Set 1: Maybe my favorite Set 1 of the run, even without a tease-laden Undermind second jam or beautiful Reba. Your Pet Cat makes a great opener (well-rehearsed, too); the slow AC/DC Bag works as well as Raleigh's Llama did; Divided Sky is a very fine version; Maze rips super hard (one of the big beneficiaries of Trey's 2015 FTW boot camp). Lots to like.

Set 2: You knew Tweezer wasn't gonna sit idly by and let other pretenders to its jam vehicle crown steal its thunder, and after appearing in the opening show of the last 5 NYE runs (check and see), the Granddaddy of Them All comes in for the closing show and shows all the young whippersnappers how it's done. The opening half of the jam is Type I, but it is ferocious Type I, Trey and Page blending together wonderfully well. Some plinko notes enter the edges of the jam, Mike opens the door to D major (h/t to Mike Hamad on Twitter for that one), and Trey hits on a warm repeating guitar lick as we kick into a very nice groove. We enter the beloved terrain of 8/1/98 and 10/27/13's Tweezers, a magical bliss jam that patiently builds and builds until Trey moves to chords, Fish starts firing away, and the jam breaks down into (woo-less, even) stop-start action. And when the band explodes right back to life and closes out the jam with a glorious near-reprisal of the Dick's Disease, we get the heartiest moment of the whole MSG run. Sand makes for a perfect sidecar to that superstar jam, and this is a meaty and super-tight version that helps keep the energy up sky high.

A delicate LxL comes next, then Suzy, and I figured that that was to keep the fires stoked before Hood could pop in and add some more improv to the proceedings. And Hood came in just as I expected (a tension-laden version that traverses some dark and even slightly funky territory before blooming bright and then shoehorning in Hood's climax in slightly abrupt fashion), but what I was not expecting was YEM to close out the show, and this is a tremendous YEM worthy of the chart. And the main reason I'm saying that is because of ol' Henrietta, who practically sprouts two new arms during the jam, tapping away on the woodblock, and hammering down the beat with the almost primal energy of 1995; Mike, as well, really brings it all throughout, especially in his showcase at the end. Lizards > Reprise is a classy encore to a glorious, superb show.

Final thoughts: Maybe the top show of the run from start to finish; in particular, the YEM and especially that mega-watt Tweezer demand listening. A tremendous close to a run absolutely lousy with riches.

They did it.

Those were the words that came into my mind as the band was walking off the stage. A tremendous, beast of a show. It's nights like this that keep us coming back again and again. The feeling of effortless flow was oozing from the boys all night long. It was a whirlwind of emotional intensity wrapped in a sinewy, groovalicious package. One of those nights where they could do no wrong. No train wrecks and any minor flubs were quickly forgiven and / or turned into something fun. Easily in the top handful of shows I've seen since 94.

Expectations were high for this night and considering the arsenal of songs they had available we figured it could be a special one. Your Pet Cat served as a killer opener and turned out to be the only song of 3.0 and 2.0 (!!!). We were around 12th row center on the floor and when the shrieking meow blasted out I had never heard anything as loud at a Phish show. I took that as a good omen. The AC/DC Bag was mellow and laid back with a similar pace of 12-30-97. NICU always gets everyone moving and even with a few Trey struggles it kept its good vibe. Trey threw in some extra notes towards the end, perhaps an apology for the off chords earlier. It's Ice is always welcome and while not as bombastic as The Mann version this summer still a blast to hear. I love seeing Horn in a place like MSG. Really allows it to strut its arena rock feel.

When they started up Divided Sky it became obvious that this was no normal show. They nailed all the changes in the first 1/3 of the song and then things quieted down and began to get interesting. Being so close I finally understood the long pauses in Divided. Trey's face was going through an array of smiles and flutters as the crowd sent waves of noise over him. He seemed to be so overcome that he missed the re-entry note! But as the jam picked up steam the roof finally blew off the place. The energy from here on out seemed to be at another level. During the longer than usual pause afterwards, I had fears they might go into something new and slow, but then they blasted into Axilla!!! They were now in full beast mode. The music was massive and chunky. The actually sound quality seemed to possibly improve as well. Then came a sick, sick Maze with Page and Trey having a wonderful duel back and forth. They kept on picking it up and up and nailed the changes. So many songs in this set required old school precision. They were definitely in a mood. Train Song was gorgeous with wonderful brush work from Fishman and a rockin, swingin Julius closed out the set. Just a great friggin first set.

The Tweezer that opened the second set was a monster. Of all the old school songs in their repertoire, I feel that Tweezer had improved more than any other. The actual song has more a choppy backbeat to it and is always super, super tight these days. They were locked in on this version from note one. You knew it was gonna be a good one and the jam got serious almost immediately similar to the Chalkdust from 12/30. There were so many peaks and valleys of different styles. Trey even started going off on a variation of the 2015 Dick's DWD jam, but playing around it without the peak. I also heard a moment reminiscent of the RANA song "Whenever You Can." The one part that sticks out for though me was this bluesy swagger Trey got into that turned into a bit of a start / stop jam. It reminded me of a combination of the Grateful Dead's "It's a Sin Jam" from 6-18-74 and the end of the Weekapaug from 12-31-95 when Trey got into this bluesy reggae stomp. Killer stuff and can't wait to relisten.

The boys then segued (in more of a true segue than usual) into Sand which was slow and drippy and bouncy. They were in the groove. Such a fun song for the band to play around with. Limb by Limb was its usual surprisingly special self. Always love this song. Fishman's drumming was in fine form. I closed my eyes for most of the song and felt like I was standing on a beach with a forest on one side and the ocean on the other and the music was making the two move and gel into each other. All that and no psychedelics needed!

They then slammed into a thrilling Suzy Greenberg. The bluesy aspect continued here and the pace was perfect. Not fast like 90's versions, but enough to make us all dance hard while retaining a swinging groove. Another beast of a song. The feeling of this version was reminiscent of the Dead's "One More Saturday Night" from 5-8-77 Cornell. High praise, indeed.

When Trey leaned into Fishman I thought to myself that a Hood would be perfect right about now and then voila! They started taking the jam out there into new unexplored territories pretty quickly. They lost their footing here and there, but always found their ground immediately thereafter. The ending came somewhat abruptly, but nothing to complain about. I saw Trey shrug while mentioning the next song to Page and thought to myself that a YEM would be perfect right about now and then voila again! This version smoked. Had everything you want in a great YEM. They nailed the peaks and the jam was taken further and further with Mike doing one of his finest solos I've heard while Trey joined Fishman on drums. Sickness. The vocal jam was the only moment of the show where being that close was almost too intense. It was a full six minutes of scary intensity with each haunted house they entered zanier than the previous one. I can't recall seeing a wilder vocal jam.

On the 30th my buddy and I were talking about songs we'd like to see and on the way into the show on the train I was chatting with some guys and they asked what was the one song I really wanted to hear tonight. My responses? Lizards. Never would have guessed that they would play it as an encore. A perfect spot for it. Old school nostalgic Phish with the entire audience singing along and raging. Special.

And you know it was a good show when you completely forget that Tweezer Reprise is coming. I was ready to pack it in at Lizards when suddenly the chords began. Another tremendous monster version that made me very, very happy to be on the floor jumping up and down.

As I was walking out through the MSG corridors, the post-show glow was in full effect. I felt like I was floating. Not surprisingly, all that my friends and I could talk about was the show itself over late night beers. It's going to take a while for the glow of this night to fade.

They did it.

I've been to hundreds of concerts, by many different artists, over the last 25 years. Without any hyperbole, I will say that last night was one of the top 3 concerts I've been to. I'm not saying just top 3 Phish concerts (Note: I am sure there are better shows that Phish has played, but I was not there to be a part of them). I'm saying of all the concerts by all the bands I've seen over the years, this is in the top 3 for me.

The energy level in that room was off the charts, from both the fans and the band. Trey, Page, Mike, and Fishman were so locked in, and I've never seen Trey so animated. There was amazing band interplay, some heavy rocking out, and some deep jams. The way we as a crowd responded to the band and the music, and then the way the band and the music responded to us as a crowd was glorious. I've only seen a band connect with the 18,000 people in Madison Square Garden like that 2 other times -- Pearl Jam in 2003 (the famous shaking the stage concert) and Foo Fighters in 2011.

And one more thing... Who would think that this level of music and connectivity would be/could be achieved by this band (or any) at 30-something years into their career? Who knew that life could just get that much better with age? Thank you Phish!

WOW!

I don't review very often because I don't like writing long pieces but this show deserves it. 21 shows at MSG since Fall 97 and I'd never been on the Floor. I picked a great night for my first GA West experience.

There was an old school vibe to this show with the youthful 3.0 energy pumping from the crowd as Phish delivered gem after gem. I can't believe it took me 85 shows to get my first Train Song!

First set was great. It left me entirely confident that Phish was going to deliver an incredible 2nd set, and sure enough. But to end it with Lizards/reprise? I used every ounce of energy I had enjoying this start to finish, it left me happy and fulfilled, but I can't wait to do it again.

Thank you Phish and fans.

Not counting "special" shows, this is the best show, front to back, since the turn of the century. I know what you're saying, "how could you forget Fukoka, 2/26-2/28/03, IT, 8/15/11, Dicks '12, 10/20/13, 12/29/13, 7/13/14, Magnaball, and a host of other 2.0 and 3.0 shows?" 10/20/13 had this crown for a long time with me, but I now award it to 1/2/16.

There is nothing wrong with this show, even if you might not prefer LxL popping up after the 1-2 punch of Tweezer>Sand in the second set. It provides a nice cool down. Tweezer is one of the most beautiful versions I've heard. It is essential listening. The band is interlocked with each other the entire time. Dare I say, he return of start-stop jamming, in fine fashion, and no WOOs to be found

Hood and YEM to close out the set. Hood is nice, we get another type II monster, while not the famous 7/1/14 version, it is still enjoyable nonetheless; and damn, YEM is nasty. Everyone nails it, pretty clean version for the most part. A nice extended ambient section early on in the song, to the point of almost complete silence (for the music, not the crowd, which erupts because they love it), and the jam is funky, oh, why can't they just keep laying down on that funk a little longer? Mike slayed the drum 'n bass section, a part I'm not usually too much into. Talk about 'slappin da bass maan'. I don't care much about vocal jams most of the time in 3.0 YEM's, but this one is crazy, thanks in part to Mike, again, and it ends on a nice major chord. YEM has slowly been making a 'quiet' comeback, what with SPAC 14, MPP 14, Vegas 14, Forum 15, and now this one.

Lizards > Tweezer Reprise encore. Needs no explanation, but I do want to note that Lizards was tighter than most (few) recent 3.0 versions there have been. Trey nailed his parts, which made it all even more amazing. Wonderful show.

Oh, and the first set was fantastic all the way through, especially the 1-2 of Your Pet Cat and Bag, and nice little funky jam in It's Ice, a souring Divided Sky, though not as great as Magnaball, still great, and a ferocious Maze, definitely in line with the Magnaball version (which is my favorite since 1.0) Always nice to get Train Song when I'm at MSG, as I take the train right in every time.

I'm not that deep into my Phishing career--this was my seventh show--and I can honestly say it was the best I've witnessed this far. They were just non-stop. I couldn't believe it, we just got pounded with one beautiful monster after another. The jams, the funk, the softer moments, the weird moments.

*I crossed quite a few firsts off my list that I wanted-- DIVIDED SKY, NICU, Suzy, AND FREAKING LIZARDS ENCORE, PFFT, plus train song! from the moment I got there, I was begging for that damn lizards. As soon it started, I cried. 1 of my friends--she's at least 15-20 shows deep or more, and it was HER 1st lizards too. Super special. I was with Phamily I loved, and it was a beautiful, perfect experience. So, thank you, Phish. I can't stress it enough. THANK YOU!*

I should start by stating that this was my 150th show. There is no doubt that this played an impact on my experience last night. One can't help but think back to first experiences with such an old school set. Bag, Horn, D-sky and Maze had me reliving shows past in '93 or '94. Classic song pairings were everywhere and I lapped it up during this high energy set culled from the archives of a spring '94 show.

Tweezer loomed over this whole run like a storm that promises feet of snow for children just waiting for that snow day. Well, we certainly got our snow day. When they chose to open the second set with Tweezer I knew we were in for one for the ages. The band wasted zero time getting into deep territory. This jam grabs you from the get-go and then the band did what they have been doing all year long, they crafted a seemingly brand new song out of midair with a whole new melody and everything smack dab in the middle of this beast. A gorgeous monumental jam develops around the 11 minute mark and carries on til it peters out around the 18 minute mark only to give way to the other song we all were waiting to hear and that is where we land in Sand. The Sand is fun and tempts to go very deep, which had this yelling "keep going" only to see them return to the song structure. Now, a half hour into the set and we are ear to ear grins after devouring a truly sumptuous new year's feast!

The setlist wrote itself as we were predicting pretty much everything after the Suzy. Hood was a sideways Hood where we did not get the typical build up, my personal favorite type of Hood, I was loving every second of this Hood and it dropped predictably into a YEM that would prove to be the capper of this show, save for one last surprise.

Fully expecting a typical encore at this point with a tweeprise to finish, we were not expecting Lizards. Lizards, a song that has not been played often in 3.0, but, is a song that has only been in the encore role even less. Only ten times in its complete history(30 years?). Suffice to say, we were ecstatic. Nothing I could have thought of better for my 150th show than a final trip to Gamehendge before I said good night to the band on this evening.

Thank you Phish, this has been one helluva ride!!!

Kinda perfect. Could have done a first tube instead of Julius, but divided through reprise was flawless arena rock just the way we like it. A solid exclamation point to probably the best year since '99. Trey seems to be willing to play the extra notes and the overall band cohesion is undeniable. It's always a great time to be a fan, but there is something almost infectious at this moment in time and it's shows like this that make the 2004-2009 break up seem like a fair trade.

Now that the final show of the run is officially on the books...

Top 5 Moments of MSG 2015/16:

5. Twist, 12/31
4. Weekapaug>What's the Use?>Weekapaug, 12/30
3. Bathtub Gin, 12/30
2. Tweezer, 1/2
1. No Men in No Man's Land>Auld Lang Syne, 12/31

Honorable Mention: YEM, 1/2

Disclaimer: So far, to my ears, the 12/30 ChalkDust isn't holding up too well. Definitely some killer moments in there, but all around a little too meandering and disjointed. The 1/2 Tweezer is a much more solid example of an organic shapeshifting, exploratory jam.

Wow. I've seen ample Phish shows since 2013 and I've never had a harder time finding a ticket to a show than I had for this one. On top of trying to scalp a ticket to Phish at MSG (which is hard enough to do already), the buzz was that scalpers were selling fake tickets throughout the weekend. Luckily I met an awesome MSG event coordinator the first night when I also had to scalp a ticket. This ticket cost twice as much as the first night's (OUCH!), but knowing that the ticket was real and (praying) that the looming Tweezer was about to be an absolute monster I just couldn't resist. Dammit Phish, you got me again!....and I love it. Lets get to the show.

Your Pet Cat: Those CTSOTHH narrations are a great way to start a set and especially a show. High energy version right out of the gate, and although the MPP and Dick's versions were fun, this was definitely the best version since the Halloween show IMO.

AC/DC Bag: I thought this would open the show but I'm glad it didn't. I love when this song is played at a slower pace and that's exactly what they did. Trey's solo had some extra gravy on it too!

NICU: The > from Bag was interesting and I love this song. At this point, the setlist is starting to look promising and then...

It's Ice!: At only 4 songs in I freaked out a little bit. The jam segment of Ice continued the groovy vibe established in the first set and, while not exploding with funk like the 2013 MSG version, it was played brilliantly and fit the set perfectly.

Horn: Fits great in the set coming out of It's Ice and to my ears it sounds like the mellow groove vibe continues through this song.

Divided Sky: At this point shit was on. Everyone knew this show was about to be special (and worth breaking the bank on). After the pause, the energy of the band and the MSG audience just exploded and stayed that high for the rest of the show. The entire jam was stunningly beautiful and Trey was on fire. Where the hell did that Stash tease come from and how is it so damn perfect?!

Axilla!: MSG is literally shaking....

Maze: Great song out of Axilla and the Axilla teases are a great touch. 2015 was an awesome year for this song and two days into 2016 it's still going strong!

Train Song: I heard it in Tuscaloosa already this year so I didn't get the excitement of hearing it for the first time, but after using the NYC subway and airtran all weekend it felt more appropriate.

Julius: In the moment I was hoping for Split Open and Melt but Trey's solo made me forget about that. Phish knows best.

Overall this was one of the best first sets of Phish I've seen live (7/26/13, 7/31/15, 8/9/15, and 8/21/15 are stiff competition). Great old school setlist and I enjoyed the ride from mellow groove takes on songs to the balls to the wall energy post D-Sky pause. On to set 2!

!TWEEZER!: Who's gonna hold my clothes?! This is exactly why I pulled the trigger on the ticket and holy shit was it worth it! The drop off and build-ups in the composed section were more groove based and less raw tension to my ears, which is how I like my Tweezers. Then Mike starts laying down some sick bass that Trey solos over gloriously. At one point Trey hits a somewhat sustained repeated chord that reminds me of the first peak of the 2/28/03 Tweezer although nowhere near as powerful. Then Mike starts to get real interesting and the jam sounds similar to the later segment of the 11/17/97 Tweezer. Then Trey brings the insane heat to a peak (9:20-10:20) before a brief full band funk breakdown ensues as we transition to the next part of a jam that is already a winner. Things start to get spacey before they snap into a tropical sounding groove that makes me think of the first segment of the 1/3/15 DWD. Trey hits a repetitive lick that adds a feel good vibe to Fish's fantastic drumming before Trey begins another solo which is more beautiful than the first face melting one. Mike continues to add great bass fills throughout and I haven't mentioned Page yet but don't worry he's always killing it. We're 18 minutes into this Tweezer now and the band breaks down into another funky groove! MSG was about to explode when a (woo-less) stop/start section emerges and the woo's are avoided thanks to Trey who is just possessed with his fills (19:00-20:00)! Out of this stop/start section the band just explodes and Trey again catches a repetitive lick a la 9/6/15 Disease and rides it to heights that dwarf the Empire State Building! What a jam!

Sand!: No, no. It's not time to cool down yet as Sand emerges perfectly from Tweezer. This Sand is thick, spacey, and nasty. The peak is as powerful as you would hope any Sand has, and they even step out of the box for a few brief but excellent measures near the end.

Limb by Limb: I like this song and it serves the cool-down spot exceptionally well. Although standard, the great playing from all continues until...

Suzy Greenberg!: The dance party continues and the energy is back in high gear! Page proves why he is the chairman of the boards and Trey is with him step-for-step. With a nice peak to the tune, this is easily my favorite version and set placement of the 9 times I've heard this song.

Harry Hood!: God the hits just keep coming... This Hood gets a bad rep because of the slightly abrupt fashion in which Trey brings the band out of type ll jam territory back to the traditional Hood peak. Instead of focusing on that, attention should be placed on the almost 4 minutes of quality jam. This jam is mildly funky, danceable, delicate, and Fish is on point throughout. After that, I'm fine with the way Trey brought about the ending of the song. If they had more time in the set, I feel like this would've turned into an all timer version of Hood. However, they had to save time for...

!YOU ENJOY MYSELF!: .....Are you f**king kidding me? A six song set that starts with Tweezer and ends with YEM!? The YEM is fantastic too. Great playing in the composed sections, awesome jam with solid work for Trey, the Mike section is just bonkers with Trey on drums, and the vocal jam is as intense and good as ever! My only complaint about this YEM is that Trey should've yelled "Motherf**ker!!!" instead of Boy...but whatever it's still badass.

The Lizards and Tweezer Reprise: This was a special encore. The Lizards was played to perfection and by the time they were done playing it, the people around me, myself included, forgot the Tweezer Reprise was coming and it just blew the lid off of MSG. This was a truly spectacular way to end what felt like a perfect Phish run. When it was all said and done, this phish show is up there with 7/27/13, 10/20/13, 12/29/13, 7/31/15, 8/9/15, and Magnaball as the best live phish I've witnessed.

Other highlights from the 4 nights include the Chalk Dust>Ghost, Waves>Bathtub Gin, Weekapaug->WTU?>Weekapaug, Martian Monster through Walls, KDF through Twist, NMINML through David Bowie, Undermind, and Light.

Thanks Phish, thanks amazing fan base that I see at every show I am fortunate enough to attend, and thanks to whoever is responsible for the best fan website on the internet! Go Phish!

I didn't think I was going to go to this until a .netter hooked me up with a ticket in the final hour. Had great times at the meetup prior to the show and tried out NY Halal carts for the first time.

Music was great. Duh. Read the setlist. You like Phish, you'll like this.

MSG is a trip, it's been said before. Usually Phish take over blocks of a city when they arrive. MSG has like a 2 block radius around it where you feel a mild fan presence. Even on the escalators, it doesn't really feel like a show. Then you get to the seats, and like 80% of the audience is wearing primarily black and grey like New Yorkers always do. This was kind of a sophisticated, restrained crowd. This isn't a complaint at all. I had a great time. I love all the little universes the band plays in, MSG is a distinctly different one.

Security was quite mellow and I didn't have a hard time hearing the band or seeing them...you just gotta poke around, as the saying goes. A guy brought what looked like three year old and ten year old daughters to the show. OK. There also was this dude near me who strummed on an inflatable guitar for at least two songs. From afar, I watched people bug out on the rail and Pizza Shirt Guy channel TreyEnergy. I love playing Phish Where's Waldo.

Precise first set. Not a lot of time between songs. Good vibes. Tweezer was the highlight of this show as I'm sure it was for many others. I felt the hairs stand up on my arms during some of Trey's solos. It felt like we were rats and Trey was the Pied Piper...it was a hypnotizing experience...felt like I was in some massive mating ritual. Felt all of the pleasure that I do when I'm dancing in my kitchen while cleaning and cooking, but it was amplified by being with 30,000 other folks. Suzy Greenberg came on and I thought that it was the closer on a 4 song set...I had totally stepped out of time for a bit and needed to check my cell. I was completely absorbed in the music and 100% sober, btw.

I've been listening to the show on my Ipod while driving. Second set is the main attraction. Very balanced and symmetric playing going on, especially in Sand. There are comparisons to Magna going on on .net right now, and well, they are two totally different experiences, both great. This show was something I drove to while staying at my in-laws', Magna was a 3 day festival. Phish is a band and they usually play very well. You listen the recordings, and you'll hear these four men at work at two different places. Compare all you want, that's the joy of this band. You watch them on Webcasts, play their music at work, discuss it, change your mind, argue, etc. etc. etc. It's a hell of a hobby!

Few recent songs in this show. I read some complaints about that here and there...saying the band is being 'a nostalgia act.' That's wrong, IMHO. This is a band that plays whatever they want. If they're in the mood to play songs they wrote in their 20's and they feel the crowd will be into it, they do it. I like that they don't feel like they always have to add newer material to prove they can still write and be relevant. We all know they can---it's fine, we trust them.

Bearing in mind this was my 60th show, I reflected before entering the venue (as I normally do) on past set-lists, bustouts, covers, people I'd met and things I'd seen. As Trey and Mike mentioned in their H.O.R.D.E. interview back in '92, (I'm paraphrasing here but you'l get the message) it's always the same four people playing with the same crazy attitude, so even though it goes through many genres, that's what holds it together. Essentially, a belief to constantly place themselves into unfamiliar territory, to explore patterns their hands haven't made yet, to see just how far the spectrum of creativity can go. That's why I keep going to shows, and that's why this recent resurgence of deep exploratory jams that we've been getting over the past couple of years has been such an honor to witness.

Saturday night was something special. It was the fourth show of a run, so of course our bodies were worn down and tired, but this is Phish at MSG we're talking about, the cream of the crop, and as we all know, you never sleep on a (Sun)Saturday show. Thank you Phish.

I would go into detail about each song, but the previous comments do a great job at pointing out highlights. There is only one way to truly see(hear) for yourself though, give it a listen. It's a perfect illustration of the maturation of the band and where they've come and where they will go in the next year.

Thank you for your dedication and duty towards creating fresh content at each show, and your undying desire to go where no band has gone before.

Such an amazing night. I was with 2 new friends, and after hanging out at the .net meet up (which was an incredible experience, smashing success for all involved), we walked over to MSG. Something happened outside the venue that really made tonight's show special. Feeling on top of the world, I pull out a joint. All of a sudden two female cops that were walking by snag me and walk me over to a few feet, talks everything out of my pockets and, next thing I know she's handing me back the bag of joints, says get in there safe. Holy hell why am I so blessed! Once we got to our seats and the show started it was not stop, complete bliss the whole time. This was my 10th show and last till summer so I just tried to enjoy the hell out of it. Whole first set wouldn't let up, Train song was special to hear. Tweezer > sand was oozing with funky sexy goodness. Hood went somewhere special, somewhat abruptly ended in favor of YEM, which was absolutely glorious. Trey and Mike facing us from behind the stage on their trampolines was special for me. It says Trey breifly joined Fish on drums, but that seemed like 2-3 minutes from behind the stage. Since the Magnaball peak, I believe Phish has progressed even further and will only get better. Pumped for those going to Mexico. Until next time!

In section 117. Had a great crew lots of room. Even security guard was dancing.
First set started out tame and off. Butchered ice. Divided started I ran to pee. Came back right when trey hits the big note. I felt like a different band was on stage. They crushed divided maze and Julius.
Tweezer was trey shred from the beginning. In the middle of the jam he came out and faced our section. He absolutely dominated for awhile then pointed to someone sitting near me. He was possessed. So sick. Felt like sand was very tweezery. Limb by limb cool down= no cool down. Which is how I like my shit. Red hot. They ripped that. Suzy was perfectly placed. Then the hood. Man. After the composed section trey turned his volume way up on his guitar. And he fucking let it rip. Was not a bliss jam either. I felt tweezer again. At the end of hood the crowd actually sang the you can feel good. Trey let us. And ended the song without singing. Was quite touching or maybe it was all the boobs rubbing on me. Couldn’t tell. Then right into yem. Volume still jacked. Trey was chopping at the bit during page solo. I was sure he was finally going to play yem w a solo. Then it happened. He unleashed an over a decade nut all over msg. So nasty. Finally, he didn't bail on the solo. Then hopped on the kit for a sick bass and drum solo. Fish and mike really stretched it out. #fuckthevocaljam. Lizards was perfect as encore a song I used to be luke warm on in the day which now I love. And bass bomb the tweeprise. A high octane set from start to end.

There are a lot of great sets. The list of great complete shows, however, is significantly shorter. 1/2/16 has certainly earned a place on the short list.

The first set is easily one of the best of 3.0. Near perfect song selection, coupled with near flawless playing from all four of our boys, makes for an extremely enjoyable listen. I read a comment over on the Phish subreddit not long ago about how the composed sections of older tunes "eat Trey's lunch." This first set could easily be a direct response to that. Trey nails these older tunes with near laser precision. The composed sections of "It's Ice" and "Divided Sky", as well as Trey's solos in "Horn" and "Julius" are all superb. Don't miss the slowmo version of "Bag" either.

I think it's helpful to remind ourselves, once in a while, that it's not always about the extended, monstrous jams, though I am guilty of chasing those alone. In fact, a monstrous jam is often the indicator of a great set, rather than a great show. This "Tweezer" clocks in at 22 minutes, but its brevity does not detract from its sacchariferous nature. It is the highlight of the show, but "Sand", "LxL", and "Suzy" all continue the trend of superb accuracy. You can tell the boys are enjoying themselves. Fish is screaming and takes a "LxL" solo, Trey is giggling, and even Mike is smiling. The only flub of the show arrives in "Harry Hood," but is easily overshadowed by the quality of the rest of the show. YEM is a crowd-pleasing closer, executed well. What can I say about "The Lizards" and "Tweezer Reprise" that hasn't been said? It's a one-two feel-good punch to close out a stellar run.

While 1/2/16 may not be studded with huge jams, it may be the best executed complete show of 3.0. If, by some obscene circumstance, you haven't given this show a listen, I can promise that it will be worth your time from start to finish.

Such an amazing night. I was with 2 new friends, and after hanging out at the .net meet up (which was an incredible experience, smashing success for all involved), we walked over to MSG. Something happened outside the venue that really made tonight's show special. Feeling on top of the world, I pull out a joint. All of a sudden two female cops that were walking by snag me and walk me over to a few feet, talks everything out of my pockets and, next thing I know she's handing me back the bag of joints, says get in there safe. Holy hell why am I so blessed! Once we got to our seats and the show started it was not stop, complete bliss the whole time. This was my 10th show and last till summer so I just tried to enjoy the hell out of it. Whole first set wouldn't let up, Train song was special to hear. Tweezer > sand was oozing with funky sexy goodness. Hood went somewhere special, somewhat abruptly ended in favor of YEM, which was absolutely glorious. Trey and Mike facing us from behind the stage on their trampolines was special for me. It says Trey breifly joined Fish on drums, but that seemed like 2-3 minutes from behind the stage. Since the Magnaball peak, I believe Phish has progressed even further and will only get better. Pumped for those going to Mexico. Until next time!

My girlfriend and I were thinking that we were gonna get 2 out of the 3 monsters (Hood, Tweezer, YEM) was a bit blown away that we got all 3 of the monsters and on top of that we were on the rail for our first time ever! Showed up on West Floor at 6:50, 20 minutes after people had started piling onto the rail like sardines. To our surprise, right on the end of Page Side rail we found ourselves wiggling into a nice big sized space, we already knew this was gonna be awesome, and it was further alluded to by that dirty segue right at the beginning from Bag> NICU. Got hosed by a gorgeous Divided Sky, was thrown into the pit by a deep dirty Maze, got my first Train Song, Got a monstrous Tweezer, although Harry Hood and NICU were butchered at spots at least the Hood had a lot of experimentation and it definitely gets points for that. And then a YEM and Lizards on the rail to send me off to Mexico?!?!?!?! I'll absolutely take it, Thanks PHISH for another awesome YEMSG run, I'll see you in Mexico.

I'm not that deep into my Phishing career--this was my seventh show--and I can honestly say it was the best I've witnessed this far. They were just non-stop. I couldn't believe it, we just got pounded with one beautiful monster after another. The jams, the funk, the softer moments, the weird moments.

*I crossed quite a few firsts off my list that I wanted-- DIVIDED SKY, NICU, Suzy, AND FREAKING LIZARDS ENCORE, PFFT, plus train song! from the moment I got there, I was begging for that damn lizards. As soon it started, I cried. 1 of my friends--she's at least 15-20 shows deep or more, and it was HER 1st lizards too. Super special. I was with Phamily I loved, and it was a beautiful, perfect experience. So, thank you, Phish. I can't stress it enough. THANK YOU!*

Did anyone else notice that Trey and Page seemed to be trying to play alternate chords/parts for every single song last night? I thought it was creative, though it didn't quite work a few times. I swear I could hear them laughing when it didn't work and then seemingly patting each other on the back when it did.

And yeah, that was some good Tweezer.

(Full disclosure - couch tour review)

SET 1:

Your Pet Cat: Fun show opener! Funky as ever, wish it were longer.

AC/DC Bag: Very slow and a little uninspiring. Fun little loopy segue into… >

NICU: standard but flubby towards the end.

It’s Ice: nice, very old-school feel to the start of the show. Page’s voice is very coarse and aggressive during the verses, get the man a throat lozenge stat. There are worse renditions of the composed section out there but this one is not the greatest, especially at the end, though I appreciate the funky jam. Totally searing clav work.

Horn: it’s like we’re at a ’93 show with this setlist. Better played than the last few but still not ideal. Needs some confidence.

Divided Sky: that’s three pretty tough compositions in a row – appreciate the ambition for sure, but Trey really is missing the sauce so far. Rough until the solo section and then Trey comes into his own a little with some real nice licks. Good second half for sure.

Axilla: Rough flub going into the verse riff but it’s corrected pretty quickly. Whole thing sounds a little dissonant somehow?

Maze: old-school city! This is very strong actually. Page RIPS in his solo, and Trey does pretty well too (except for the end tag which he somehow plays in the wrong key.) Maze is one of those songs that almost always feels like it produces ‘above-average’ versions but I feel confident in saying this really is above average. Tight.

Train Song: nice, love this one. Never not welcome. Band doesn’t sound very in sync though.

Julius: once again I implore Page to take a throat lozenge or some tea. Surprisingly a really good Julius for the era though. I’m very protective of Julius performances because it was my first favourite Phish song and post-’94 performances feel like they’re missing the intensity that the song needs, but I’m a big fan of how they approach this rendition and would definitely recommend. Love that Fish briefly teases the La Grange beat in the jam.

SET 2:

Tweezer: funky from the very beginning though Trey still seems to be struggling a bit with articulating notes. These struggles vanish once the jam begins – this one is just awesome from the very beginning, with the full band riding a stormy funk groove that reminds me of real old Tweezers. Hard to give a play-by-play here because it runs through several tiny themes across its runtime but rest assured this is a Tweezer you HAVE to hear, a definite all-timer. Could it have used a slightly clearer peak? Sure. But the band falls back on very few crutches in this one. Just 22 minutes of mellow funk, sometimes happy, sometimes dark, almost always hose. WOW! Not many better jams from 2016. >

Sand: awww hell yeah, funk city. This is another stellar version that gets as dirty as any other Sand they’ve played. Short but as sweet as wading through a sea of molasses. Fish is a total groove machine here and on Tweezer – in this whole set really. A+. >

Limb By Limb: tasteful, well-placed and endearing. >

Suzy Greenberg: bundles of fun. >

Harry Hood: lmao @ Mike’s meatball tone in the intro. Composed section is very clean. Jam starts very mellow and even somewhat evil – funk central around 8 minutes in. Unfortunately doesn’t really transition convincingly into a peak and the outro sounds rushed. Would have been very relistenable if they had stuck the landing. >

You Enjoy Myself: mostly strong composed section with a particularly nice pre-Nirvana. Jam section, like everything in this set, is largely funk-driven. Pretty great B&D too which benefits from the funk focus – WOW @ 15:25, Mike Gordon ladies and gents.

ENCORE:

The Lizards: now THAT’S an encore pick! No complaints here.

Tweezer Reprise: standard, a little flubbed.

—-

OVERALL: not sure why some other reviews are touting this as a flub-free show because it most certainly is not, especially in the first set – great setlist but very hit-or-miss performances especially from Red. After setbreak they come out a transformed band, and Set 2 is pretty spotless to me outside of a weird Hood. Funk is everywhere here. Tweezer and Sand are both tremendous versions and deserve many relistens. However overall I do feel like this show doesn’t hold up too well as a complete product. Trey just sounds a little exhausted.

3.5 stars or maybe a bit above.