Photo via Phish’s Instagram

Last night, Phish continued their rescheduled New Year’s Eve run at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Night two featured jam-heavy takes on fan favorites and elaborate improvisations that kept the crowd dancing through the night. 

The show got underway with a special rendition of “Suzy Greenberg,” which was written by a longtime friend and collaborator of the band, The Dude of Life, also known as Steve Pollack, and Anastasio in the ’80s and has been played frequently since its inception. The performance was especially wholesome as the title’s namesake was in the crowd marking her first-ever Phish concert. 

The show continued with jam get-down “46 Days” off 2002’s Round Room. “Plasma” came next. As is tradition, the Hebrew prayer “Avenu Malkenu” was sandwiched between “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday” and was played in reference to the ongoing Passover holiday. It also marked the first time the song had been performed live at Madison Square Garden since Dec. 30, 1995– their second-ever concert at the iconic venue. 

Then, Phish performed a jammed-out take on “Wolfman’s Brother” off the seminal 1994 album Hoist and continued with 1989’s “Esther.” The first set came to a close with an explorative “Ghost.” As the set break ensued, excitement swept throughout the venue as eager fans tossed around ideas of what the band would open the second set with. 

Set two kicked off with the iconic guitar licks of “Chalk Dust Torture” and spread into a “Tweezer” and ultimately segued into “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” making for a melted three-track start. Anastasio and the band continued with an illustrious take on “Maze” and “About to Run,” which was featured on the band’s 2019 live album. 

Standout, “The Mango Song,” presented a fun groove-heavy moment during the evening as fans moved from their seats to their feet for the 1992 get-down. A deeply improvised “Harry Hood” ensued, with the lyrics “Harry! Harry! Where do you do when the lights go out,” repeatedly sung by the band and backed by the crowd. 

Phish then performed jam epic “Chapter Zero,” which segued into another standout of the evening, “Tweezer,” and a return to the former to close out the second set. The latter marked an elaborate musical point of the night, and one concert-goers will not soon forget. For their encore, the band returned to the stage for “A Life Beyond The Dream.” Then, they broke back into “Tweezer” for the final song of the night.

Phish will perform again this evening at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Unfortunately, the concert is sold out. Livestream options are available. Learn more here. 

Phish 

Madison Square Garden– New York, N.Y.

April 21, 2022 

Set I: Suzy Greenberg, 46 Days, Plasma, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, Avenu Malkenu, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, Wolfman’s Brother, Esther, Ghost 

Set II: Chalk Dust Torture > Tweezer, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Maze, About to Run, The Mango Song, Harry Hood, Character Zero > Tweezer > Character Zero 

Enc.: A Life Beyond The Dream, Tweezer Reprise