Phish Greet the New Year with EDM Gag Under Golden Mask at Madison Square Garden

Photo Credit: Joshua Frances

Last night, Phish put a capstone on a landmark year of substantial sonic and social accord. 

Before the onslaught of December 31’s New Year’s Eve celebration or even the rev-up that preceded Madison Square Garden, the Vermont foursome was keen on making 2024 a year to remember. To that effect, they dotted the year with accolades, stepping outside the Northeastern boundary of jam hero rank and assuming a more global level of stardom. 

The band’s success can be traced back to various moves, in part, becoming the second-ever live band to perform on the state-of-the-art Sphere stage in Las Vegas, ahead of Dead & Company and following U2’s debut. The four-night run stirred up celebratory comments, in particular from the host of The Price is Right, Drew Carey, who wrote on Twitter/ X: 

#Phish at the #Sphere

I swear I just talked to God

I would give you all my money, stick my dick in a blender and swear off pussy for the rest of my life in exchange for this.

Bro I met God tonight for real. I feel like I just got saved by Jesus no lie pic.twitter.com/Wci1OdUp3F

— drewfromtv (@DrewFromTV) April 22, 2024

The band’s positioning elevated with the arrival of their 16th studio album, the well-received Evolve, and furthered with news of a return to festival format for the first time in nine years. And, August bred the Woodlands’ Mondegreen festivities. 

Perhaps it was new music, Anastasio’s involvement in the opening of Divided Sky Recovery Center, or the public conversations that ensued, yet 2024 proved pertinent in the group’s mainstream reception. 

For longtime fans, moments like these only added to the longstanding conversational lore surrounding Trey, Mike, Page, and Jon, an opportunity to relish a riveting season in Phish history. 

And so, with a build-up of attention and energy fixed on the band, Phish added another chapter to their New Year’s Eve page-turner. 

Phish opened their December 31 concert at Madison Square Garden with a longstanding fan favorite and one of their top live plays, “Mike’s Song,” performed without pause and seeping into “Bouncing Around the Room” and sped “Weekapaug Groove” before demonstrating what days of improvisational practice could produce during their follow-ups, “Stash,” “Evolve,” “Llama,” and a moody “Split Open and Melt.” Notably, “Stash” opened an opportunity for Anastasio to sequence in a tease of The Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”  

Gordon’s skills were on heightened display during the tail end of set one, with particular reference to the aptly punctuated rendition of the aforementioned “Melt” and “Carni,” which assumed nodes of ad-libs complete with bass bombs that evoked response from the elated crowd–also treated to a high-powered light show a la master of the craft Chris Kuroda.

The band’s shapeshifting landscape of tones and textures was on full display during the second set, which found its footing on “Sigma Oasis” before a highlight of the night’s midsection, an under 20-minute rendition of “My Friend, My Friend.” The latter was decorated in melodic mastery by Gordon and McConnell’s ability to emit an atmospheric synth plume of instrumental smoke, which permitted its way into “Sand.” 

Phish’s cover of TV on the Radio’s “Golden Age,” a song that fused itself to follow up “What’s the Use?” for the first time in the band’s history. Without pause, Phish picked up “Taste” and eventually dipped into “Golgi Apparatus” before bidding the second set adieu with an oldie but goodie, “First Tube.” The aforementioned number heightened the mood and built expectations for Phish’s annual holiday gag. 

Theatrics were intensified, with the band striding out in costume for the start of set three. Anastasio, Gordon, and McConnell wore matching blue tracksuits, while backbeat Fishman stuck to his traditional dress, evoking the theme with his own custom-made blue donut motif mumu. “Character Zero” opened the frame before the onset of the newer number, “Pillow Jets.”

The latter beckoned the official start of Phish’s NYE gag, as winged performers adorned in gold masks and robes added an operatic tone to the display by co-opting the lyrics. Above, a giant gold mask, initially broken into pieces, became one amalgamated, hovering work of art in the minutes building to midnight and the seminal delivery of “Auld Land Syne.” 

Streamers covered the Big Apple venue as Phish played into the new year. What ensued was a truly joyous occasion for fans and the band. The latter using “What’s Going Through Your Mind” as take-off: a 15-minute display of lyrical interplay that culled lines from “Blaze On,” “Bouncin’ Around the Room,” “Martian Monster,” “Wolfman’s Brother, “The Lizards” and “Halley’s Comet.” Another wave of dancers was on stage to celebrate song and history with an EDM edge with rave-like motions.  

The gag led to “Chalk Dust Torture” and eventual group embodiment via “Slave to the Traffic Light.” During the follow-up “Life Saving Gun,” Gordon appeared on a mini-keyboard to the elation of the crowd, who went on to eat up the band’s high-flying set finale, “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” 

The evening’s encore commenced with a capella “Grind” before nodding to 2023’s NYE Gamehenge events, with the song “Icculus,” complete with narration from Anastasio, which referred to last year’s run-through being a test. Dancers rejoined the stage to cap off the concert, tossing beachballs to the audience while the band delivered “Tweezer Reprise.” 

With 2024 in the books and their Madison Square Garden task complete, Phish will rev up for the month’s end when they return to the white sand beaches of Quintana Roo, Mexico, for Phish: Riviera Maya 2025. 

Scroll down to view last night’s setlist via phish.net.

Phish 

Madison Square Garden – New York City 

Dec. 31, 2024

Set I: Mike’s Song > Bouncing Around the Room > Weekapaug Groove, Stash, Evolve, Llama, Split Open and Melt, Backwards Down the Number Line > Carini, The Squirming Coil

Set II: Sigma Oasis > My Friend, My Friend > Sand, Golden Age > What’s the Use? > Taste, Golgi Apparatus, First Tube

Set III: Character Zero, Pillow Jets > Auld Lang Syne > What’s Going Through Your Mind -> Chalk Dust Torture > Slave to the Traffic Light, Life Saving Gun > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.

Enc.: Grind, Icculus, Tweezer Reprise

Setlist via phish.net.