Phish returned to its home at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on Saturday for night three of four at The World’s Most Famous Arena.
The band got right down to business with a trip “Backwards Down the Number Line”. The strong seven-minute opener packed a punch without straying too far afield, setting the tone for a solid first set. “Wolfman’s Brother” took the secondary position and included some minimalist funk jamming before it crescendoed to a dramatic climax.
Phish – “Backwards Down The Numberline” – 12/30/23
Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon then revived their intricate “Turtle in the Clouds” dance during the Kasvot Växt favorite before ceding the spot light to Page McConell and Jon Fishman during the Latin-tinged “Undermind”. “Kill Devil Falls” gave the band a chance to stretch out without ever breeching type-2 territory, but by the time they reached “Fuego”, Phish was ready to take things up a notch. The quartet explored dissonance while navigating spontaneous key changes until the jam ultimately faded down and transitioned to the gentle “Train Song”, which the band revived in April for the first time since 2019.
The playful opening guitar melody of “It’s Ice” raised the energy yet higher, with the Chairman of the Boards leading the band through a straightforward version of the uniquely Phishy number. Mike Gordon broke out the drill for “Life Saving Gun”, off of Trey and Page’s duo album January, which brought the first set to a close with a solid ten-plus-minute psychedelic rock jam.
Returning for set two, Phish opened with “The Well”, a calm mid-tempo Trey song with a surprisingly dark “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida-esque” jam. Phish debuted the tune earlier this year, making it a likely candidate to appear on the band’s upcoming studio album. A tasty 14-minute “Tweezer” saw the band get its second-set jam legs before Trey called a transition to “Twist”, from which emerged a blissful “Piper” that stretched to the ten-minute mark—as did the proceeding cover of TV on the Radio‘s “Golden Age”.
Phish – “The Well” – 12/30/23
“2001” gave fans a taste of the fanfare to come on New Year’s Eve with eight minutes of space-walking funk, followed by the lyrically driven “Sigma Oasis”. “David Bowie” concluded set two with a high-energy blowout extending just past ten minutes.
Returning to the stage for an encore, Phish finished night three at The Garden with “Slave to the Traffic Light” and “More”.
Phish will return to MSG tonight to celebrate New Year’s Eve and cap off the band’s 40th year with a three-set performance. Those who can’t make it in person can stream audio and video of the full run via LivePhish. Single-show webcasts and discounted four-night packages are available here. LivePhish+ subscribers can save an additional $20 on the four-night run. If you are already a subscriber, check your email to find your discount code.
Setlist [via Phish.net]: Phish | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY | 12/30/23
Set 1: Backwards Down the Number Line, Wolfman’s Brother, Turtle in the Clouds, Undermind, Kill Devil Falls, Fuego -> Train Song, It’s Ice > Life Saving Gun
Set 2: The Well -> Tweezer -> Twist > Piper -> Golden Age -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > Sigma Oasis > David Bowie
Encore: Slave to the Traffic Light > More
Notes:
Trey teased The Well in Twist.
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