Phish is back.
I think we all needed last night more than the average show – or maybe I just felt the music on a deeper level because of all the turmoil happening both in our scene and world.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, Phish whipped up a distinctly above-average opening night to their 2023 New Year’s Run, returning after a 10-week break ready to dive headfirst into deep jamming and with nary a sign of rust to be seen.
The World’s Most Famous Arena exploded with excitement as the band walked on stage just after 8:00 and jumped into “No Men in No Man’s Land” – perhaps a bit too quickly, as guitarist Trey Anastasio was quickly guided into the song’s correct key by his bandmates. This song was an excellent way to get the night going – the “we’re happy that you’re here” lyric is always a good way of highlighting our joy – and featured a sure sign of things to come with peppy, spry play from drummer Jon Fishman.
“Halley’s Comet” came next and gave us some hints and teases at a bigger jam – while only ten minutes in length, Anastasio leans heavily into his wah pedal and envelope filter effects while keyboardist Page McConnell unleashed waves of Moog One synthesizer upon the audience. McConnell pivoted to Hammond B3 organ as the improv built to a solid peak and concluded in favour of an energetic romp through “Sample in a Jar.”
The contained part of the set continued with “Runaway Jim,” “Bouncing Around the Room,” and “Axilla (Part II),” the latter of which dipped its toes into murky and synth-drenched territory, giving us some small hope of seeing a big jammed-out version again someday. McConnell once again shone on “Funky Bitch” adding some piano flavour to his solo that’s usually reserved for the organ.
While the set had been a blast so far and the energy was already at a very high level, it was time to get into some extended improv. The opening notes of “Bathtub Gin” were enough to send us all into a frenzy at even the prospect of opening up into Type II territory – and it did not disappoint. Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon began the jam with some excellent interplay within the song proper as the quartet searched for their first jumping-off point. That moment came when Anastasio began strumming minor chords overtop of McConnell’s gentle Wurlitzer playing, slowly exiting “Gin” like a spaceship leaving the atmosphere. Within minutes, we had transitioned keys into a layered motif with deep pockets of Fender Rhodes electric piano and Yamaha CS60 synthesizer while Anastasio focused on a more accent-oriented approach with his ring modulator, acting as a satellite floating through the vacuum of space.
The rhythm section continued to drive forward as the improv only deepened and continued to get more layered before Anastasio blasted us back toward home with a bliss pivot. The guitarist showed no signs of the band’s two-month break and danced up and down his fretboard through phrase after phrase of perfect and joyous soloing. This moment – right here – was the catharsis that really let us know that we are back. Phish is playing. Nothing else matters except for 20,000 people and four guys on stage for the next few days. Pure and unadulterated joy.
Coming down from the high of the exemplary “Gin” peak, it felt as though Anastasio was primed for a quick “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” set closer, though quickly toned down his aggressive playing on the intro as the band opted for “Ghost” instead.
The jam took off at a brisk pace while McConnell aggressively attacked his clavinet alongside Anastasio’s confident leads. Drummer Jon Fishman liberally sprinkled in samples as the intensity grew, and it was clear soon that we were headed for a fiery set-closing peak. Morphing into an upbeat major-key space, we soared for the heavens on the back of Anastasio’s leads as Phish brought the first of nine MSG sets to a close.
Coming back from setbreak, the audience immediately dropped into their funkiest dance moves amid “The Howling” and its thick groove. I absolutely loved this song’s first time opening a second set, warming up the moves nicely as the band took a quick jaunt into deep, synthy music.
That was just the appetizer, however, as Phish burst forth with a behemoth 24-minute “A Wave of Hope.” One of the most consistent jam vehicles of the past couple of years, this anchor point for the entire show exemplified the confidence and deep improv that has been a hallmark of much of 2023 for this band.
Anastasio treated the initial portion of the jam like it was “Rock and Roll,” calling to mind some bigger versions of the Velvet Underground cover from early 3.0 as a solid Type I peak was hit by the 6-minute mark. The jam that evolved forth next was led by one man and one man only – Jon Fishman. Incredible fills defined the departure from the song proper as McConnell took a chordal approach and tossed ideas back and forth with Anastasio.
By the 11-minute mark, we were suddenly moving sideways into an industrial zone full of wacky Moog and choppy wah guitar – Fish once again at the forefront of the improv with his lightning-quick instincts and heavy tom hits. Cooling briefly, we transitioned into an airy major mode for a brief spell before diving back underwater for deep-sea exploration. Letting the music breathe in a contrast to the earlier maximalist approach, McConnell’s soft electric piano chords seemed to twirl in time with the drums as the four members of Phish became one singular musical organism.
Before we knew it, the improv slowed down and got heavier, pivoting into a rocking motif similar to the Zeppelin-esque peak of the Berkeley “Tweezer” from this past April. Anastasio confidently soloed while McConnell laid down thick B3 chords to elevate the vibe further. Some brief flirts with a possible segue into “Fuego” (at least to my ears) were quickly abandoned as Fish quickly pivoted back into the “Wave of Hope” drumbeat, giving Anastasio a clear exit ramp if he was ready to wrap up the already-excellent jam.
He wasn’t done. FAR from it.
Some peaks in recent years have been a little bit on the shorter side or not explored fully, but this nearly five-minute build saw Anastasio do what he does best once again – make us all feel extremely happy. Peak after peak, smile unwavering, lighting director Chris Kuroda’s white light blasts – it was perfect.
A brief foray back into darker territory wrapped up the jam as Phish confidently rocked through a mid-set “Rift.”
“Mike’s Song” was tapped next and ended up being one of the filthiest 10-minute versions I can remember in years. The jam opened up immediately with a more patient vibe than normal as Fish and Gordon dug into the pocket with crunchy clav and rhythm work from McConnell and Anastasio. Things began to come apart at the seams with choppy delay guitar, which quickly widened the rip in space/time with wilder and wilder delay patterns. Fish built up a break pattern as Anastasio continued to go wild with his bag of effects, all coalescing around a foundation of clav from McConnell.
Returning back to earth, we got an old school segue into “Simple” out of “Mike’s” for the first time in a number of years – and the jams just continued to unfold quickly and confidently. Getting spacey after a short Type I segment, it seemed as if the jam might fade entirely but was kept anchored by Fish’s groove as Anastasio and McConnell wove a layered fabric of effects and drones. This whole improv section had a “Pillow Jets” sort of vibe to me at first, eventually gaining steam into a mellow churn with a continued undertone of space and texture.
A brief major-key turn led into an exclamatory “Blaze On” to close the set, wrapping up 75 minutes of absolutely incredible music and flow.
The lone ballad of the night opened the encore with the tender “mercy,” and while some may not be a huge fan of the recently-debuted Anastasio ballad, I ADORE it and thought it was an awesome choice for this slot. Nothing got me more excited, however, than the opening notes of my first “The Squirming Coil.” As McConnell put on his usual ending recital, the rest of the band stayed on stage and it was soon clear why – we couldn’t leave off without finishing the hanging “Weekapaug Groove.”
That still wasn’t enough for Anastasio, who opted to blast the roof off the Garden one more time during “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.,” every person in the room dancing with huge smiles on their faces through the blazing guitar solo. Never leave early.
With three nights to go, Phish has set the bar high for this year-end run, and as we return to MSG tonight, we can only dream of what they have in store for us.
Great second set, I love these type of Mikes Song versions. Terrific Type 2 improv all throughout the show, outstanding