Less than a week before they were slated to take the stage at Madison Square Garden, Phish announced today that due to the concerns over the wave of COVID-10 Omicron variant that is sweeping through New York City and elsewhere, the MSG shows will postpone to April, rather than being outright cancelled.
Phish will honor all tickets for the December 29-January 1 shows at MSG on the rescheduled dates of April 20-23, marking the first time Phish has played New York City in April since 1994 at the Beacon Theatre. Get the Webcast here.
The band said in a statement:
With the Omicron variant of Covid-19 surging in New York City, we have made the very difficult decision to reschedule next week’s run of shows at Madison Square Garden.
The health and safety of Phish fans, our crew, and venue staff is paramount in our minds. While Phish has played shows this year as the pandemic has continued, this variant’s ability for rapid transmission is unprecedented.
We are also mindful that a significant number of people travel for these shows and then return to their communities, and we want to avoid accelerating transmission of the virus.
Finally, even with the strictest of tour Covid protocols, the prolonged exposure of a four-night indoor run (plus the days of preparation and travel) to critical crew and staff considerably increases the possibility of having to shut the shows down once they’ve started.
We’re fortunate to have found a four-night window in The Garden’s schedule, and the shows will now take place April 20-23, 2022, including a three-set show (as originally planned for New Year’s Eve) on April 22.
Ticket holders can request a refund anytime over the next 30 days, beginning today, if they cannot commit to the rescheduled show date. If a refund is not requested during the allotted time, tickets will be valid for the new show date. Please note: If you purchased from an authorized ticket sales channel (Ticketmaster, Phish Tickets, CID or venue website) these ticketing partners will be contacting all buyers shortly with further instructions.
Thank you all for your understanding. Stay healthy and safe, take care of each other out there and please get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already.
No word yet if Phish will stream archival shows in place of the anticipated New Years run at Madison Square Garden.
The April shows would mark the second ever ‘Island Run’ of shows, although unofficially so.
The rescheduled shows also mean that Phish will start the rescheduled dates on 4/20/22. Phish has not played on April 20 since 1994, so there’s that.
Prior to the tour closing performance of Dave Matthews Band at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, November 13, frontman Dave Matthews introduced Dumpstaphunk, who would open the evening’s festivities. Sharing with the sold out New York City audience that he was so damn lucky,
I got to listen to sound check yesterday with Dumpstaphunk and then I got to listen to them last night, then at sound check again today. So you guys only got two, by the end of this set I’ll have four. This is one of my favorite bands in the world. This band also saved my life but that’s a different story anyway have a good time with my friends Dumpstaphunk
Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Matthews’ story was referring to his sold out Labor Day weekend shows at The Gorge where Tony Hall of Dumpstaphunk and company helped sit in to perform three nights of Dave’s music on the spot. DMB keyboardist Buddy Strong sat behind the drums and Tony Hall held the low end down on bass & backing vocals. It was as an alternate format to help the shows go on without Carter Beauford and Stefan Lessard’s rhythm section for the first time in thirty years.
A similar situation of musical chairs unfolded at Madison Square Garden as saxophonist Jeff Coffin was forced to sit out the two-night run. Rashawn Ross opened Leroi Moore’s original brass section to Ben Golder-Novick, Alex Wasily and Ashlin Parker to the 7th Avenue stage. The Dumpstaphunk horns sat in on “Cornbread” and a “Jimi Thing” that led to a cover of Sly Stone’s “I Want To Take You Higher.”
Ben Golder-Novick, who was only a guest at New York’s Irving Plaza for a Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds acoustic set in January of 2018, was on saxophone for every song. Dave kept the big door open by calling him a day before the weekend shows to send the invite.
Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Tim Reynolds sat in during Dumpstaphunk’s MSG debut set for their cover of Buddy Miles “United Nations Stomp” on Friday night. The song has been considered for the 2022 Best American Roots Performance Grammy. Saturday night’s set included a special guest spot by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds for Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On.” Tony and Dave traded howls on Robert Plant’s words…I gotta keep on searching for my baby.
It marked the first time Tim, Dave, and Tony played the Empire State together since they encored with Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain” at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena for the Dave Matthews and Friends Some Devil Tour in December 2003. It was reminiscent of Dave sitting in with the Funky Meters in Albany in 2000 as well. Tony Hall told NYS music, “What’s so bad ass about Dave is that he sounds like nobody but himself, it’s like no other shit.”
Dave Matthews Band celebrated their 25th anniversary at Madison Square Garden this November. It was the last stop of their 2021 tour that included shows in Syracuse and Saratoga Springs. They performed 23 songs each night, filled with originals, covers, and tour debuts.
Friday night’s show that was broadcast live on Sirius XM channel 30 included the debut of “Mad Man’s Eyes” which Dave simply said is about a crazy man. “So Damn Lucky,” off Dave’s 2003 Some Devil record, resonated so right for all those who’ve had close calls in the crowd. The crowd replied singing in unison to Sly Stone’s “Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf Again.”
Tony Hall told NYS Music about his recording experience on Some Devil. “I had a lot of fun with that record. some of my favorite songs were So Damn Lucky and the end jam on Too High is killing”
Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Dave goes to the city with the car horns, corners and the gritty during “Proudest Monkey.” Buddy Strong and Tim Reynolds stretched out great jams during “Typical Situation” and “Lie in Our Graves.” Friday night’s encore included a “Two Step” left unfinished by the band as they launched into a chilling version of “Halloween.” It turned back the clocks, buried the past, and sent the crowd trick or treating into the Manhattan night.
Saturday night’s tour closing show at the world’s most famous arena was a celebration with DMB family, friends, and their legendary crew. Dave made sure to thank all of his on road family that made this crazy year’s tour possible each night. “After this year to be in New York City and Madison Square Garden is overwhelming. Its like damn how did I get here?”
Dave Matthews Tour Bus
They wasted no time encouraging all at the Garden party to eat, drink, and be merry with a “Tripping Billies” opener. Matthews played his deepest cut “Stay or Leave,” off the Some Devil album as well. The rare “Water in to Wine” made its way round and round again for the first time in 2021.
Tim Reynolds told NYS Music about an experience he had at Madison Square Garden during a Sting & Peter Gabriel performance. “When Peter did The Rhythm of the Heat with both bands I screamed like a woman and I only have one vocal chord.” Tim was able to feed in the rhythm from the stage at MSG with Dave Matthews treating the New York crowd to a killing version of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.”
The band welcomed the Dumpstaphunk horns to the world’s most famous stage for “Cornbread.” During the improvisational classic “Jimi Thing,” the brass section helped launch Dave to sing on Sly Stone’s classic “ I Want To Take You Higher.” It helped solidify the funk vibe that was in the air both nights.
During Saturday night’s encore Matthews performed his moving “Christmas Song” that helped flicker some holiday lighting inside the Garden. Before these crowded streets of DMB’s 43-city tour came “The Last Stop.” This fitting jam during the final encore was left unfinished as it segued into Carter Beauford’s iconic snare drum hit to kick into “Ants Marching” to end the performance.
Dumpstaphunk and Dave Matthews Band made this another two-night run of legendary entertainment history at the World’s Most Famous Arena. The custom basketball jerseys helped count it in.
New Yorker Carrie Band-Leshin told NYS music at MSG, “I’ve been seeing him since he played the Wetlands club in Tribeca until now, its like the same shirt on a different day though. I’ve never seen him play any song the same way twice this whole time.” Dave Matthews told the Garden, “I remember coming here when I was a little kid for the Barnum and Bailey three ring Circus. Just to tell you how old I am.”
Dumpstaphunk Setlists
November 12, 2021 – Dancin to the Truth, I Wish You Would, Let’s Get At It, Where Do We Go, Justice, United Nation Stomp*
*Buddy Miles cover with Tim Reynolds
November 13, 2021 – Meanwhile…., Do You, Make it After All, Street Parade, Ramble On**
**Led Zeppelin cover with Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
Photo by: Buscar Photo (www.buscarphoto.com)
Dave Matthews Band Setlists
November 12, 2021 – That Girl is You, Best of whats Around, Crush, Sweet, Funny the Way it is, Don’t Drink the Water, Again & Again, So Damn Lucky, Why I Am, Proudest Monkey, Satellite, Madmans Eyes, What Would You Say?, Lie in Our Graves, So Much to Say, Too Much, Everyday, Grey Street Encore: Two Step >Halloween
November 13, 2021 – Tripping Billies, Dancing Nancies, Warehouse, Stay or Leave, You Might Die Trying, Lying in the Hands of God, You & Me, She. Grace is Gone, Song That (bridget) Jane Likes-> Water in to Wine, Pantala Naga Pampa->Rapunzel, Sledgehammer*, #41, Cornbread**, Jimi Thing**, Where are You Going?, What You Are, Stay Encore: Christmas Song, The Last Stop >Ants Marching
*Peter Gabriel Cover ** Ashlin Parker & Alex Wasily trombone & trumpet
Vermont jam-lords Phish will celebrate the end of 2021 with four nights at Madison Square Garden, capping off a remarkable year for the group.
To say Phish is no stranger to Madison Square Garden would be a huge understatement. The band has played ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’ a total of 64 times, with only Elton John and the Piano Man, Billy Joel, eclipsing their mark on the venue. The band played their first show at Madison Square Garden over New Years Eve in 1994, and playing one of their greatest shows ever on December 31, 1995, featuring the Gamehendge Time Factory.
The band continued to perform on New Years Eve for many years to follow, including 4 night runs in 1997 and 1998, a single show to mark their return from hiatus on December 31, 2002, and finally returning to the venue in early December 2009 for three nights. New Years 2010 marked the first of a near consecutive string of runs over the end of the year, with the exception of 2014 when the band performed four nights in Miami. Since 2015, the band has performed at Madison Square Garden every New Years Eve since, sans 2020 due to COVID-19 and the ensuring music industry shutdown.
2017 marked the Baker’s Dozen, a run of 13 historic shows that featured no repeats, choice covers and bust-outs galore, a hallmark for the band in their storied career at Madison Square Garden.
Tickets for Phish at Madison Square Garden for New Years Eve 2021 are available via lottery starting now through Monday, October 4th at noon ET). Public on sale begins on October 8 at noon via Phish.com
Maroon 5 has made the decision to cancel dates at SPAC and Madison Square Garden, but plan to continue on with the rest of their tour.
The concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center was scheduled for Monday, September 13, 2021. People who had purchased tickets in advance were notified by Ticketmaster this weekend with no explanation as to why it was cancelled. On SPAC’s website it states that people will receive a refund for their tickets directly through Ticketmaster or Live Nation depending on where they acquired their ticket.
The concert at Madison Square Garden which was scheduled to take place on Friday, September 10, 2021 has been cancelled as well, without explanation. On their website they state that tickets purchased with a credit card online or over the phone with Ticketmaster or directly through the Madison Square Garden Box Office will automatically be refunded to the original purchaser’s credit card account. People should expect to receive their refund in as soon as 30 days. If people purchased their tickets through the Madison Square Garden Box Office with any other form of payment, please call the venue’s Guest Relations Department at 212-465-6225 for more information.
Maroon 5 is still advertising tour dates at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA on September 7, PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, NC on September 8, PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ on September 10, Fenway Park in Boston, MA on September 12, Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, NC on September 15. So far it looks like just the New York dates have been cancelled.
For Volume 16 of GarciaLive, the archival series looks back at the debut of Jerry Garcia Band at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on November 15, 1991.
GarciaLive Volume 16 finds the world’s most recorded musician in the world’s most famous arena at the midway point in one of his longest and most celebrated solo tours. While Garcia was no stranger to MSG, November 15th marked the Jerry Garcia Band debut in the vaunted venue. Though just two months removed from the Grateful Dead’s sold-out 9-night residency at the Garden, the crowd’s eruption as the houselights dimmed revealed the immense excitement for Garcia’s return.
Poster by Mike DuBois
The buoyant set-opening “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” signaled the feeling was indeed mutual. Love remained a central theme throughout the evening with stunning versions of Smokey Robinson’s “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” Van Morrison’s “He Ain’t Give You None” and “Bright Side of the Road,” and Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate,” among others.
A near-automatic highlight of any latter era Jerry Garcia Band set, this performance of The Manhattan’s “Shining Star” is so poignant it became the centerpiece for the 2001 compilation of the same name. The extended takes on “Ain’t No Bread in the Breadbox” and “Don’t Let Go” which followed offered the band plenty of room to stretch out with the latter yielding the deepest improvisations of the evening. Not one to treat encores as de rigueur, Garcia finds the perfect sentiment to close the night with the timeless “(What A) Wonderful World” sending everyone home walking on air.
Included in the physical copy are detailed liner notes written by Relix editor-in-chief andJambands.com founder Dean Budnick, which includes reflections from Melvin Seals, Jacklyn LaBranch, Dennis McNally and John Popper. Popper’s band, Blues Traveler, was the opening act for the 1991 show. GarciaLive Vol. 16 is set for a June 25 release.
Disc One // Set One: 1. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 2. Struggling Man 3. He Ain’t Give You None 4. Simple Twist of Fate 5. Lay Down Sally
Disc Two: 1. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down 2. My Sisters and Brothers 3. Deal
Set Two: 4. The Way You Do The Things You Do 5. Waiting For A Miracle 6. Shining Star 7. Ain’t No Bread in the Breadbox
Disc Three: 1. Don’t Let Go 2. That Lucky Old Sun > 3. Bright Side of the Road
Genesis has announced highly anticipated return to North America for the first time in 14 years with The Last Domino?
Tour dates that will have Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford, playing major cities across the U.S. and Canada this November and December 2021. Kicking off at Chicago’s United Center on November 15th, 2021, the group will be joined by Nic Collins on drums, and the band’s long-time lead guitar and bass player Daryl Stuermer. Stops along the tour include Madison Squire Garden which Genesis will be playing at on December 5th, 2021.
Genesis The Last Domino? North American Tour will be one of the first concerts at the brand-new UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York with the Friday, December 10th , 2021, show. Opening this fall, UBS Arena is a $1.1 billion world-class multipurpose arena next to the Belmont Park racetrack. In addition to being the new home to the famed New York Islanders Hockey Club, UBS Arena is one of the few venues in the world designed with a sharp focus on music.
The Last Domino? North American Tour marks the first time Genesis has performed stateside since 2007’s Turn It On Again: The Tour which went on to be one of the biggest grossing tours of that year playing sold-out arenas and stadiums around the world. One of the most successful and legendary rock bands of all-time, Genesis has sold more than 100 million albums with numerous top 20 hits.
Beginning May 7, tickets will be available through a public on-sale. Visit www.genesis-music.com for tour, ticket, and official VIP package information.
Madison Square Garden may be opening for live audiences sooner than one might think, according to President Andy Lustgarten. Their first in-person event will take place on February 23, 2021 for the Knicks game.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that arenas could open up to 10 percent capacity on February 10, 2021 using a testing- based program. People who provide a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the live event in question would be able to attend live entertainment like musical events according to the testing- based program.
At Madison Square Garden 10 percent capacity is about 2,000 people. Which means at the upcoming Knicks game against the Golden State Warriors 2,000 people can be cheering from the crowd. Although 2,000 isn’t that many, Madison Square Garden hopes that they “are on a path to continue to increase capacity,” according to Lustgarten. They hope that in time attendance will be able to increase beyond 10 percent before the basketball and hockey seasons end.
“This was earlier than we had expected,” Lustgarten told analysts on a Friday at the New York Post. And because of the fact reopening to live audiences was unexpected there are some things that are still up in the air. Like the fact there will be limited types of food for sale, but it’s unclear what types of food will be available in the upcoming events. Madison Square Garden says details will be coming soon on what options will be available.
This MSG reopening is coming just in the knick of time for the arena with its second fiscal quarter, ending in December of 2020, was down $23.1 million which is 94.1 percent from the previous year’s $394.1 million according to Billboard. The live entertainment industry has been harder than most industries by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that live shows are slowly but surely coming back is the light at the end of the tunnel the industry has been searching for.
For more information on Madison Square Garden visit their website.
