Never miss a Sunday show – especially the only Sunday show of a seven-night Phish run at Madison Square Garden – and ESPECIALLY when the band is playing at their current level.
Two shows into the run, Phish had already dropped a 21-minute jam in the first set on N1 and a sprawling 30-minute jam on N2. People only planning on a night or two posted online about checking hotel and travel prices in order to extend their trips – when Phish is playing at this high of a level, it’s not easy to miss a night.
Last night was an interesting and unique show for a ton of reasons. The first set’s most recently debuted song was from 1995 while the second frame’s wonky flow highlighted many recent compositions, but one thing held true – Phish sounds incredibly tight right now. Even during missteps or flubs, they manage to muscle through with minimal disconnect and deliver pure heat in every song.
The night began with “AC/DC Bag,” a classic show-opening pick that is right at home in this slot. This was no standard five-minute “Bag,” however, as guitarist Trey Anastasio led the band into a blissy Type II foray. Witnessing a jammed version of this song was high up on my Phish bucket list and while last night’s isn’t making any jam of the year playlists or halls of fame, it was a real treat to witness.
Anastasio continued his hot streak by deftly executing “My Friend, My Friend,” giving it an extended jam treatment for the second consecutive play. Another quick dose of improvisation that stayed pretty close to home (unlike Alpharetta’s MONSTER) flowed perfectly into the opening notes of “Bathtub Gin.” The band was already playing with house money as they hosed down the MSG crowd with an exceptional Type I peak.
The distinctly old-school feel of the set continued with “Theme From the Bottom,” which also contained the night’s first stumble from the band. Whether they were in the wrong key at first or some other issue was at hand, Anastasio made the most of it and threw in some classic late-90s cowfunk licks in an extended intro that also saw him take centre stage (literally) with bassist Mike Gordon. The outro seemed like it might be getting jammed out as well, but Anastasio quickly veered into “Llama” instead.
This song has gotten a lot of flak in recent years for its slower tempos (or arrangements), but last night saw drummer Jon Fishman push the pace as Anastasio unleashed waves of reverse-delayed guitar in a very late-1.0 fashion.
Contributing even more to the old-school feel, the banter following the conclusion of “Llama” was absolutely top-tier – Anastasio wondering aloud what songs they had played already and a brief fakeout of a “Llama Reprise.” This segment is well worth your time and is sure to elicit some laughs – as it did last night.
“Tube” got going and got there FAST. It’s always amazed me at the efficiency at which this song can reach a huge Type II peak, which comes from the jam section starting less than a minute in. Nailing the drop into the ending blues section, Phish played my most common not seen song for a second night in a row with an explosive “Golgi Apparatus” to close the set.
Clocking in around 65 minutes, this was yet another indicator of an old-school feel – Phish sets in the 90s routinely barely inched past the one-hour mark.
It was immediately clear that the second set would not be like the first as the opening notes of “Sigma Oasis” rang out across the arena. Keyboardist Page McConnell unleashed a thick carpet of Rhodes and a combination of Moog and Yamaha CS60 synthesizers as the quartet probed the solo section for inspiration and a way into Type II. While it sounded for a brief moment that they had found it, the moment faded and “Sigma” wrapped up as an energetic set opener.
The debut of “Life Saving Gun” from Anastasio and McConnell’s duo album January, released earlier this year, followed as the rhythm section dropped into an incredibly deep and filthy groove. Reaching around 12 minutes in length, this Phish debut immediately joined the likes of “Oblivion” and “The Well” as new songs that have incredible jam potential – no doubt successive versions of “Life Saving Gun” will reach the 20-minute mark and further.
“No Men in No Man’s Land” emerged from the jam somewhat abruptly and acted as the improvisational centrepiece of the set. I’ve been talking a lot in my reviews this summer about the purpose in Phish’s bliss jams, and this one quickly joined the ranks of the previous nights. Anastasio crafted beautiful melodies across its 18 minutes as the set finally felt like it was hitting its stride.
An absolutely beautifully-played “Lonely Trip” was called as a breather next as the crowd stood in rapture during McConnell and Anastasio’s respective solos, even cheering loudly upon the conclusion of the ballad.
The first “Frankie Says” since 12/31/21 seemed to offer some more jam potential but was quickly abandoned for a patient and airy “Gotta Jibboo,” Anastasio’s well-practiced melodies shining once again. The second frame closed out with “Light,” stretching out to 14 minutes with explosive peaks on top of explosive peaks, leaving the crowd with big smiles and high energy at the end of the show.
Disproving a fan theory about encore trends immediately with a rocking “Suzy Greenberg,” Phish wasn’t done and uncorked a blazing rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Izabella.”
While last night’s show seemed to lack some cohesion at times in the second set and din’t have an extremely memorable jam like Friday or Saturday, Phish is still on absolute fire as they head into the midweek portion of the MSG run tomorrow night. Almost every heavy hitter in the catalogue is still on the table with four shows remaining…so let’s see what’s in store.
Never miss a single show.