Phish Debuts ‘Hey Stranger’ At Madison Square Garden: Recap, Setlist & The Skinny

Just when you think you know how to characterize this year in Phish, the band comes out and plays the best concert you have seen all year (and it isn’t even close). Last night was Phish’s 70th performance at Madison Square Garden. Their show the previous night demonstrated what the band is doing best in this “4.0” era of Phish. Playing classic, composed songs well, constructing unique setlists and taking some of their newer songs out for long jams (looking at you, “Wave of Hope”).

Fans were riding the high of a solid opening night and the storied Phish venue did not seem undersold as we walked in, despite talk of ticket availability. I streamed the show on the 28th, and one of the first things I saw as I entered the venue last night was the new wired camera floating around which provided incredible new camera angles for the webcasts. Lights went down around 8:10 p.m. and Phish came on stage ready to remind us why they are one of the greatest rock bands on the planet.

Wasting no time, the band opened up with their compositional masterpiece “Fluffhead.” Played to perfection, this 22-minute version was unfinished. Instead a beautiful, sultry jam emerged and guitarist Trey Anastasio found the “Your Pet Cat” riff and the band plunged into a committed dance party version that had the place getting down. This song builds to an incredible peak and it was immediately added to my running mix. I can already imagine myself pausing my jog to dance like a lunatic on the street, hands in the air. Quickly dropping into another classic Phish song, “Bathtub Gin” went almost 17 minutes and showed that the band was, once again, ready to stretch their legs. Keyboardist Page McConnell always shines in this off kilter ode to prohibition times and this version is no exception. The band built another set of tremendous, soaring peaks and found the ending riff to cap off an incredible 45 minutes to open set one.

The Phish debut of Anastasio’s song, “hey stranger,” was a nice landing spot to cool down and was confidently played. This song off Anastasio’s first all-acoustic album, mercy, made a seamless transition to the band’s electric performances. “Tube” provided that ideal engine to power the second half of the set and McConnell took to the piano to add depth to the jam section before the blues portion of the song. The first few notes of the hallmark Phish song, “Slave to the Traffic Light” ignited the crowd yet again. With a clear tone, Anastasio’s solo was delicate and precise. The short but sweet version was followed by the anthemic “Blaze On” to close the set. This song from their 2016 album, Big Boat, has been a jam vehicle from the beginning and a solid 10-minute version had a crunchy monster jam hinting at darker themes. After a set of inspired classics and a debut, spirits were high heading into setbreak.

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

Set two opened with a strong “David Bowie.” This song hasn’t opened a second set since November 14, 1998 and the crowd was electric as it stretched out past its composed section. With variety and delicacy, drummer Jon Fishman drove a gorgeous, uplifting jam to give us a special 14-minute “Bowie.” It seems each time they play this song this year, they are hinting at and slowly moving towards what we all want – a super jammed-out version. Only time will tell if that trend will continue into 2023. Fingers crossed.

It felt like a good move for the band to play “Everything’s Right” next and this jam was unique and expansive. The fishbowl (or “Phishbowl”) that is Madison Square Garden took on an underwater feeling as this jam bubbled and sounded like the theme song for a funky, 1970’s spy movie. It seemed like there were no more classic Phish bombs they could drop and then came “You Enjoy Myself,” perhaps the most iconic Phish song emerged. A solid version delighted the crowd and bucked the standing 2022 tradition of a short vocal jam leading back into a second instrumental jam. All six versions since their show without an audience on 12/31/21 have included a jam, but we were not disappointed when they started playing the jam vehicle “Ruby Waves.” A strong, authoritative sound from Fishman and bassist Mike Gordon led this driving jam. “Lonely Trip” followed and is a classic song that sounds like it has always existed and perfectly defines the pandemic. This song has found its place in the Phish repertoire as the ideal cool down after a lengthy improvisational piece like “Ruby Waves.” Energetic versions of “Back on the Train” and “Character Zero” saw Anastasio burning down the Garden with his electric solos. After “Character’s Zero’s” exclamatory ending, his guitar seemed to send him jumping back and his hands flew off of the instrument as if it was on fire. Wow.

The band must have felt inspired after delivering such a strong performance. The first of a two-song encore, “Guyute” could have used an additional rehearsal (or two!), as that song is a compositional beast. But they knew how to leave the crowd in pieces with a raucous “Possum” that included Anastasio reminding the crowd “Not to do anything they wouldn’t do” repeatedly as they crescendoed to end the song multiple times. Maybe this was a hint at the New Year’s Eve “gag” or a “Harpua” theme for tonight?

After the “Fluffhead” > “Your Pet Cat” opener, my friend texted me to say that “Phish was back.” My reply was, “Where did they go?” Tales of this band’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, though this loyalist never had any doubt. This band delivered an outstanding show even in a year that was defined mainly by processing all of the new music and sounds they created in 2021. The only question that remains is, what will they do tonight?!

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Phish returns to Madison Square Garden tonight. Watch livestreams via LivePhish.com.

Phish From The Road Photos

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmxQK1FP08G/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmxmI3prH1i/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmxmNYxrZgZ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmxuK9erOQU/

Posters

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuHR7YJxgr/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuKam9Phje/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuLUAlvhYd/?hl=en

Source: JamBase.com