In a sea of tourists, NYC inhabitants and phans with one phinger in the air hoping to score a miracle ticket for less than their internal organs, Madison Square Garden welcomed all walks of life back through its doors on December 30, 2016 for night three of Phish and their annual four-night NYE run.
The third night was most certainly a charm, as the foursome wholeheartedly delivered with their highly anticipated NYE gigs, bringing a juggernaut of material both new and old to the forefront of their explosive jams. The penultimate gig kept up with tradition of openers from both the 28th and 29th, kicking off with an acapella rendition of “Carolina,” leaving a sardine-packed and immensely energetic MSG crowd silent and still. Following the 28th’s acapella opener of “The Star Spangled Banner” and the 29th’s “Sweet Adeline,” “Carolina” found Trey, Mike, Page and Jon digging deep in their archives and offering their first bust out of the night–having not played the tune since 2003 at Greensboro Coliseum.
Phish “Blazed On,’ through the second set with crowd-favorite “The Moma Dance,” “Gumbo” and a fitting choice of “Cities” which had the whole building hypnotized on foot. ‘The Old Home Place,” eased into a “Bathtub Gin” scorcher, complete with arena rock vibes, dense jams and enchanting licks.
“Things People Do” served as the first “Big Boat” performance of the run, before launching into “My Friend, My Friend.” The first in a triad of Joy tracks sprinkled throughout the night, came fully equipped with face-melting jams and moody red and black lighting. The next track found every phan in the house shouting “Wilson” across a sea of wide eyes and color spectrum donut lights. A light-hearted “Sugar Shack” delighted the audience as the night’s second track hailing from Joy, before a fully-welcomed “You Enjoy Myself.” Complete with trampoline bounces and all, YEM closed out a magnificent first set for a thankful MSG crowd.
The second set magic quickly rolled out with a funky take on “Tweezer” which led into The Who’s 1969 Tommy track, “Sparks.” A crowd sing-a-long was incited on “Ghost,” until the Joy trifecta came to an end with “Light,” as things dove into a lengthy, swampy “Party Time” jam. Ease washed over the crowd with a soft take on “Wading in the Velvet Sea” just ahead of closing out the second set with another cover, The Osborne Brother’s “Rocky Top.”
Played last time in New York for a SPAC crowd, Phish encored with The Velvet Underground’s “Rock n’ Roll.” It felt more appropriately placed this time, however, in the city that front man Lou Reed often based his music on. A transcendent segue led into a fiercely received “Tweezer Reprise,” which closed night three with energy spiking through the roof.
Between page’s keyboard kinetics, phishman’s double down drumming, gordon bumpin’ bass slaps and trey’s fireworks across the fretboard, phish left little to the imagination. The beloved jam band has so far proven that they can cap off a year filled with an abysmal onslaught of celebrity deaths, political turmoil and environmental concern, making you forget all of the madness if only for a few hours.
Tomorrow will end the NYE run and after three nights of unforgettable music at the world’s most famous arena.
Setlist via Phish.net
Phish, December 30, 2016, Madison Square Garden, NY, NY
Set 1: Carolina, Blaze On, The Moma Dance > Gumbo > Cities, The Old Home Place, Bathtub Gin, Things People Do, My Friend, My Friend, Wilson, Sugar Shack, You Enjoy Myself
Set 2: Tweezer > Sparks > Ghost > Light -> Party Time Jam, Wading in the Velvet Sea > Rocky Top
Encore: Rock and Roll, Tweezer Reprise
With a raucous Garden crowd now energized, “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan” followed, allowing guitarist Trey Anastasio to shine early with some fierce guitar licks. The first of three first set covers (not including our national anthem) then appeared in the form of “Lonesome Cowboy Bill,” a song prominently featured on the band’s cover of the The Velvet Underground album Loaded done in 1998 for their musical costume. This fun, semi-bustout of a cover then gave way to “Free” which picked up the energy level in the building significantly and seemed to have everyone dancing in unison for the first time all night.
However, the pace settled back down again afterwards as “Train Song” and “Prince Caspian” followed, two songs featured on the now 20-year-old album Billy Breathes. “Roggae” kept the mellow first set vibe in full gear, allowing lighting director Chris Kuroda to show off some new lighting techniques in addition to some old favorites. A cover of the blues classic “Funky Bitch” then followed, highlighted by tremendous vocal and bass work from Mike Gordon. “Halfway to the Moon,” a song penned by keyboardist Page McConnell, gave him a chance to take center stage before another bust out of a cover in the form of a beautifully melodic “Corrina.” The first set wouldn’t be complete without one last jam and chance to stretch out a little and “Stash” fit the bill perfectly for that before a standard first set “Cavern” closer ended an enjoyable yet fairly laid back first set.
The second set that followed was anything but laid back as a three-headed monster of musical mayhem kicked things off. A top notch rendition of “Wolfman’s Brother” started the proceedings and saw the four musicians in perfect harmony with one another. Then, although it may not have been up to the epic level of the previous version played in Vegas a few a months ago, the “Golden Age” that followed was not that far off and featured some of the most inspired interplay of the evening which eventually led into a seamless segue into the classic arena rocker “Simple.” This three-song section of the evening was, by far, the highlight of the night, prompting one show goer to call it “her new best friend.”;
After a typically splendid “Simple” outro jam, the band picked things back up with an uptempo number in “Chalkdust Torture” that, once again, seemed to have the entire arena moving as one. The “Martian Monster” that followed was anything but typical as sound effects delivered by McConnell and steadfast drumming by Jon Fishman soon gave way to a full on “Tweezer” outro jam that took everyone by surprise and even had Anastasio integrating “your trip is short” lyrics sung to the tune of “Tweezer.” Phish playing around both musically and lyrically is when they’re at their best and this was no exception. “Wingsuit” then followed as the requisite breather song to slow things down a little before a fairly standard run through of “Possum” closed a ferociously enjoyable set of music. One last cover in “Good Times, Bad Times” served as the encore, undoubtedly sending everyone on their way ecstatic from a great night of music with, presumably, three even better ones to follow.
SET 1: The Star Spangled Banner, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, Lonesome Cowboy Bill > Free, Train Song, Prince Caspian, Roggae, Funky Bitch, Halfway to the Moon, Corinna, Stash, Cavern
The 29th featured an intense “Peaches en Regalia” post-“Adeline” that dropped into a strong “Mike’s Song,” and while many were itching for the elusive second jam in “Mike’s,” the vibe was interrupted by “Secret Smile,” the first since 2013. “Smile” cast a lull before “Weekapaug Groove” and “Roses are Free” provided a needed jolt of energy, “Theme from the Bottom” > “Split Open and Melt” was a fantastic pairing to cap a well rounded set.
Opening the second set with “Down with Disease,” Phish launched into an expansive jam with an awkward shift into a blissful “What’s the Use?,” followed by “Fuego” which grew into a “Meatstick” that was well jammed. “20 Years Later” gave up its jam for “Kung” which slowly drifted into “Makisupa Policeman” with a “vaping” keyword from Fishman. A perfectly placed “Harry Hood” ended the set with incredible bliss and joy throughout the audience, 
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The band took the stage to a full crowd on the floor, although the balcony, surprisingly, was a little sparse early on with plenty of open seats to be had. In a nod to the show’s locale, “New York City” opened things up in somewhat standard fashion before bassist Rob Derhak began playing the familiar opening notes of the Peanuts theme song, technically known as “Linus and Lucy.” Their take on the classic Vince Guaraldi jazz song was the first of several tonight previously featured on their 2002 album Seasons Greetings From moe. and hadn’t been played in a live setting for nearly three years.
It was quite refreshing to see this band live again. When you see a really good show live, you automatically wonder when you are ever going to get the chance to see them again. In that hiatus and chunk of time that you have not seen them, they have grown in many ways. Bands fashion and master fresh new tracks and work with each other to create something revitalizing and beautiful.