Phish celebrated the New Year with a livestreamed concert from "The Ninth Cube," which took place at the Rock Lititz Studio in Lititz, Pa. The performance served as part of Phish's Dinner And A Movie series and was presented by SiriusXM and Phish Radio. The sets took place without an audience and subbed in for Phish's usual Madison Square Garden Run, which was rescheduled to April due to the surge of COVID-19 cases propelled by the highly contagious omicron variant.
The show was shared on YouTube and LivePhish.com along with a simulcast on Phish Radio for free. Fans were asked to donate to The WaterWheel Foundation. The money raised by the Foundation was distributed to HeadCount, the Divided Sky Foundation, Phans For Racial Equality, The Mockingbird Foundation, the Mimi Fishman Foundation and the Conservation Law Foundation.
Phish started the night with "The Moma Dance," playing towards a crowd of tube lights set up by lighting designer Chris Kuroda. Jon Fishman was adorned in his iconic donut moo moo dress–with reversed colors–the first of three he'd wear throughout the evening. Trey Anastasio got straight to jamming with a fiery guitar solo on "The Moma Dance," wishing the "audience" a Happy New Year and introducing fans to the "The Ninth Cube." Anastasio noted fan comments much like The Beacon Jams, as he and the band would throughout the rest of the evening.
Phish flowed into "Tube," and Anastasio and Page McConnell took turns guiding the extended and funky jam before playing "46 Days." Next came "Time Turns Elastic," marking the first time the band played the track since Oct. 24, 2010. The complex and softly sung song was dedicated to Betty White, who passed away earlier that day at age 99. Next, Mike Gordon and Anastasio shined on "Free" before the four men chatted about the comments from fans which resulted in "Ghost," where they teased "Little Drummer Boy." They then flowed into "Slave to the Traffic Light." Phish closed their first set with "Cavern," which had a lyric change to "before you slip into the bedroom."
After just a 13-minute set break, Phish returned to the stage with new outfits from before. The second set got underway with a string of jams; "Sigma Oasis" flowed into an unfinished version of "Down with Disease," which morphed into the ballad "Miss You." 73,000 fans watched as they continued with "You Enjoy Myself," a signature song that featured a drawn-out heady solo from Anastasio paired with bass and drums from Gordon and Fishman. The jammed into "Frankie Says" the first time it's appeared since 2015, which was followed by "Mercury"> "Possum." They closed the set with "A Life Beyond The Dream."
Phish returned for their third set at 11:39 p.m., ready to lay out three tracks that could summarise 2021 all on their own. They started with "Blaze on"> "What's the Use?" then "Everything's Right." As midnight was upon them, they fit "Auld Lang Syne" inside of "Everything's Right" as fireworks and corks launched skyward. The jam continued into "Twist," which was dedicated to a pair of fans celebrating 35 years together. "This song contains some wisdom that you may need for the next 30 years," Anastasio said they began to play.
As a refreshing start to 2022, Phish made good on their citrus-heavy dinner pairing with Syd Barrett's "Baby Lemonade," which featured Fish on the vacuum and Anastasio on the drums. The track served a massive bust out as they only played it once before, back on March 11, 1992. Phish then moved on to "Hold Your Head Up" as Fishman laid down a magnetic melody on the Marimba Lumina. They closed with "Harry Hood," bringing the performance to a climax.
Phish
"The Ninth Cube"
Dec. 31, 2021
Set 1: The Moma Dance, Tube, 46 Days, Time Turns Elastic, Free, Ghost > Slave to the Traffic Light, Cavern[1]
Set 2: Sigma Oasis > Down with Disease[2] > Miss You, You Enjoy Myself > Frankie Says > Mercury > Possum, A Life Beyond The Dream
Set 3: Blaze On > What's the Use?, Everything's Right > Auld Lang Syne > Everything's Right > Twist, Baby Lemonade > Hold Your Head Up[3], Harry Hood
1 Lyrics changed to "before you slip into the bedroom."
2 Unfinished.
3 Fishman on Marimba Lumina.
setlist via phish.net
