I took my 70-year-old dad to this show. He danced his ass off and had the time of his life. Some of you may have seen a skinny old man wandering around the concourse in a white turtleneck. That was him.

He was a Baptist minister and theologian for most of his career. He kept asking about Col. Forbin, and when I explained the Gamehendge story, he thought Trey may have borrowed from Buddhism, where those who are enlightened vow to remain active in helping those who are unenlightened and suffering. Interesting insight.

When the balloons started pouring out of the ceiling at midnight, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "It's great to be here with you."

Thank you, Phish, for giving me another magical moment in my life.

And here's to another 30 years.

Set 1: You surely don't care about Set 1 in a show like this, do you? Ocelot got a bit of an extended ride, Divided Sky was really quite nice, and Fluffhead was a perfect way to end the set. That description should suit you, I think. Great Type II cake distribution, as well.

Set 2, the short version: Well, now I totally understand why people still love the early 90's shows so much.

Set 2, the longer version: A brilliant gag, maybe the only way they could have properly celebrated their 30-year anniversary, by taking it back to where it all began. It's quite clear that they put a lot of effort into making this set truly sparkle, both in the "stage" design (the hockey stick mic stand, "no drinks" on Page's organ) and in the songs themselves (everything was very well played, even the tougher stuff like Mockingbird). The song selection was perfect - I love the way that they spread out songs from TMWSIY, as well as in Set 1 - and breaking out some rarities made it all the more special. Reba found a beautiful semi-Type II groove midway through and SOAM was all fierce and ferocious dark energy, but the jamming was hardly the point. This was a celebration, plain and simple, and a truly glorious hour indeed.

Also, they played Icculus*, so automatic thumbs way up.

* This is the first time we got more than one Icculus in a year since 1994. How awesome is that?

Set 3: The band could have been forgiven if they simply victory-lapped their way to the end, but they made one last room for improv in 2013 (well, "2013") with a glorious Light that combined the snappy groove of Worcester's version (seriously, the bassline and Fish's beat are very reminiscent of that killer groove) with the blissfulness of the beloved 8/7/09 version (with a near-calypso guitar line from Trey and sympathetic electric piano accompaniment from Page) before building to a sharp rocked-out finale and closing with a fog of noise. Light has taken a bit of a backseat as a jam vehicle this year, so it's nice to see that it still has legs as a set-maker. YEM, slinky and stripped back like the better versions from this year, was a nice way to finish the proper show.

Encore: Grind made me laugh.

Final thoughts: A really, really fun show - if you're searching for deep improv, 12/29 and 12/30 have you covered, but if you're searching for a celebration of this band that we all love so dearly, this is the show for you. This is as good a way as you could imagine to end a benchmark year for Phish. Happy new year, everyone!

Just want to say to poster "Oblivious Fool" up there: you talk about Phish telling us to read the book etc etc etc and how some fans are hard to please and just don't get it. Re-read your post dude, every other sentence says "flubbed this" and "flubbed that." Sounds like you need to re-read the book.

No doubt, the most memorable show that I've attended. I have never heard a crowd louder than last night. At some points during the show, the floor beneath us was maniacal, bouncing up and down. It actually felt like the place was going to collapse.

First set, like said before, was pedestrian. It was exactly what I was expecting for the first set, so I was pleased nonetheless.

The second set was really intimate. Something that was just pure bliss between the audience and the band. It reminded me a lot of the Wingsuit set, where something really golden was creviced between the band and the fans. It is a feeling that makes me keep going back to Phish. But this feeling peaked last night. Forbin's and the Lizards were my highlights. This set will always be the most memorable for me. I couldn't have asked for more.

The third set began with Character Zero, a really ripping version actually, probably since they were up against the clock, and had to keep driving the momentum until the clock hit 12. This felt like a really old fashioned NYE countdown. They stepped away from the broadway level productions of the last few years, and counted down with the crowd. Once again, intimate. Probably what they were aiming for. The confetti and the balloons were wonderful, as always, but the band's techs really should've laid off with popping the balloons. I mean, these guys are grown men, I'm pretty sure they could handle some balloons. This wasn't a big deal, but still, it definitely detracted from a bit of the NYE vibes.

Fuego followed, and this was were the set took flight. They had time to kill. Fuego was pretty exceptional, a good song to follow the countdown. Light brought out the type ii. After some struggling, the band reached several peaks that were pretty remarkable, and worthy of multiple relistens. The rest of the set was good, with the predictable YEM.

Something really clicked during the 30th year montage. I started seeing the band in 2012, so granted, I'm a 3.0 child. As a lot of .netters, I've invested my time in the band's history and past shows. It's our hobby. But seeing the montage made me witness something indescribable. Seeing the years in chronological order made me reflect on the bands history. I've only been around for them for two years, so seeing the montage made me realize all the history and memories this band has had, even though I was already aware of it, but it gave me a really new perspective. Hearing things like the Went Tweezer during the video only made it better. I'm having an incredibly difficult time explaining this, because it can't really be explained any further.

Show of Life encore was appropriate, but I'm not gonna lie, I was disappointed they left stage with it.

I think I covered everything I was hoping to say. Going to 3/4 shows will be some of the greatest memories I will ever have. For my first NYE, I was totally satisfied, even with the absence of a midnight gag, that may have been more fitting for someone's first NYE.

I realize that this NYE show was really meant for the vets to reflect, but it certainly pleased me.

Happy New Year,
Jordan

This show was exactly what phish phans deserved on a 30th Anniversary NYE show. There was a lot of consideration and thought behind the setlist and how consistent the show was.

Set 1: This was the ultimate opening set. We got an above average but standard opener in Bag. SIHTOS was a great choice for the 2nd slot and well played. When the Wilson cue popped up I was expecting to hear Gamehenge the rest of the set. What I ended up hearing was a perfectly woven setlist from an epic divided sky to a fire Sugar Shack (a welcome bustout) to one of my favorite halfway to the moon's. And then after all that what do I hear? The intro to fluffhead which was one of the most well played I've heard in a very long time.

Set 2 (Truck/Rarities Set): This set was constructed with phish phans best wishes in mind. The band knows how much people want to hear rarities and feel their anticipation. Well, this set they gave it to us. Glide was great to hear as an opener and set the tone for a surprising setlist. Then the kick you in the face drums came in and it was all to obvious that Llama was afoot. I saw on message boards all year people wanting to hear a Llama opener or hear it period. Well, they held off all year to throw it in this set, and that makes it all the better. Then came the big one. Col Forbin came in like a ton of bricks and I was locked in. It was so well played you'd think they play it often. Then Mockingbird. I do have to admit I was disappointed there was no spoken word story. But then that is not uncommon in 3.0 it was cool to hear Trey's comment about the mockingbird still flying after 30 years. Mockingbird was solid and like Forbin extremely well played. FYF was as always entertaining and always a great bustout. Reba is one of those songs that is always fantastic on big shows and this one is no different the mid section is so gorgeous. Icculus? Yes, please at this point I was riding on this wave of excitement from this constant barrage of rarities I always hope to see. But what more can you say? Icculus was entertaining. Lizards was great! I mean great the guys harmonized Page's solo was fantastic and man I was dancing! As you should would with a good Lizards. Then SOAM was a great set closer great little jam at the end. Basically this was the Phish Phan set perfectly calculated and placed.

Set 3: Now I got a little confused here. After all these years we expect a kind of gag for new years. About 6 minutes or so till the guys come on and start Character Zero. Anyone that can do the math can realize thats only enough time to hear the song played and no props or anything going on throughout the whole song. But I understood once they hit this incredible peak at the end I mean one that all Character Zero's can be measured to it was HUGE! It got so loud then the count down proceeded and as usual Auld Lang Syne was played. Then Fuego came on and I have to admit I kind of expected this. It was great though so much fun to get the new year going. Got me excited to see where it's going to go in the future. Then Light came on and had a very beautiful Jam arguably the Jam of the night it wasn't the longest but it was solid. Twenty Years Later was the best I've ever heard it was gorgeous! Bouncing was standard but appreciated it always keeps things moving. Then a perfectly placed YEM well played got the trampolines it was fun. Standard vocal Jam. Always good to get a New Years YEM.

Encore: Grind was great for a 30th anniversary NYE show and calculating the days to their 60th anniversary show was great. Show of life? Not my favorite song but it served its purpose to thank fans and celebrate this epic night.

All in all one of the best NYE shows in Phish history it's no NYE 95 or Big Cypress but it was better then all the rest in my opinion. Why? This show was not just the NYE show it was the 30th anniversary show that they were not able to play this year. And proves the inevitable when the pressure is on. Phish prevails.

The feeling I had in MSG this night is unlike any that I've ever had at a Phish show before. The energy and the gratitude that was exchanged between the band and the audience was unparalleled in my experience. But the absolute genius of this show was the fact that with the JEMP truck set they made MSG New Years, arguably the biggest night of the year in the most famous arena in the world, feel like an intimate gathering. That's why we've all been a part of this for so long. The seemingly neverending ability of these four guys to exceed any expectations you have.

Takes the title of the 29th for most fun show I've been to.

I bought my ticket off a fellow .netter the night before, and I went to the show alone. Coming in, everyone was wondering what was about to happen. Some thought they'd do Gamehenge, some thought they'd do a cover set.

Anyhow, they start the first set (all of the songs except Ocelot were firsts for me), and I had a great time. Divided Sky and Fluff were good upon relisten.

Then, a video played on the scoreboard, showing Fishman in a land of old NYE gags (golf carts/balls, I think I saw the hot dog, the disco ball from 2009, etc). He starts working at a broken truck, then half of it gets destroyed by an overpass. Then, the stage crew brings the truck in, "parts the sea" in the GA floor, and they bring the thing to the center of the arena. My first thought was "Lope G's gotta be pissed".

I then noticed the Hockey Sticks as mic stands, realized they were finally doing something about 30 years. Everyone who realized started to wonder: will we get a cover set? A Scarlet > Fire?

No! They came out and played Glide, and then Llama. A long pause came, and then they played Forbin's > Mockingbird. After that the show could've gotten rained out somehow, and I wouldn't have complained. But no, we were treated to Fuck Your Face, Reba, my 2nd Icculus of the year, The Lizards, and a really nice Split Open and Melt.

After that we got a setbreak with no gags apparent, so we took a well-deserved seat. By this point, I'd made friends with everyone around me (section 215, I was the dude in a Europe '72 shirt if any of you see it). We were all wondering what came next.

They brought in the new year in the simplest but best way possible. They played a Character Zero, a song that always rocks, and then had the screen count it down. Auld Lang Syne was just amazing to observe though. Everyone in the venue was enjoying themselves, there was balloons and confetti everywhere, it was great. Then, they played Fuego, which everyone seemed pretty happy to hear.

Then there's the High-Light in Light. Like usual, it went pretty far out. Twenty Years Later followed, the only sad part is that Trey didn't change the lyrics to "Thirty Years Later". Bouncing gave everyone a much needed break from all the jamming, and then YEM came to close it. During Grind Trey announced their 60th anniversary show at Madison Square Garden, 29 years and 367 days (that's with leap year days) from when I'm typing this, and they gave how old they'll be then. Show of Life was kinda a letdown for a closer, but I'm not gonna complain.

These four nights (my first multi-night Phish run) were some of the most fun I've had in a long time, and I'm really glad I chose to go to them. I'm never going to forget the 2nd set here. Speaking of the word 'here', here's to another year of great music, vibes, Phish, and all that crap.

I missed the first set due to a promise to my girlfriend that I would attend the beginning of her party.
I arrived inside just as the lights went out for the second set.
I know I have much less experience that many other people on this site with only 44 shows under my belt. I didn't see my first show until 1996.
What happened during that second set was pure magic. It felt like we had all passed to Phish heaven. How could it be possible that all of my musical dreams would be answered by this, a band that I truly love with my heart and soul, within one hour of music ?
I think the main message from The Helping Friendly Book is to live in harmony with each other.
We all went through that second set together. As one.
Everyone was smiling and singing as if all war, poverty, hunger and violence on earth had just ended.
You might be rolling your eyes while reading this, but it's ok to find pure happiness and live in the moment even if it's only for a little while.
It's the reason we travel to the ends of the earth to see Phish.
We have something that most people in this world don't. The ability to open ourselves to the experience and a band that can take us to places we once imagined were only fantasy.
In all honesty, it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life so far and I will never forget it.

Im not going to describe the songs because they speak for them selves, so just listen to the show.

What I will say is this, That was the most heartfelt thank you the band could have made. They stripped themselves down to bare bones and played the legendary songs that phans chase for years on end, and it was glorious.
Now, my seats were not very good I was as high up as I could get in the Garden but non the less the second set felt very intimate. I had never truly surrendered to the flow the way I did that entire second set (Specifically Reba which is my favorite song). I will remember this night forever. Thank you for 30 years phish although I have only been around for 1 year I intend on sticking around for the next 30.

Forget about pointing out mistakes, forget about not getting the seats you wanted, this show was a statement of statements that Phish is here to stay. From the very beginning, "let's get this show on the road" was a great vibe to help launch us into the new year. The first set was equal parts sing-a-long and jamwiches to satisfy every kind of hunger you may have had, including one for cake. When they started playing that video montage at setbreak, I knew the gag would be a simple and plain "thank you" to the phans for 30 years of sustained community and support. For me personally, the second set was the greatest thing that Phish has ever done, and by that I mean they moved directly front and center of where I was (104) to play a set with literally every song I haven't seen and have wanted for a long time. This was my reward for spending the time and money to come from Tennessee to New York, and I would do it again a million times over. The YEM was particularly enjoyable and Fuego started to find its legs as a jam vehicle. I don't think I've ever been so happy to hear Bouncing because it was perfectly placed. Grind was the cap on the overall statement, reminding us they still have so much to give. Show of Life was also very snug in that encore spot, and I left this show crunching numbers to see how much money I would need to save between now and summer tour next year. All I can say after a killer run like this is thank you, thank you, thank you Phish and I hope I will still be seeing you as my beard turns gray. Happy New Year everyone!

Easily the best and most consistent show of MSG this year. Perhaps (arguably of course), the best Phish show EVER.

All 3 sets were intense, especially sets 2 and 3.

Once Forbin hit in set 2, I was hooked tight. Mockingbird was easily the best in some time. Fuck Your Face was an unexpected, but necessary, bust out. Reba was surprising but always welcome and appreciated... again, perfectly placed. Icculus kicked severe ass. The Lizards was the ultimate crowd pleaser and gave a great summation for all the raving phans insisting Gamehenge was being played. But to top it all off in set 2... even tho they could've finished with Lizards just to keep their tanks full for s3 ... they put a massive cherry on top with MELT... my all-time favorite. I ERUPTED. Not my preferred MELT over SPAC2 of this yr (since it was my first SPAC and first MELT). But it was by no stretch a slouch, and even had a much more clean ending that was aligned with hardcore phans expectations. NI-I-NE, EI-GH-T, TI-I-ME.

Character unsuspectingly opens S3. Love opening a set with this rather than predictably closing one. Fuego as the first song in the new year shows us phans that this song is the real player on Wingsuit, and will get serious airtime. Light & YEM were spacey as shit, but never too out of control that the band didn't know what they wanted to accomplish.

The video montage on LivePhish Web stream before the encore was phucking right on. Grind and Show of Life to send us home. Thank you boys... see you in 30 years!!

One of the best nights of Phish I've seen in a long time....technically, no, the music wasn't flawless - but we've learned that that's ok and we can't expect perfection EVERY time...its ok to miss a note, and it's ok to miss a change or a few bars...."it's all about the energy!" Such a nostalgic evening filled with happy. 4 nights and 5 days in NYC isn't a cheap excursion, but I'd do it all over again...and plan to ;-)
Cya on Summer tour!

I really liked this show. It had so much emotional punch, especially for someone who wasn't able to be around for 1.0. I know I missed out on the best years, and that's a tough pill to swallow. So it's nice to have the old timey set performed in front of you. I had to stream this year, because I simply could not go to MSG this year. The song selection was great, although I wish they had taken some songs further, I can't complain about the songs for the most part. I'm even inclined to let trey's flubs slide, but I really would like to see him practice more. If it keeps happening as bad as the lizards, PYITE from the prior night, or etc, I'd be inclined to start bitching next tour.

Overall, I'm excited to see what the future holds, but the show was really heavy for someone who missed 1.0. I think no matter where you are in your phandom, that show hit home, and hard. I hope to see you guys out there this year!

The following is a couch tour review. Honestly, when I first saw people writing couch tour reviews, I used to think "really dude, you weren't even there". But after doing a good bit of couch tour myself, I've really warmed up to the idea that it's really more about the show itself than whether you're watching it at home at a bar or live at the arena. I mean, I was live at the 20th anniversary show in Boston (12/2/03) and this experience blows that one out of the water. (And this while I'm still recovering from the flu and occasionally coughing my lungs out!) And as I kept glancing over at my Facebook page, and seeing all my fellow couch tour phans posting glowing statements of glee, I can't help but be reminded of how couch tour has changed everything. Thanks to couch tour, that incredible communion between band and phans extends far beyond the exit doors of the arena, spanning all across the country, and hell for all I know the world. Couch tour is probably the best thing to happen to Phish Phans since, oooooohhh maybe around 12/2/83.

Anyway, I'm not doing a song by song review. You've seen plenty of those. I really just want to focus on the second set, because that was really to me what defined this show. There the band was, playing on top of a truck, no room for all Page's funky clav, organ, or any of that. No pedals, no loops, no effects. Just stripped down Phish in its purest state, as if it were 1990 again. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the funky clav and the loops and tricks and effects and all that stuff, but there was something just really clean and pure about seeing the boys stripping it all down and going right back to their roots. I hope this set, and the crowd reaction to it, is a lesson to the band for future NYE's. You know guys, you don't need to decorate the stage with grass, or have big broadway productions with dancers and singers in all sorts of costumes on stage. Just be Phish.

As for the music, the newest songs in that entire set were the first two: Glide (debuted 1991) and Llama (debuted 1990). Everything else was first played 1989 or earlier. So of course this means that many of these songs were pretty rare these days. It was a delight to witness. Even from afar, you can just feel that ever famous band/crowd connection. Especially, I felt, during the Forbins>Mockingbird and even more so during Icculus.

Sure, I was hoping (though not expecting by any means) that Trey might tell just a tiny little story, or at least say a few words about the anniversary, during the Forbin's>Mockingbird. And yeah, I noticed some flubs, particularly the climatic guitar solo in Lizards. But you know what, none of that stopped me from smiling from ear to ear. And from what I was reading from other friends around the country, it was clear everyone else was getting it too.

After this, they could play anything in the third set and I don't think most of us would complain. Hell, they could even play a late set Bouncin' and a Show of Life Encore and people would STILL be blissful. A really nice exploratory Light jam and a smokin' YEM set closer didn't hurt things though.

Thank you, Phish for the last 18 years (for me). It's been a fun ride, glad it's still rolling. So happy to be there with all of you on this special night, even if it was from afar.

Definitely the least polished of the 4 night run this year, but after the last 2 nights that's hardly a complaint. Pretty pedestrian first set, the Bag has good energy, ASIHTOS is decent, several significant flubs during Divided Sky. They redeem themselves with a fun bouncy Ocelot, which follows its own predictable course but reaches a nice climax. Next comes Sugar Shack, which I don't think I've ever heard them play right...I just don't think this song was meant to be performed live...and they follow with Halfway to the Moon. I'd prefer BoaBH, but that's opinion and nothing more. Fluffhead is a fantastic choice for set closer, but they stumble through this one as well...no matter, their minds are focused on bigger things. At the end of Fluffhead the boys carry a keyboard looking like the one from Telluride to the front of the stage (with Fishman carrying a giant cardboard cutout of a mountain). The keyboard is cake. They cut it and pass it around. All rejoice as we are treated to the first video of the night.

The scene is something of a museum of Phish NYE memorabilia...We see Fishman go to work building....something...something with 555 horsepower...and loading all of the equipment into a box truck. He sets off with his destiny seemingly unbound, but some time into his trip he falls asleep, the roof rips off the truck...and all of a sudden the truck is a stage and is in MSG...in the MIDDLE OF MSG...like, in the back of GA West and the front of GA East...like IN THE FUCKING MIDDLE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARENA. Needless to say, the excitement was palpable.

From the opening riff to Glide we knew we were in for a treat. This version was far from perfect, but it was a pleasant start to the set and it set the tone for the bustouts that would ensue. My first Llama since 98 was a truly welcome surprise, and high octane shredding from Page kick the energy level into high gear. Then it got quiet. Really quiet. TOO quiet...my buddy said "Forbin's" and we all got goosebumps. Sure enough, 10 seconds later, it dropped. And glory be his name is Forbin! Fantastically played with a few minor flubs, but nothing major, and mockingbird that follows is truly beautiful (also not without flubs, but come on! THEY'RE ON A TRUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF MSG!!!) Fuck Your Face was a fun little ditty, Mike totally fucked our faces and we loved it. Reba was quite well played (though not on the level of accuracy of Golgi or Bowie from night 2). Then came what I thought was the focal point of the set and of the show and of the run...ICCULUS. I think some people are still not getting it. For 30 years these guys have been giving us their all, playing their hearts out, changing our lives. Yet there are still those amongst us who see it fit to bitch and moan when they don't get exactly what they want. READ THE FUCKING BOOK PEOPLE!!! SAVE YOUR LIFE!!! The Phish will play what the Phish want to play, and they've earned that right...you don't deserve your Harpua...nobody promised you Eat A Peach...READ THE FUCKING BOOK!!!

The Lizards follows, huge crowd pleaser, a chaser for many I'm sure. Despite some major flubs, this is a solid version. Melt closes the set with a pretty stellar breakdown and then a smooth transition back into the groove.

3rd set is somewhat unremarkable, Fuego takes a while to take off, partly because of the Spinal Tap situation we see created by balloons every year...pro tip: put fans on the edge of the stage so the balloons don't get up there...or better yet drop them on the back of the crowd...or better yet, just do confetti...we don't need balloons. Light takes a while to find its identity but reaches some nice peaks.

All in all, the 2nd set was beyond my wildest dreams and I will cherish forever. And despite the flubs this was probably the best 12/31 show of the last 4 MSG runs. As I said to my brother after the show, they could encore with Let Me Lie after that run and I wouldn't complain.

Covers? Who needs covers? We got 30 years of originals, and you'll get your covers in due time, but this run was about our favorite band and all they've done for us over the last 30 years and all they'll do in the next 30. READ THE FUCKING BOOK PEOPLE. SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Second set was the tits. Thought they were going to play some truckin! I ran out after fluffhead to take a piss before the setlist rush and missed half of the video. LULZ

Great show. What a way to end 30 years of Phish! 30 more years?
YES WE CAN
PHISH PHISH HOORAY
PHISH PHISH HOORAY
PHISH PHISH HOOOORAAAAAY!!!!

Highlights of the show:

1st set:
-Song I Heard the Ocean Sing
-Silent part of DS
-Raging Fluffhead

2nd set:
-Whole thing
-Icculus was my personal favorite song of the set
-Trey's guitar tone (especially during SOAM)

3rd set:
-Type II jam during Light
-Wombat tease by Page during YEM
-Trey dancing

The video on the jumbo screen was chilling

12/31/13 Review

Once again PHiSH was able to make the show I was attending feel and sound like the best show I have ever seen. Expectations for the 31st as always were running high. Leading up to NYE I hadn't seen them play a cover song since Funky Bitch in AC, the lone cover that night. Not doing any covers was super clever, and such a great way to celebrate the music of Phish!

The NYE celebration had it all, the videos were hilarious, and a fun way to spend the breaks. The music was great with danceable songs, rocking jams, and interesting bust outs. Not a lot of glam here like other years just stripped down Phish playing in the middle of the worlds greatest arena.

I can't pinpoint or highlight one song or moment because to me they were all great, I have such an appreciation for what Phish does, it's not easy to pour your heart out on stage, basically exposing yourself to everyone. Song writing is hard, perfection is demanded, and listening to critics is even harder.

If there was an 30th anniversary show in 2013 this was it with hockey stick mics and all, we had cake, a video montage, the music of Phish, old TMWSIY songs, the Jemp truck, the save the date, the Telluride reenactment, and the message was delivered loud and clear.

It feels like 2013 was hand down one of the best years of Phish, and 2014 has the potential to be even better as does every song, or jam, or show they play. I remember a little cheer from Red Rocks 1994 (audible on the tapes) from me and my friends that sums it up, 'You Guys Rock!'

NYE Bust Outs:

SIHTOS: played for just the 12th time ever, 4th in 2013, I think the ocean played this for Phish this summer

GLIDE: interestingly only the 3rd time played in 3.0, and all three at MSG

SUGAR SHACK: 15th ever, all 3.0

COL FROBIN: 6th of 3.0

LLAMA: 9th of 3.0

FYF: 8th time ever

REBA: only the 4th of 2013

ICCULUS: only played 26 times since 1986

LIZARDS: 11th time in 3.0

GRIND: 16th ever since it's debut at MSG in 1998

The countdown on the screen began at 30 (obviously), with the crowd counting down from ten. As 2014 hit, balloons and confetti drenched the room, with Phish shifting into "Auld Lang Syne," the first and only cover of the entire run. They transitioned into "Fuego" as roadies furiously used razors to pop balloons and leafblowers to clear pedalboards. Anastasio forced the segue into "Light," but that became a distant memory once the song went off on a funky tangent that quickly smoothed out into a melodic summery groove. His lighting options limited during the truck set, Chris Kuroda unleashed a rainbow of effects from his arsenal as the jam morphed again into a propulsive rock beat. By the time it reached its dolphins-in-space resolution, the crowd was squealing with approval.

Read full review here: http://www.drypaintsigns.com/2014/01/phish-1231-setlist.html

Edit on my post:

Meant 11/17/97 Tweezer, not the Went Tweezer.

Don't know why I said that. But since it won't let me post a review this short, I'll add some more stuff regarding the montage. All the jams played in it made it really emotional, sorta unimaginable actually. I'm trying to recall what they were. 8/11/98 Jim, Camden CDT, Denver Ghost, Fukuoka Twist?

Takes the title from the 29th for most fun show I've been to.

I bought my ticket off a fellow .netter the night before, and I went to the show alone. Coming in, everyone was wondering what was about to happen. Some thought they'd do Gamehenge, some thought they'd do a cover set.

Anyhow, they start the first set (all of the songs except Ocelot were firsts for me), and I had a great time. Divided Sky and Fluff were good upon relisten.

Then, a video played on the scoreboard, showing Fishman in a land of old NYE gags (golf carts/balls, I think I saw the hot dog, the disco ball from 2009, etc). He starts working at a broken truck, then half of it gets destroyed by an overpass. Then, the stage crew brings the truck in, "parts the sea" in the GA floor, and they bring the thing to the center of the arena. My first thought was "Lope G's gotta be pissed".

I then noticed the Hockey Sticks as mic stands, realized they were finally doing something about 30 years. Everyone who realized started to wonder: will we get a cover set? A Scarlet > Fire?

No! They came out and played Glide, and then Llama. A long pause came, and then they played Forbin's > Mockingbird. After that the show could've gotten rained out somehow, and I wouldn't have complained. But no, we were treated to Fuck Your Face, Reba, my 2nd Icculus of the year, The Lizards, and a really nice Split Open and Melt.

After that we got a setbreak with no gags apparent, so we took a well-deserved seat. By this point, I'd made friends with everyone around me (section 215, I was the dude in a Europe '72 shirt if any of you see it). We were all wondering what came next.

They brought in the new year in the simplest but best way possible. They played a Character Zero, a song that always rocks, and then had the screen count it down. Auld Lang Syne was just amazing to observe though. Everyone in the venue was enjoying themselves, there was balloons and confetti everywhere, it was great. Then, they played Fuego, which everyone seemed pretty happy to hear.

Then there's the High-Light in Light. Like usual, it went pretty far out. Twenty Years Later followed, the only sad part is that Trey didn't change the lyrics to "Thirty Years Later". Bouncing gave everyone a much needed break from all the jamming, and then YEM came to close it. During Grind Trey announced their 60th anniversary show at Madison Square Garden, 29 years and 367 days (that's with leap year days) from when I'm typing this, and they gave how old they'll be then. Show of Life was kinda a letdown for a closer, but I'm not gonna complain.

These four nights (my first multi-night Phish run) were some of the most fun I've had in a long time, and I'm really glad I chose to go to them. I'm never going to forget the 2nd set here. Speaking of the word 'here', here's to another year of great music, vibes, Phish, and all that crap.

I went to this show solo. To have them drive that Jemp truck right up to my spot in the back GA section and have them play that set was an awesome experience. There were some kids having their first show right near me. We had a blast. They kept calling out the names of songs as Phish started them as lots of phans like to do. When they started FYF none of them knew the song. I turned around and said "F@#$ Your Face!" a couple of times. One guy got defensive and said, "we don't want any trouble, sorry!" I then said, "no! thats the song!" When Gordon sang, "This guitar is gonna FYF" I turned around and these kids were so happy. There are such fun times to be had with people you don't know in the crowd at Phish shows. Love each other out there!

Literally could not wait for new years webcast, but the webcast didn't work for us, very and angry and upset about that. I was very happy i called the opener and wilson and character zero. Anyway pretty much listening to this after new years eve everything is great, i mean just look at set 2. Wish i was at this show.

New Year's runs are fun but just not my cup of tea anymore. Glad I chose to skip this year and prob more nye run's for years to come. The improvisation just doesn't rear it's head during nye run's for the most part. I mean just compare the improvisation factor to what they put down almost night after night during fall tour. Pretty much the only tunes i'll relisten to from this nye run are dwd, carini, and light. That being said I really liked what they did second set last night. Hope everyone had a great time. Happy New Year's all