Phish Bust Out “Round Room” at MSG Opener

Photo by Rene Huemer via Phish’s Facebook page

Phish kicked off their annual New Year’s run at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night. It was the Vermont Quartet’s 84th show at the famed venue.

The night opened with “Simple,” a song whose “skyscrapers” lyric is always met with extra applause in New York. From there, the musicians moved into “Free,” “Farmhouse” and the first “Poor Heart” of the year. The rest of the first set consisted of standalone tunes like “Tube,” “Kill Devil Falls” “Driver” and “Reba,” as well as the run’s first segue from “Oblivion” into “Run Like an Antelope.”

The second set commenced with “Back on the Train,” which set up an extended sequence that moved from “Axilla (Part II)” into “A Wave of Hope” and Phish’s first take on “Round Room” since June 22, 2016. (Many thought the ensemble would bust out the 2002 Mike Gordon-penned number at Sphere in April.) After a brief pause, Phish then launched into another extended run, moving from “I Always Wanted It This Way” into “Twist,” “The Mango Song,” “Blaze On,” “Cavern” and the set-closing “David Bowie.”

The group’s encore consisted of three tunes from throughout their career. First, they offered the ballad “Mountains in the Mist,” which has been played more in the past two years than anytime since its 1999 debut.” Then, they offered their first version of the 1980s punky rarity “Fuck Your Face” of 2024 and a quick turn into the 2002 cut “46 Days.”

Phish will return to MSG this evening.

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

Saturday, December 28, 2024, Madison Square Garden, NY, NY

SET 1: Simple, Free, Farmhouse, Poor Heart, Tube, Kill Devil Falls, Driver, Reba[1], Oblivion > Run Like an Antelope

SET 2: Back on the Train, Axilla (Part II) > A Wave of Hope > Round Room, I Always Wanted It This Way > Twist > The Mango Song > Blaze On > Cavern > David Bowie

ENCORE: Mountains in the Mist, Fuck Your Face > 46 Days

[1] No whistling.

Reba did not contain the whistling ending. Round Room was played for the first time since June 22, 2016 (322 shows).