Phish delighted diehard fans at the band’s 2023 New Year’s Eve show at Madison Square Garden by stepping into yesterday and performing the Gamehendge saga for the first time in almost 30 years.
Following a strong first set that included an opening “Everything’s Right”, fan favorite “Reba”, a delectable “Taste” > “Ruby Waves”, and a rocking “Character Zero” closer, Phish returned for set two and launched into a fiery “Down with Disease”, leaving fans wondering what kind of gag the band had in store this New Year’s Eve. The answer soon arrived as Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, and Page McConnell let out a synchronized “oom-pa-pa” with accompanying hand gestures to signal the start of “Harpua”. During the song’s narration section, as Trey began to tell the story of young Jimmy and his cat Poster Nutbag, the guitarist told the audience it was as if he could almost see him. At that moment, a bed appeared from beneath the stage with an actor playing Jimmy and a puppet version of Poster Nutbag.
Trey went on to tell of how Jimmy’s father broke the news of Poster Nutbag’s death to his son and offered to get him a new pet. Before the usual “I want a dog” lyric, Trey opined that Jimmy lacked a strong female influence and then introduced his grandma, played by actress Annie Golden. As she consoled the boy, Jimmy’s grandmother told him it was time to tell the true story of Gamehendge (as recounted in Trey’s senior project from college, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, though this telling was incomplete and out of order).
Phish – “Harpua”, “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday”, “The Lizards”, “Punch You In The Eye” – 12/31/23
[Video: kembra allen]
A huge glowing rhombus rose and framed the band as they began the first performance of the Gamehendge saga since July 8th, 1994 with “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday”. Jimmy’s grandmother narrated the story of how retired Colonel Forbin entered the land of Gamehendge and helped save the Helping Friendly Book from Wilson the evil dictator, with assistance from Trey and a cast of actors, puppets, and dancing lizards who brought the famous Phish lore to life. Forbin emerged during “Lizards” along with McGrupp, Rutherford the Brave, and about a dozen green lizards. The dancing “AC/DC Bag” also made an appearance, followed by “Tela”, who road the Multibeast through the crowd and performed a breathtaking acrobatic dance on the stage before being exposed as Wilson’s spy.
Errand Wolfe, played by Jo Lampert, provided additional vocals on “Wilson”, after which “The Sloth” emerged and attempted to assassinate Wilson, but after taking the entire duration of the song to move across the stage, the sluggish tree-dweller turned out to be too slow to catch him.
Phish – “AC/DC Bag”, “Tela”, “Llama”, “Wilson”, “The Sloth”, “The Divided Sky” – 12/31/23
[Video: kembra allen]
During “Divided Sky” Colonel Forbin reached Wilson’s castle, stole the Helping Friendly Book, and, upon his return, gave it to Errand Wolfe, who in turn selfishly kept the book for herself.
The band then took a set break before continuing with “McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters” and “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent”, which saw Forbin ascend to the top of the Rhombus in real life, though in the story he ascends a mountain to find the wise and knowledgeable Icculus, author of the Helping Friendly Book. A huge Famous Mockingbird puppet flew over the crowd spreading the wisdom of the Helping Friendly Book throughout the land of Gamehendge during “Fly Famous Mockingbird”, which also featured additional vocals by Annie Golden (Jimmy’s grandma).
After taking a moment to ring in the new year with the traditional “Auld Lang Syne”, which at that point felt like an afterthought to those enraptured by the story, Trey told Jimmy’s grandmother that the mountain was actually a volcano and led the band into “Split Open and Melt”, during which the lizards danced their way off stage and the Rhombus was lowered, bringing the Gamehendge saga to a close.
Phish wasn’t done yet, however, and capped off the third set with “You Enjoy Myself”, The Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup”, and “Possum”.
Check out video highlights and a gallery of photos by Bahram Foroughi from Phish’s 2023 New Year’s Eve show at Madison Square Garden below. The entire show is available to stream via LivePhish. Next up for the band is a trip to Mexico for four sold-out nights at Moon Palace Cancún, followed by a sold-out four-night residency at The Sphere, and the band’s first festival since 2015 in April. For more info, visit the band’s website.
Phish – “Everything’s Right” – 12/31/23
Phish – “Down With Disease” – 12/31/23
Setlist [via Phish.net]: Phish | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY | 12/31/23
Set 1: Everything’s Right, Tube, Ether Edge > Reba, Taste, Ruby Waves, A Life Beyond The Dream, Character Zero
Set 2: Down with Disease, Harpua > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > The Lizards > Punch You in the Eye > AC/DC Bag > Tela > Llama > Wilson > The Sloth > Divided Sky
Set 3: McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > Auld Lang Syne > Split Open and Melt, You Enjoy Myself > Loving Cup > Possum
Encore: Cavern > First Tube > Tweezer Reprise
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