Photo from @phishfromtheroad on Instagram, taken by Rene Heumer

On Dec. 29, Phish played the second show of their four-night Madison Square Garden New Years Eve run in New York City. The show was highlighted by the first performance of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” since 2013 and a high-energy, improv-heavy second set.

The first set began with “Turtle in the Clouds,” featuring the synchronized dance by guitarist Trey Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon. Next came “The Moma Dance,” followed by “Kill Devil Falls,” “Yarmouth Road,” and “The Wedge,” each of which were performed in relatively standard fashion. Next came the first significant bust-out of the night, “Beauty of a Broken Heart,” which was last played on 2016’s Dec. 29 show at MSG (103 show gap). “Fuego” featured some inspired jamming that, while not fully delving into type-two territory, still delivered the goods.

As the “Fuego” jam settled down, Anastasio led the band into “My Friend, My Friend,” followed by a spirited rendition of “Birds of a Feather.” Next came the highlight of the set: the first performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” since Oct. 23, 2013’s show (234 show gap) at Glens Falls Civic Center (which was, not coincidentally, the site of Phish’s debut of the Beatles cover back on Halloween 1994). This version featured superb playing by Anastasio which did proper justice to Eric Clapton’s solo on the original recording. While it seemed like the band would close the set with “WMGGW,” they had other ideas and instead treated fans to a fiery rendition of “Walls of the Cave” to close the set.

Set two’s “Carini” opener kept the energy high. During the jam section, the band quickly moved to type-two, exploring dark, minor key themes as well as mysterious, lydian-mode-tinged sections. All the while, lighting director Chris Kuroda was providing unparalleled visual accompaniment. As “Carini” died down, Anastasio began “Back on the Train.” While it took a moment for the band to agree on where the ‘one’ fell, they ultimately locked in nicely.

“Bathtub Gin” provided another improvisational highlight, featuring some more exploration of darker timbres. At the end of the jam, Anastasio expertly led the band back into the “Gin” melody, concluding a thrilling version. “Golden Age,” “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” were a satisfying funky trio, with some surprising rhythmic choices and stop-start jamming in “2001.” “Chalk Dust Torture” injected some driving rock into the set, which led to the final improvisational highlight of the night, “Harry Hood.” Building on Providence’s stellar version, this “Hood” immediately went type two, with the band again opting for a significant minor key jam before a fantastic transition into the final peak and refrain.

“Show of Life” began the encore, providing the only cool-down moment since the first set. A typically-raucous “Run Like An Antelope” put the show to bed.

Phish returns to Madison Square Garden tonight. Check out a complete setlist below via Phish.net, as well as a video of Dec. 29’s second set opener!

Phish
Dec. 29, 2019
Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.
Set I: Turtle in the Clouds, The Moma Dance > Kill Devil Falls, Yarmouth Road, The Wedge, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Fuego > My Friend, My Friend* > Birds of a Feather, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Walls of the Cave

Set II: Carini > Back on the Train > Bathtub Gin > Golden Age > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley > Chalk Dust Torture, Harry Hood

Enc: Show of Life > Run Like an Antelope

*No “Myfe” ending.