Not all phish shows are created equal. And sometimes there are predetermined factors that will drive a show to greatness (costume album, a rare set of bust outs, a 30 min Lawn Boy, etc). Simply put, tonights driving factor was the second set.

From start to finish this is easily one of the most complete, well thought out, perfectly executed sets of 3.0.

Not a wasted moment, not a deflating song selection, nothing but a commanding 80 minutes of expertly crafted goodness. And of course it never hurts when you have a wizard running the lighting rig.

A truly amazing performance. The attention to detail is impressive, the energy is contagious and whatever this version of phish is right now, I'm just happy to be a part of it. A residency is proving to be an incredible thing.

First show at MSG tonight. Great seats and GLORIOUSLY GREAT tunes.

White Winter Hymnal. Cool. Debut. ACapella. Powered Donut plug. Breaks the "S" streak for BD S1 Openers. Fun!

CTB. Finally!!!! Where have you been??? You always sound so splendid. Locked in. More fun.

My Soul. Great version! Better than S1 opener in Pittsburgh. MSG is bringing these guys to a stellar point of precision.

Roses. F yeah! Jam that shite!!!

Very Long Fuse. Jam even more.. grind up your jam... eat it real good... and keep eating more jam because it just tastes so good.

Gumbo. Set breakthrough #1. There's not alot of versions that top this one. I mentioned precision before.. now add it the deep dark delicious funk to go w it. Must listen... Indeed.

Yarmouth. We love funk and jams.. More please.

Pebbles. Another unburied gem coming out at the right time for all to appreciate. Pebbles got a bit nasty too like everything else since Roses.

Farmhouse. Another first ever (CTB, Pebbles). Farmhouse and Pebbles give this audience all kinds of breathing room for the masterpiece to come.

TUBE. Holy wtf moley. Gumbo built a bridge and Tube just knocked it down with 2 big axes. Oh, and throw a couple drums and all kinds of keys in the mix and destroy any other jam in S1 tonight, which is not easy to say (I really love that Gumbo, but goodness gracious that Tube was fn good). A phenomenal S1 closer that is every bit as good if not better than PittCaspian last week in the same roll.

S2.

I think for anyone reading the setlist on paper needn't be too concerned about length of jam or song. I'll try to be brief if I can (no promises).

Carini. Welcome back to MSG, Pete. We much like it when you get mean and jam a lot. And downright lumpy.

Mr. Completely. I was at the Pittsburgh show last week when this monster was revived and had the dust and cobwebs removed. It emerged as the beast most of us know that it is. Not everyone yet, but most of us. I cannot truly express how surprised I am that I heard Phish play this song twice in one week (let alone 15 years!!!!!!!!). I loved the Pittsburgh version and always will. This one may have done more in less time. And there's that precision again.

1999. This set cannot get more unpredictable. Seriously. I mean I know there's the "line in my pocket reference " but did anyone remotely expect this song to (basically) last about 15 minutes? I don't think they took it for such a ride in the glory years. But why not now?!?!? WOOOO!!!!!

Steam. Deep. Dark. Spooky. Funky. Darker. Darker. Jam away we go!!!! Beat Steam ever.

No Quarter. More darkness. Crazy good jamming abound with this version also getting best ever nods. Boys won't quit.

Zero. Some people who just read this on paper think "maybe Phish phoned it in tonight". Au contraire mon frere. Zero has always been a great damn song and this version absolutely slays. This building just exploded with sound, lights and happy phucking faces (or phaces... either way).

Encore give us another fun debut/powdered donut reference and the cherry on top for a top to bottom exceptionally well played and performed evening for all involved.

I loved last night. I love tonight. Why do I have to choose? Really, I don't. The Golden Age of Phish is here (and that's even before they wind up playing a 20+ minute Golden Age at some upcoming BD show).

This is my favorite show I've been to and I could not have enjoyed it more. Thank you Phish team (crew included) for doing an amazing job and giving me a true MSG first memory to remember for a long time... Indeed.

4 out of 5 stars from me to this show. The Phish debuts were great, of course (are we getting spoiled?) The first set carries its songiness well, but Gumbo and especially Tube get some TLC. The whole second set is must-listen Phish, in my opinion. The primary difference between this show and the preceding show is that Trey sounds more inspired or confident. But when even Steam and Character Zero feature interesting jams, you know you've got a great show.

Listen, every show that this great band has played has during the Bakers Dozen run been a gem in its own right. There is no denying that.

Tonight was no exception.

The highlight of Set I was, without question, the oh-my-God-they-actually-jammed-it-out Tube. Harry Wittels would have loved to have witnessed this. Listen for yourself, it's just freaking fun.

Set II had plenty for everyone to love. A blissful Carini. Another strong Mr. Completely after coming alive once again on 7/19/17.

But then.

But then, after 557 shows, Phish showed us why tonight the fans in attendance and listening elsewhere were going to party like it was 19-friggin-99!!! A unbelievable bust out that traveled into the great beyond. An epic cover that fit perfectly in what has already been an epic run at MSG.

But then.

But then Trey and the boys kicks out a downright dirty, rascally, translucent, spacey, extraterrestrial Steam. Valleys and peaks and valleys and peaks. A perfect placement following Prince.

But then.

But then No Quarter. I remember being at Dicks when Phish jokingly played "Lushington" and closed the spelling with this Led Zeppelin classic. This time around, Page made us remember why (at this moment) he is the undisputed MVP of the Bakers Dozen run. His synth. His voice. His cold cut coolness.

But then.

But then the band played their always-ready Character Zero to close out the set. Well, except this was not your typical Zero. No, no, no sir, holy freaking cats they gave this Zero a whole lot of character compared to their other versions! A wonderful close to this wonderful set.

But then.

Powderfinger. Haha. I mean honestly. Tonight's donut was a "traditional powdered donut." I think the traditional part was that Phish played with no "theme" (see Jammed, Velvet, Strawberry), it was just you good ol fun-filled traditional show (with plenty of power hits, of course). The "powdered" portion was up in the air during thr first two sets. But Neil Young's beauty, Powder Finger, brought the powder and the power to everyone. Trey deserves tons and tons and tons of credit here; he played the song's riff perfectly. It was such a jovial end to an amazing night.

It's impossible to say that any one show during this Bakers Dozen run is "so much bettet than the others." Each show is amazing in its own right. Tonight was no exception. Listen to this show, especially set II. They may have said "traditional," I say "POWdered!"

Coming on the heels of a benchmark show in the band's history, you had to wonder what the band would have left in the tank after a Jam-Filled excursion into the beyond. Let's find out, shall we?

Set 1: After a pleasingly austere start with White Winter Hymnal, the band settles more into what we consider a "typical" first set (sadly, no half-hour improvisation out of My Soul), but there's two highlights worth speaking of here - and I'm not just talking the Pebbles and Marbles bustout - that help give this set an extra kick in the pants. The first comes in, of all things, The Very Long Fuse, as Trey apparently loses the thread a little bit, allowing for the band to vamp a nice extended groove before returning home. The second comes in an absolutely wonderful Tube, one of the finest ever played; I'd say the fine fellow that cranked out the jam chart entry described the Tube pretty well, so go give it a listen, won't you?

Set 2: Carini opens the proceedings and continues the 3.0 stalwart's march back to the spotlight after receding a bit after 2014 with a jam entirely deserving of the cute little .net setlist headphones. The band makes a nifty turn to major key about halfway through the proceedings, Trey and Page working well together as Fish bashes away with some tasty fills. The jam seems to maneuver towards darker waters, then slides into an offbeat groove as Page teases either Halfway to the Moon or Beatles song If I Fell as Trey moves to chords and Mike pushes to the forefront. Fish suddenly kicks into a tasty beat and things gets icy and weird (that's all Page, baby), and then with a wink and nod we move into Mr. Completely via a gin-u-wine segue. This Mr. Completely eschews the massive super-hose of Pittsburgh's version, instead maneuvering into a fun weird groove with Trey playing with the main theme and Page tinkling the ivories, before they head to a nifty peak and bring the jam to a close.

Then, entirely out of nowhere (it has nothing to do with the donut theme, right?), 1999 makes its return, and a somewhat sloppy version is redeemed by a wonderful jam that touches briefly on dark weirdness before Trey pushes for a new key (almost Mr. Completely-esque) and the band gins up an absolutely killer anthemic jam, Trey ripping it up with Mike burbling happily away and Page hammering the keys as Fish sprouts those handy extra arms of his to really hit a new level. They segue neatly into Steam, and this Steam is wonderfully dark and weird, a nice way to offset all the bliss and major key of the rest of the set (I again turn your attention to the jam chart entry; a different fantastic fellow wrote that one, though), before giving way to another shot of darkness with No Quarter. Character Zero would be a nice capper to a gigantic set...but instead it's a tremendous capper to a gigantic set, thanks to Trey bringing the band on down behind him, boys, leading to a 12/29/03 Free / 8/3/14 Hood- esque duet between him and Mike before casually heading back to the Zero we all know and love. All in all, one of the finest sets of the modern era, and Powderfinger is an awesome encore to the show.

Final thoughts: The second half to one of the greatest back-to-back-show duos of this or any era. This is the sort of download you pull off the "percent of cents" scam in Office Space to buy.

I'm not one to try and compare shows to others that I wasn't at... or even those I was at. The thing that makes Phish so special is that every show is a unique experience, one that every fan experiences differently. Bearing that in mind, this show was fantastic. The first set was a solid 4/5... but that 2nd set??? That second set encapsulated everything that has brought me to love this band so much - taking a song like 1999 that hasn't been played in 19 years and completely nailing it? Topping it with a jam that even Prince would have bowed to? Shifting Steam into the dark molasses of No Quarter? There's just no one out there who compares to the Phish, and tonight was exactly why. Bonus points to a great crowd that ate up every second of this show wit eager enthusiasm - Trey ate up all the love and it certainly fueled him - he was locked in for set 2. Epic stuff.

Are we still debating no repeats? I think we're clear now, right?!?!

I really liked this show. The second set was superb. It's a show that gets overshadowed by the other great Bakers Dozen shows, but it is too fun not to give it a few listens.

I feel like I heard Trey teasing Mountain Jam through the whole BD, but I'm totally hearing "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" teased at about 6:40 in Steam. Please tell me I'm not crazy.

They are playing top notch!

Okay, so I'm going to make this review really, really simple...

LOOK AT THE SECOND SET!!!

I'll even overlook the Zero (which is a better than average one)... THIS SET IS A MONSTER!

And just so that I can shout one more time (because I'm having so much fun listening as I write this)...

POWDERFINGER!!!

God, I sure do love Phish.

Though I've stuck with the Phish from Vermont through many a show, clearly the Boys had finally met the end of the road. After such a "jam-filled" Tuesday, surely they had nothing more to give. As the first set wore on with barely a > to be seen, my suspicions were confirmed. After a surprise opener with White Winter Hymnal (first set Powdered Donut song - powder/snow), the nail in the coffin was all but delivered with a snoozing Farmhouse. Surely, being that they couldn't not possibly follow up the previous night with another tear-down-the-roof rager, so I was ready to just enjoy the moment for was it was - just another night with the boys with wholesome type I fun.

WRONG!

With a hint of jams to come, a statement was made when Trey dived right into a tight Type II sonic landscape of face melting tones, yet again proving all doubters wrong. You thought they were never going to jam Tube again? You thought they would just phone it in? So so so very pleasantly wrong. This one was for Harris.

If there were any doubts about whether that Tube was a fluke, all concerns vanished in the air once the opening rift of Carini was heard. Strap in, because this was gonna be a wild one! If the Chicago Carini was a bliss-filled, white light, slow burn, this Carini was a tight, action packed behemoth, moving effortlessly from theme to theme. Eventually, the boys hit an open spot, laying out the landscape for Trey to lay down a tight Mr. Completely lick. It couldn't be - with last weeks jamout bustout, they couldn't possibly follow it up with an encore performance. And yet they did. Tight fucking jam.

Rather than go into a blow-by-blow, you really just need to hear this second set to believe it. A fee highlights:
1999. Honestly, did not even know what song this was, but Page killed it on the pop-synth sound. When Trey gets Page to finally give it up in the jam, that's when things get on the next level.
Steam. OMGGG dark and sweet like a good BA stout.
No Quarter. Perfect placement for the ethereal Zepp tune. 2nd set snow/powder themed song.
Zero. Trey returns to Guitar God status with some soul slicing statements.

E: Powderfinger. Perfect mood for getting ready to leave the Garden. Good in the encore slot, can't thing of it doing much outside of first sets and encores, but you never know with this band.

5/5

Set 1

They open with the Fleet Foxes’ Winter Hymnal, a themed cover that is both originally conceived and rearranged and yet eminently listenable, which cannot be said for all the covers this run. Winter Hymnal is a real gem, and I hope it stays in the acapella rotation.

The Very Long Fuse ignites a string of inspired renderings, including Gumbo, Yarmouth Road, Pebbles and Marbles, Farmhouse, and finally the behemoth Tube. Fuse is stretched out and developed in a way it hasn’t been before. If they keep tinkering with this number, this version will become the first retroactive entry on the Jam Charts.

The usual slinky groove jam of Gumbo is substituted for some serious Trey soloing and peaking. An atypical take on this tune, fiery but decidedly Type I.

Farmhouse solos can be especially lucid moments for Trey’s playing, and this slightly lengthy take is no exception.

Tube starts out with the drawn out, tempered feel that a lot of the big BD jams have. Once it finds its peak, though, it’s pure bliss balls for several minutes.

Set 2

Even without the illustrious 20+ minutes jam, this set is the best front-to-back second set of the Baker’s Dozen run, which makes it the second best set all around behind the Jam-filled Night’s first half. It blows the second set of the previous night out of the water for both energy and consistency of playing.

This set is relentless in its creative improv. Each jam is worth checking out. Even the themed cover, 1999 (“I’ve got a line in my pocket and it’s ready to roll”), gets the extended treatment. You Sexy Thing the following night will be the only other themed cover of the run to be used as a jam vehicle in the second set.

When Steam is your breather, you know you have a good show. And when the only song of the set that is not taken completely out of bounds is “No Quarter,” you know you have a good show.

Check this one out, and spend some time with it. It’s worth it!

Writing this review late because of a delay in being able to confirm my account (didn't realize I needed the 1 before my phone number ( -____- ), anyway here we go.

A cappella opener has been the norm for the run so hey, I'll take it, doesn't matter that everyone was checking @PhishFromTheRoad on twitter to figure out what this song was, it was cool. Cars Trucks Buses was not expected and is always a great jam to get people moving, and My Soul definitely kept that energy going! A great blues rocker that showcases that though these guys do some weird stuff, they certainly know how to stick to the basics and rip apart a 12 bar blues jam. Roses are free is one of my favorite covers I never expected to see it, ever. Seeing it on 12/29 and then again 7 months later was just a treat for me, they know how to please a crowd. Honestly never heard the very long fuse before but this is now one of my favorites from that Halloween show, more so than Martian Monster IMO (don't kill me folks, Phish playing power chords just doesn't sit with me well). Gumbo - standard but always welcome, again something I was not expecting to hear, at this point in the run we knew that anything was fair game really though. Yarmouth road was nice and Pebbles and Marbles was another song I never really checked out but am very glad I saw live b/c it's one of my favorites now.

Farmhouse was very nice and showcases their ability to play calmly and still have everyone on their toes, or in the bathroom depending how you feel about sopht phish. But then, AN ASTEROID CRASHED AND NOTHING BURNED! Except the feet of every person in that building from dancing so damn hard! This came out of left field IMO and when they got into the jam, the thought on everyone's mind was "PLEASE DON'T STOP THIS SONG AT 5 MINUTES!!". Phish being naturally gifted in telepathy got the message and once the modulation hits from the minor jam to that major blissful mode that we all know and love, we knew that this was a Tube for the books. No more needs to be said besides if you've been chasing a good Tube since the old days, look no further, this is the king of 3.0

Carini - banger. Always is - just gets people rocking hard and again transforms into that blissful major mode that 3.0 typically has, except it wasn't a show-stopping peak, and purposely not because they just grooved and grooved until they had to leave Carini for whatever was next on the list. Mr. Completely was not a song I knew well, as I'm sure most phans didn't until that big one a week prior but lets all hope this is here to stay b/c this song rocks through and through.

The Jam winds down and we hear Trey play a riff we aren't too sure about...we had some hints but no...it couldn't be....Page hits that synth and every pair of pants in the building was soaked like they would be at a show by the KING (Prince, hehe) himself. It's 1999 again for the first time since 1998 and someone better have called a fire marshal b/c the foundation of that building was shot after how much everyone was jumping. But to top it off, they rip it out into 10 minutes of the most high energy peak of the night hands down. A 100% must listen.

Steam is tight as always, and gets weird for a few minutes to the point I totally forgot it was even steam and thought they had left it unfinished. Now we hear another familiar keyboard riff that we know isn't native to the Vermont foursome that we all wish we could be, No Quarter comes out and again heads were exploding. Character Zero next, while I always fed into the "we hate zero" crowd I have been totally turned around b/c this one was just a rocker, not to mention a duel between Mike and Trey that was spectacular to see live.

This was my favorite show of the run that I saw, the only other being 7/21 as of now but I feel it was one of the greats because many songs played here aren't typically in rotation, maybe once or twice a year if that, (decade if it's 1999), so the combination of all these songs made this a must listen show.

Amazing! First set was excellent , with a rarity of pebbles , some peaks, and then finally a 10 minute jam of Tube, prior Tubes have been a bit short. The second set ripped with Carini opener, Mr Completely was stellar , then the 1999 was a treat for all. Steam , No Quar and a very solid Character Zero (Note the Trey and Mike duel) , closed the set. The Powderfinger , knew it from the opening line , it was a great awesome!

Hello all, I am a new phan as of a year ago. The last few weeks I have really been getting HEAVILY into Phish. But for the past year I have on and off been enjoying their shows. But I keep a journey spreadsheet of all the shows I've listened to. I am journeying through the Baker's Dozen. Here we go on N5. Wow this has been a lot of Phish. Started using LivePhish+ free trial for this one.
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White Winter Hymnal was an acapella debut that just served to set the Powdered Donut theme for the night.

Cars, Trucks, Buses being the true opener... It was good, but nothing to cling to too hard. Good start.

My Soul was fun to hear and had a nice upbeat Type I. Another solid entry for the night.

Roses Are Free I was unfamiliar with. It's a good song, and had a good little jam. Will have to check out the original, too.

The Very Long Fuse completely lost me, I believe I enjoyed it, but I can't recall much of what I heard.

Gumbo is the same, but I know I really liked that one. I will have to go back to that tune.

Yarmouth Road really caught my attention. I love Mike's stuff, I will have to check out more of it. I think this song is so fun. Hang with the bees and buzz in the honeycomb!

Pebbles and Marbles is really where the show is starting to pick up, in my opinion. This song got into some nice jamming, and its a great song nonetheless.

Them we got Farmhouse, which had a decent composed section, but the solo and short jam parts were the best. Really solid for a Farmhouse.

Then it busts into Tube. They take this one for a ride! The true star of Set I. If this was the plan all along, then it puts the rest of the set into perspective. This Tube rips. it goes into some nice driving jamming, very straightforward but completely locked in. It then switches gears suddenly back into a funky groove that is Tube to close out the set.

SET II
Set II busts open with the chords to Carini. Let's do it. Incredible Type II without tearing it open too early in the set. 15 minutes without going deep but still keeping it interesting is impressive in my book. I loved this one.

->Mr. Completely which basically just allows jamming to continue from Carini. Great jamming happening here.

>1999 first time since NYE 98. It goes into a great Jam section that is funky and super upbeat.

Then we got Steam. Again, retrospectively listening to it after Sigma Oasis came out, I can't believe they had these incredible songs so many years ago and only finally released them. Steam rocked. They went into a super wide open jam before busting right back into the Steam theme. Incredible.

No Quarter was really cool. I had never heard Phish do it before. I enjoyed what they did with it.

Character Zero started out pretty standard, but it goes berzerk in Type I. Full circle, because the show opened with great Type I. It goes into some weird funky Primus type thing in the middle there, and then evolves into a more CZ like jam, and finally the finale "oooh" section.

Encore was Neil Young's Powderfinger. Phish debut. It was a great song. Fun theme confirmer(?). I hope they do this one more honestly. Can't be mad with a banger as encore. More to come in the next 8 nights.

Well how could they top jam filled night? Powdered signaled (hopefully) a Neil Young cover that I was desperate to see Phish play. First thing's first though.

Set I opened with an a cappella Fleet Foxes tune. I didn't know it, as I don't really listen to them, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it!

CTB was a apropos selection for NYC. Nice peppy version that was pretty darn tight, if not exceptional.

I never really look for My Soul, just because it's almost too meta having that chorus on a not so soulful song. That said, this version carried an excellent solo from Trey.

Roses, on the other hand, I always look for. Loved it here. Great energy.

The Very Long Fuse was cool to here and carried a nice little jamming. It wasn't too dynamic, but certainly was enjoyable. It's good to hear those Halloween tunes in action and as they are basically all jam, how can you not find something nice in there.

Gumbo offered the first highlight of an otherwise pedestrian first set. This version was stretched out a bit and had some really great playing across the board. Not the monster version I was hoping for, but also not a by the book mail in job. Very fun, easily the highlight (thus far).

Yarmouth Road was ok. Kind of dull to me, but a little head bobbing slow groove was ok.

Pebbles and Marbles is a song I love and this one was executed well with a nice rocking jam. Nothing to atypical, but certainly capped off with a fiery solo from Trey.

Farmhouse was another slight downer from an energy standpoint, but the solo was quite good. In fact, by the end, I was feeling very good about that solo. Very nice version.

Well, the impending close of the set left little time to "redeem" (if that was really needed) the least enjoyable set of the run up to that point. TUBE reassured that any Phan who sleeps on this band during this MSG run runs the risk of missing pure magic. This Tube isn't the long funk workout of '97, it's a multi-segment beast that drives through some clavinet funk to some groovey effects jamming, gliding into a blissful major key jam that pops back into the conclusion, giving us 14 minutes of joyful sound. Instant classic.

Overall, my least favorite set I of the first 5 aside from Tube. That Tube, however belongs in heavy rotation. Gumbo was also very solid.

Set II of this show is my single favorite set of the first 5 (and may very well remain my favorite of the run).

Carini blows away some of the bubble gum feeling of set I and launches us into the depths of depravity. They shift seamlessly to the major key and usher smiles all around, and then effortlessly glide into totally original space that requires incredible playing by all members, who duly oblige the audience. Basically a near perfect jam to me, which segues quite nicely into the opening riff of Mr Completely.

Well this version isn't the longest, but it sure is good. Excellent jamming throughout a cool opening segment that winds its way to celebration land with a couple detours in between. Fantastic!

1999 emerges and the crowd just goes bonkers. This is a defining moment of Phish for me. After a well executed and exuberant song section, the fantastic four choose JAM. Synth funkiness ensues, deep space freakout fest follows, and an undeniable blistering finale, replete with inspired peaks concludes the all-timer. Well they don't sit idly on the peak, but instead devolve and slide into Steam with another inspired song selection (plenty of darkness in a celebratory set).

Steam is the best version I've ever heard. It's given a good long workout and goes into spacey dark and downright adventurous territory. This type of jamming (found throughout these shows) is something that I've not really found in 3.0 and the spookiness harkens back to the 2.0 era. This is stunningly great, and as with some ambient passages in the modern era, Trey relinquishes to Page who guides us beautifully into No Quarter.

The Zeppelin cover is inspired, as always, cementing itself as one of their finest choices for covers. Trey eviscerates the solo and the band really just gets this tune. It's a perfect pairing with Steam.

Well you'll see Character Zero here and roll your eyes thinking they mailed in the last tune, but you are wrong. This version smokes and carries an extended Trey Mike duel, which saw them face to face, finishing each other's musical sentences, before Trey brings us back to a screaming and soaring peak. End set in style.

The encore was what I dreamed of. Neil Young's Powderfinger, an excellent song, offers the band another chance to send us into euphoria. Very celebratory (like the Sweet Jane encore), this version is played very well. Trey's solos are immaculate and the vocals and musicianship make this another favorite - please keep playing it!!!

Overall, kind of a weak set I until Tube (boy what a Tube), but the best top to bottom set II of the run (and that's saying something!!!).

4.5/5 (dock it for the pedestrian beggining of set I).