Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish

Last night, Phish celebrated New Year’s Eve at New York’s Madison Square Garden by performing their beloved “Gamehendge” suite in its entirety for the first time since July 8, 1994. Originally composed and recorded as “The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday” for Trey Anastasio’s thesis at Goddard College, Phish dropped the epic story cycle five times between 1988-1994, albeit often with a slightly different mix of songs, and Gamehendge has been one of the most sought after requests at Phish shows ever since.

The surprise performance took place during Phish’s second set, as they closed their 40th anniversary celebration. Following the Hoist classic “Down with Disease,” which debuted 30 years earlier on New Year’s Eve 1993-94, Phish dropped into their narrative epic “Harpua” for the first time since October 31, 2021 to set up “Gamehendge.” Taking advantage of Anastasio’s Broadway connections, an actor playing the “Harpua” character Jimmy appeared in a bed onstage, alongside a puppet that was used for his cat Poster Nutbag. Anastasio touched on some of the past “Harpua” stories during his narration, before discussing the need for Jimmy to have a powerful female influence. The band then invited out actress Annie Golden–who is known for her work in the band The Shirts, the Broadway musical Hair and television shows like Orange Is the New Black–to play Jimmy’s grandmother and takeover the narration as Phish launched into “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday,” the opening music for Anastasio’s rock opera.

A mix of entertainers dressed the parts of Colonel Forbin, Errand Wolfe (played by sometimes Anastasio vocalist Jo Lambert), Tela, Rutherford, AC/DC Bag, The Sloth and other characters from the story; the stage setup also referenced the Rhombus, the Princeton, NJ, structure where Anastasio and Phish songwriter Tom Marshall hung and workshopped ideas as teenagers and which plays a role in the Gamehendge epic. The actress playing Tela provided the most spectacle, riding in on a Multibeast puppet–as referenced in “Tela,” “McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters” and “Punch You in the Eye”–and performing acrobatics above the stage.

The second set ended with “Divided Sky” partway through the story. Then, Phish returned for a third set that continued with “McGrupp,” “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent” and “Fly Famous Mockingbird.” (An actor playing Forbin was lowered from the stage and a puppet was used as the mockingbird.) Then they moved into the traditional “Auld Lang Syne” and “Split Open and Melt,” their signature “You Enjoy Myself,” “Loving Cup” and a set-closing “Possum,” another tune associated with the saga. For an encore, Phish offered a high-energy segue from “Cavern” into “First Tube” and “Tweezer Reprise,” completing the segment they started earlier in the run.

Earlier in the night, the band’s opening set highlighted their more recent work, including the kick off “Everything’s Right,” the new original “Ether Edge”–first tested out by the Trey Anastasio Trio in May–the jam-vehicle “Ruby Waves” and “A Life Beyond The Dream.” In between, they also offered older favorites like “Tube,” “Reba,” “Taste” and the rocking “Character Zero” set closer. The second to last time Phish played , also in 1994, they paired it with a complete performance of their then current LP, Hoist.

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via Phish.net

Sunday, December 31, Madison Square Garden, NY, NY

SET 1: Everything’s Right, Tube, Ether Edge > Reba, Taste, Ruby Waves, A Life Beyond The Dream, Character Zero
SET 2: Down with Disease, Harpua > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > The Lizards > Punch You in the Eye > AC/DC Bag > Tela > Llama > Wilson > The Sloth > Divided Sky
SET 3: McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > Auld Lang Syne > Split Open and Melt, You Enjoy Myself > Loving Cup > Possum
ENCORE: Cavern > First Tube > Tweezer Reprise

Tube contained teases of the theme to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Harpua was unfinished. During the Harpua narration, a bed appeared from beneath the front of the stage, with an actor playing Jimmy and a puppet version of Poster Nutbag. Trey talked about some of the Harpuas of the past 40 years, then interrupted the song before the “I want a dog” lyric. Trey said Jimmy had lacked a strong female influence over the years, and introduced actress Annie Golden as Jimmy’s grandmother. While consoling Jimmy, she told him it was time to tell the truth about the owner of Harpua. After telling Jimmy that the old man had given the puppet to Esther and helped Reba make liquid meat, a book was brought forth, and a glowing rhombus rose to frame the entire stage. The band then began the first performance of the Gamehendge saga since July 8, 1994, with Golden and Trey providing the narration and performers acting out the parts of Colonel Forbin, Rutherford, the AC/DC Bag, Tela, Errand Wolfe, and the Sloth. The Multibeast and McGrupp were also performed by puppets. Tela performed acrobatics on wires during her song, with Jo Lampert (as Errand Wolfe) providing additional vocals during Wilson. Colonel Forbin ascended the rhombus during Colonel Forbin’s Ascent, and a large Famous Mockingbird puppet flew over the crowd during Fly Famous Mockingbird, which also featured Annie Golden on additional vocals. Before Melt, Trey asked Jimmy’s grandmother if she knew that the mountain was a volcano, and the Lizards reappeared to dance to the ensuing Melt jam, eventually leaving the stage one by one as the rhombus was lowered again.