Phish shared pro-shot 4K HDR video of their performance of “Tweezer” from their December 30 show at Madison Square Garden. The 35-minute rendition opened the band’s second set last Monday night at MSG.
According to Phish.net, the recent “Tweezer” falls within the top five longest performances of the song since its debut in 1990 and is among the longest jams since their return in 2009. JamBase’s Scott Bernstein covered the December 30 show, here’s how he described the “Tweezer”:
“Tweezer” fit snugly into its best position as the second set opener and spanned a jaw-dropping [35] minutes, which made it the third-longest jam since Phish returned in 2009. But what made last night’s “Tweezer” so memorable wasn’t just its length. Phish hit upon one outstanding chord sequence after another and took each deep. Up first was a funky motif that the quartet worked into an anthemic major-key progression. All four members added impressive contributions to a clinic in improvisation. The blissful section ended with a massive peak led by [guiarist] Trey [Anastasio] that was followed by a stunning breakdown. Phish laid into a beautiful progression in which Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Mike Gordon played the same gorgeous pattern over and over again while [keyboardist Page] McConnell added delightful layers of synth. Eventually, Anastasio varied the riff he had been working over and patiently led a crowd-pleasing build over a progression that stands among the best in Phish history with the “Went Gin,” “Albany YEM” and “Lowell Reba.”
Phish wasn’t done with “Tweezer” yet as they followed the stellar progression with a more bluesy excursion featuring a rollicking beat provided by Fishman. McConnell let it rip on his Wurlitzer electric piano while Anastasio focused on aggressive rhythmic work and Gordon pushed forward yet another key change to a segment akin to “Party Time.” Once again, Phish built the music to a rolling boil and the crowd went wild in appreciation for the magic they were witnessing. Just when one would think the “Tweezer” was over it just kept coming. The finale of the “MSGeezer” was a jam on “Let’s Go Band,” a melody whistled at every Rangers game in which fans of the NHL team respond by chanting “Potvin Sucks” in regards to Islanders’ legend and Rangers’ foe Dennis Potvin. For what it’s worth, many in the audience chanted “Potvin Sucks” while others screamed “Let’s Go Phish.”
Watch Phish’s 35-minute “Tweezer” from MSG in 4K HDR below:
