Phish returned to the Madison Square Garden stage for the penultimate show of their four-night New Year’s Eve run at the famed New York venue. The band came out strong with a stellar first set that marked the high point of the residence so far before closing up with a jam-heavy second frame.

For the third night in a row, the band opened up the first set with an a cappella performance, this time bringing out “Carolina” for the first time since March 1, 2003, before manning their stations for a proper opener in “Blaze On,” a newer live favorite from the band’s latest album Big Boat that frontman Trey Anastasio ushered into a brief warm-up jam. Things really began to fall into place as the quartet moved into the ever-funky “The Moma Dance,” which gave the performers a chance to have some fun with intertwining vocals. “Gumbo” kept up the funky theme and featured a couple solid solo moment from keyboardist Page McConnell, the second being a proper solo performance featuring his crunchy clavinet. A slinky “Cities” finished out the trio of groove-oriented tunes as the band took the Talking Heads’ cover into some sultry improvisation.

McConnell continued to shine as Mike Gordon led the way through the country shuffle of “The Old Home Place,” while the bassist struck back with some especially melodic lines during the ensuing “Bathtub Gin,” which featured an extended jam that included lighting designer Chris Kuroda utilizing the entire MSG arena for some impressive crowd work. McConnell then headed up one of his own Big Boat contributions, the folky “Things People Do,” which was beefed up with the full band and electric flourishes from Anastasio. “My Friend, My Friend” led the group into some dark places and the crowd favorite “Wilson” had the entire arena chiming in. “Sugar Shack” then teased a set closer before a surprise first-set “You Enjoy Myself” launched the already strong first frame into the stratosphere with tight improv collaborations and a closing power-bass solo from Gordon.

Set number two opened with the same energy maintained through most of the first, kicking off with a “Tweezer” that would set the stage for the jam-centric frame, as Anastasio busted out some melodic guitar lines and led his bandmates through some dark and then amorphous improv. The group then rampaged through a cover of The Who’s “Sparks,” the first appearance of the tune in a Phish set since September 2, 2011. The energy kept flowing with an extended “Ghost” that highlighted the set with euphoric moments. “Light” provided a uplifting midpoint before “Party Time Jam” lived up to its name with power from a visibly fully warmed up group of musicians.

McConnell once again led the way through an emotional “Wading in the Velvet Sea” that had all four members of the band coming together for gentle and soulful improvisation that featured several soaring licks from Anastasio. The tune led into another shuffle beat with “Rocky Top,” which ended up closing out the second set. The band would return to the stage for an encore of Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll,” whose lyrics received a healthy cheer from the New York crowd, and a “Tweezer Reprise” that capped off a strong third night and set the stage for a much-anticipated New Year’s Eve closer on Saturday.

Watch the first- and second-set openers from the live webcast via Phish Facebook page below.

Phish
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Set I: 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 II: Tweezer > Sparks > Ghost > Light > Party Time Jam > Wading in the Velvet Sea > Rocky Top

Enc: Rock and Roll, Tweezer Reprise

Source: phish.net