Trey’s notes in the climax solo are much higher than I am used to, kind of cool.

Seven Below: I am sure this was very cool in person with the ‘snow’ falling from the rafters and everything. >

Auld Lang Syne: Standard. >

Runaway Jim: Super sloppy intro and vocals sound terrible. Distracted by balloon drop? Middle part of this jam is ROUGH. Trey dropping sour notes and just plain dropping out for a couple of lengthy sections. When he does come back in – he is dropping sour notes all over the place. Yuck! I do like the trippy loops that come in at 8:50 with Trey then coming over the top with some cool stuff. Decent segue… ->

Time Loves a Hero: Time Loves a Hero was last played August 11, 1998 (or 151 shows). No one could have predicted this one.

Taste: Composed section is sloppy! Major What’s the Use teases going on in the 6 and early 7 minute range. Out of this Trey breaks out the machine gun for a sick run of trills and attack mode guitar playing. The ending is brutalized by Trey. Slop.

Strange Design: Standard.

Walls of the Cave: Fishman sounds so good on the blocks in the intro on this debut. Some sick machine gun Trey in the 9 minute range, all that we have become used to but this being the debut it was fun to hear. Trey is in attack mode in a big way through the tens and then by the 11’s the band is settling into a quieter groove. Page with some interesting sounds in the mid 11’s. That really crunchy Trey tone that 2.0 would become know for becomes prominent in the late 12’s. By the early 16’s this has faded into a very heady, ethereal space. Pretty cool. Trey starts it back up in the mid 16’s and points the band in the direction of home for the traditional ending for WOTC.

ENCORE: Wading in the Velvet Sea: Seems to be some confusion on the intro vocals and Trey botches that. Trey is killing cats in the intro to his solo. Cool held note in the mid 4’s.

Summary/Replay Value: Piper and Walls. The show has a ton of slop to it – all over the place. Even the debut tunes which you think they would have been practicing incessantly – have issues. I think a lot of people were hoping this was due to nerves/adrenaline but as the circus moved on to Hampton and the flubs continued it became apparent it was a deeper issue.

I know this was their very first show back, I know the excitement was there, and I know the place was rockin HOWEVER, this show really isn't that good. Parts of it feel very, very rushed (Auld Lang Syne) while other parts feel way too dragged out (Walls of the Cave). Also, trey's voice sounded a little weird right from the very beginning. AND they ended their first show back (which happened to be NYE too!!) with wading in the velvet sea. Come on man!

The guys cant always have "on" nights and this is a perfect example. Move on to the next show...

Is it me or is this a really weird New Year's show? For a NYE show, and for it being the first Phish show in two years, everything is just suffused with slop. The first show since October 2000 doesn't bode well in hindsight. I actually love the great bulk of 2.0 - you'll even find me defending 2004 on this board - but there's a druggy darkness to this show that manifests in how un-together they sound, how puzzling the song choices are, and how frustrating the setlist construction is. Thankfully the February and Summer 2003 shows largely make up for how inauspicious this first show of 2.0 show feels

Was it jitters from being away so long? Inadequate rehearsal?

I'm sure it was a blast in person, you'd be churlish to pick nits immediately afterward, but on tape/mp3, most of this show (as it sounds to me in March 2024) suffers from a weirdly grating 2004-ish tone from Trey and a tossed off feeling to most of the proceedings. The whole cast sounds legless. The composed sections of songs they should be able to play underwater and asleep at that stage of their playing history - Harry Hood, Jim, Divided Sky, Rift, Auld Lang Syne, even!, etc. - are carelessly rendered, riddled with mistakes and few of the jams really go anywhere compelling

Not only that, but the song selection is bizarre for a supposedly celebratory NYE bash

Imagine not seeing Phish for two years and.....Sample to open the NYE countdown-centered third set? Then a Seven Below, the debut - Trey has rarely been able to nail that main melody guitar line consistently, and even the debut lacks cohesion (I'm sure they were distracted in the moment due to onstage circumstances); but in any case, it's an odd number for the NYE gag to accompany IMO.

Time Loves a Hero is a cool song - but I'm guessing they chose it due to a "Father Time" NYE theme? Otherwise, it's a non sequitir in the middle of the third set, truncating a Runaway Jim jam that could have justified its butchered composed section had it been played with the necessary patience and care.

Taste to kick off the sixth sixth of this show - love the tune and I always welcome a waltzish Type I jam, but its placement at this stage in the journey leaves me scratching my head (and again the composed parts sway off course). The jam builds up some steam and I wish it was allowed more chance to breathe; instead they botch the transition back into the song.

They send everyone off with...? Two ballads and a debut. Happy New Year everyone! Drive safely.

I admit to never being a big fan of the silent trees jam in WOTC. I like the other parts of that tune, but that jam has never really been a favorite of mine, and this version sounds like Mike is playing a different song than the rest of the band....admittedly the jam isn't without its moments once they abandon the silent trees chord structure.

Checks in the plus column: Carini is intense but short. The Waves is great (I'm biased because I love that song so much) and the Piper is an odd choice for first song in two years, and an NYE show to boot, but the jam cooks. The Wilson gag must have been awesome in person; it's fun on tape (if you know what's actually going on on stage). The Mound bustout is a great idea - maybe they coulda practiced it more, but it's a welcome gesture. Also, ironically the composed section of Horn, a section that is sadly, rarely done true justice, ISN'T that bad here! I count only one minor clam. Also, the Coil and Bowie are both competent and enjoyable, even if neither of them really get off the ground.

I wasn't there, so obviously I'm seeing thru 3.0 colored glasses - particularly post-12-31-2023, I can't help measure other New Year's Eve shows against this one and find it lacking. The highlights are prety good though. To me this show has about 45 minutes worth of gold in the span of 3.5 hours. You can compile the Piper, the Horn, the Waves and the Carini from this show and come up with a nice one disc vinyl record from NYE 2002.

The first Phish show I saw was the most memorable, probably because I was transported to another universe and my life was changed forever.

It was New Year's Eve 2002 and my first contact with the Phish community. From the moment I walked in through the front doors of the Garden, I knew this was like nothing I had ever experienced before. As I strolled up the ramp, fairies and wookies were walking hand in hand; faces were glowing with anticipation and glowsticks; bowls, joints, and everything else, short of bongs were being lit; and there was a constant roar of celebration from the crowd. My mind was blown and the show hadn't even started yet. There was a trail of wetness behind me and by the time I got to my seat, a quarter of my face had already melted off.

I was attending by myself, but not once did I feel alone. I told the people around me that this was my first show and they welcomed me by showering me with gifts of beer, joints, and towels("to wipe my face off the floor afterwards", I told them I should be fine). Everyone was getting antsy, just waiting for the moment...and then it happened. The Garden blew up, not the building, but every single person individually exploded. The song was "Piper," but all I could hear was 20,000 people yelling at the top of their lungs, demolishing the foundation way down below the train tracks of Penn Station.

Midway through the set everything went black. For a split second, I thought there was a malfunction, but then realized nothing could possibly go wrong at a Phish show, duh. The jumbotron lit up to confirm my thoughts. At this point, I was really confused, as it showed Tom Hanks from Castaway. And then it hit me, "WILLLLSOONNNNN!!!!" We were in for a real treat, Trey invited Tom Hanks onto the stage, and Hanks belted out "BLAT BOOM, BA DIGGA DOOM" as if he had been doing it for years.

By the end of the second set, there was a large puddle accumulating on the floor in front of me from the severe face meltage. I wasn't sure how I would handle another set with midnight set to strike midway through. I ended up borrowing that towel early, initiating some friendly jeers of "noooooob" from my surrounding phans.

As the new year neared, I could feel it getting colder and colder. Phish busted into "Seven Below" and the temperature dropped until all of a sudden, it started to snow. The entire arena was a winter wonderland with snow angels descending, abominable snowmen emerging, snowball fights ensuing and phans sledding down the aisles. The time ticked down to midnight, everyone focused back on the stage and as the clock struck 12, the Garden blew up again, this time for real. The stage exploded into fireworks, the ceiling crumbled into massive balloons and every person rocketed 20 feet into the air. It was the most amazing New Year's celebration ever.

The show came to an end, and I realized that my face was completely gone. Yet again, I borrowed the towel, soaked up the spill, wringed out my face and got everything back into place. I started to head home and thought back to what had just transpired. "Was that a dream? Is this a joke? That couldn't have actually happened." The disbelief overwhelmed me, but whatever had happened, I knew I would never be the same. Phish had changed my life...

Set 1 Highlights: Piper (Standout Version), Wilson (Standout Version), David Bowie

Set 2 Highlights: Waves, Harry Hood

Set 3 Highlights: Runaway Jim -> Time Loves a Hero, Walls of the Cave

Phish kicks off 2.0 in high octane with an absolutely ferocious and ripping version of Piper, complete with the original ending coda. Guyute, NICU and Horn follow, all well-played versions. What follows next is something rare in the Phish live experience: a live sample to introduce a song. The voiceover of Tom Hanks losing his dearest friend to the ocean introduces Wilson as only Phish could engineer. Mound and Squirming Coil follow, continuing the near-perfect song selection. As Coil comes to a close, our favorite crossdressing, middle-aged man starts riding the hi-hat to cue David Bowie. I'm always a big fan of when the band fakes out closing a set with Coil and throws in Bowie (6/22/19 comes to mind as a recent example). This Bowie, while not very adventurous in terms of the song's overarching history, is a strong version well worth your time. That closes the first set of 2.0, pretty damn solid and lacking in the expected rust coming off a nearly two year long hiatus. The debut of Waves every so smoothly ushers in the start of the second set and has its characteristic airy jam with a nice Page-led outro before falling into Divided Sky. I'm always a fan of Divided Sky showing up in the second set and this version takes it time, culminating in a strong full band peak. Lawn Boy and the rare 2.0 emergence of Carini continue the second set in a relatively quirky manner. Rift is up to bat next and is its usual self. A strong, yet in-the-box version of Harry Hood follows before Character Zero closes up the set. The third set overall was pretty hit-or-miss for me but the Runaway Jim -> Time Loves a Hero is a gem, as is the Walls of the Cave that closes the set. All things considered, this is a pretty strong show for a return from the hiatus.

Part 1 of "Cosmic Adventures in Synchronic Time" by Steve Urban

My Mother, Father and Grandfather were all born on the same day: October 21st. My parents met at a discothèque on Long Island. About a week later my mom visited my dad whom was washing his car. He asked her, “What is your Birthday?” She said, “October 21st.” He said, “Me too! And my Father!” At first, she didn’t believe him. Just as many of you won’t believe me. But do you honestly believe that my Mother, Father and Grandfather all being born on the same day is just a mere coincidence? That the circumstances are just random and the dice fell that way? Mathematically the probabilities of such an event are astronomically incalculable.

Furthermore, 2 months into my freshman year another synchronistic event takes place. One of my best friends called me and asked if I could come see the rock band, Phish. It was on, his Birthday, on October 21st 1996 at Madison Square Garden. I remember the audience participated, chanting, “Wilson,” like the tennis company and clapping their hands to intricate Latin jazz instrumentals. Though they were already playing an important role in expanding consciousness, this was the first time Phish entered into my individual consciousness. So October 21st was also the birthday of Phish for me. The reason that Phish entered my world in such a synchronistic way connected to my parents I believe now to have great significance. Because of what would happen next. Something that I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams!

Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Eve 2002. Phish is about to take the stage after a hiatus. I just spent the night spun on 7th avenue family fluff. I’m swigging whiskey and hot cider to keep me warm. Then while waiting for the box office to open, thin strands of a cobweb-like substance cover the outside wall and quickly disappear. I recently discovered that in UFO research this phenomenon is known as “Angel Hair.” According to Wikipedia: “It is named for its similarity to fine hair, or spider webs… it disintegrates or evaporates within a short time of forming. One theory is that it is ‘ionized air sleeting off an electromagnetic field’ that surrounds a UFO.” Someone should have told the aliens that the show was sold out.

Later that afternoon among the ticketless throngs I met a man whom claimed to be “The Sloth” a character from, Gamehendge, Phish's rock opera. In his hands was the legendary helping friendly book! Gamehendge is a mythological world of fairy tale. It’s a parallel reality or possibly the story of Earth’s very distant past. Trey Anastasio wrote Gamehendge as his senior thesis. The story is that of a retired U.S. Colonel whom steps through a portal traveling through space and time. While in Gamehendge, Colonel Forbin discovers a race of lizard people, who have been enslaved by the evil King Wilson. He has stolen the helping friendly book from the lizards, which has all the knowledge inherent in the universe.

This is the book Sloth is holding. “Written by the great and knowledgeable Icculus.” Titled “Well You Can Imagine” by Sean O. Huigin. He found it in the children's section of a used bookstore in Canada. “Yeah! My children are old enough to read Icculus!” When you examine the book there are Phish lyrics and cartoon illustrations of Gamehendge characters like the mockingbird, the sloth and the lizards. The cover even dons the band members Trey and Page. But the author did not know Phish. The book was published in Canada the year Phish was formed. Sloth explained: ”Icculus means I is the accumulation of us.” Somehow the author and illustrator created this book from the chaotic sea of our collective unconscious. The book truly came from, Gamehendge, a place that transcends space and time, as we know it.

I stood underneath the marquee watching waves of energy flow over the bricks and between the windows of the Hotel Pennsylvania. The building was alive! My thoughts stopped in sheer wonder. Then out of the top left corner of my vision I saw a single eye was watching me from above. Pop! Another revealed itself! Pop! Another! Until this pattern of eyes filled the sky. They were geometrically precise lines and overlapping circles. All shapes were in perfect union. I looked away and the psychedelic vision was gone. That night I was introduced to someone in the Phish community who told me to read Drunvalo Melchizedek’s Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life, a book on sacred geometry. Months later, the same geometric pattern I saw in the sky was exactly the same symbol on the cover of the book. What I saw was the unity consciousness grid, naturally making a higher level of consciousness accessible to humanity. Well you can imagine.

Part 2: 11/24/09 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA and 10/24/10 UMASS, Amherst, MA *Cosmic Adventures in Synchronic Time was Originally published in Surrender to the Flow

Taste rehashes the WTU? tease...

I really enjoyed this show. I really did. MSG was nuts that night. You could walk around the whole place w/out even the slightest problem. I've been to many a show at MSG, and that was the wildest. For actual NYE me and my buddy were like hanging out on the floor. We went back up to our seats in the nosebleeds out of exhaustion and needing to rest. I remember when they came back out and played "Velvet Sea": They couldnt have summed up the evening better in my opinion. At that point the air thick w/ smoke and CO2 and sweat and exhaustion...it couldnt have been a better pick.
Plus they did Carini!