The number 13 is baked with superstition and myth. Those who fear the supposedly unlucky number, triskaidekaphobics, may use a variety of evidence to support their beliefs: Jesus was one of 13 at the last supper, in tarot decks the 13th card is Death, and ancient monks who chronicled the lunar calendar foretold unfortunate circumstances in years with 13 full moons instead of 12.
Mathematically, the number 13 is a “happy number,” a Fibonacci number, and one of only three known Wilson primes (wink, wink).
But the history of 13 being known as a “baker’s dozen” dates back to the Middle Ages or medieval period. Ruled by kings, the public peasants and villagers relied on baked bread as a daily staple but were often taken advantage of by bakers overcharging for loaves. After much outcry, King Henry II established the Assize of Bread and Ale law that correlated the price of wheat to the price of bread, meant to keep the bakers honest and fair. Bakers found cheating their customers were severely punished with fines, flogging, or even amputation. And so, to avoid such penalties at all costs, bakers would overserve their customers, adding the “in-bread” or “vantage loaf” to orders, ensuring they were working above board. And so, a baker’s customer purchasing a dozen loaves of bread would be given 13 instead, what would come to be known as a baker’s dozen.
Similarly, when Phish announced a 13-show run at Madison Square Garden in the summer of 2017, fans who opted to purchase the 13-ticket package paid a discounted rate, effectively getting the 13th show for free. Was this meant to keep Phish honest? To ensure that they delivered? A preemptive apology of sorts for lack of touring?
Of course, heated discussions erupted in the fan base as soon as Phish announced the Dozen in January. Those far from New York City were disappointed not to have a full-fledged tour or shows closer to home. With just five shows across Chicago, Dayton, and Pittsburgh before the 13-show residency at Madison Square Garden, this summer “tour” announcement left many fans scratching their heads.
Having already played Madison Square Garden nearly 40 times, Phish was no stranger to the room. They love The Garden, its size, its sound, its renown. Sure, many others have played The Garden many, many times over; the Grateful Dead performed there 52 times in their career. Sir Elton John? 64 times. Billy Joel? More than 90 times.
But Phish, over the years, has made MSG their adoptive home, hosting storied New Year’s Eve runs at the venue many times over. And so, with Phish very much moving into The Garden for three weeks, a baker’s dozen run of shows, well, what could we expect?
Would Phish repeat songs? Would they play Gamehendge? Would they welcome special guests? Theatrics? Much was speculated and discussed in the months leading up to the July 21 residency kickoff.
But despite all this chatter in the lead-up to the Baker’s Dozen, the shows didn’t sell out. In Facebook groups and forums, only a small percentage of fans voiced their intention to “hit all 13.” (I would guess 800–1,000 fans saw all 13 shows.) With the shows taking place across three weekends, including Tuesday and Wednesday shows, it seemed most fans were content to hit one or two weekends, especially those traveling from out of town. In the week leading up to the residency, tickets were still available.
But the hype was real. For those who purchased the full 13-ticket package, round, illustrated doughnut tickets were delivered in pink Baker’s Dozen doughnut boxes. Eight different artists, including longtime Phish collaborators Jim Pollock and David Welker, were tapped to design unique, limited-edition posters. Pollock also designed a four-inch pewter statue to commemorate the residency. Local promoters and musicians planned a full calendar of preshow and postshow parties at nearby bars and music venues. Ben and Jerry’s was there, having launched a new, limited edition ice cream flavor called Freezer Reprise, which they distributed freely outside The Garden the first night of the residency.
The morning of the first show, Phish revealed that Philadelphia doughnut company Federal Donuts would be at MSG giving away free doughnut to attendees each night, each with its own flavor. The first night’s doughnut flavor? Coconut—a coconut-cream glazed doughnut with toasted coconut topping.
What had perhaps first germinated 10 or more years ago was now suddenly under way. Let me explain: the idea of a doughnut-concept run of shows was first discussed in a 2007 Relix magazine feature, “The Salvation of Page McConnell” (July 2007). in the article, McConnell talked about some of the more creative ideas they were unable to execute. One idea was for Phish to do a seven-show tour just to hit the seven U.S. states they had yet to play. Another idea was to play a “baker’s dozen” of shows at Madison Square Garden or, say, the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, where the band would offer free doughnuts to the audience and base the theme for each show around that night’s doughnut flavor. McConnell continues, giving the example of a “Boston Crème” doughnut night that might include covers of songs by Boston and Cream.
And 10 years after that article, eight years after the band reunited, Phish was now finally kicking off The Baker’s Dozen.
Inside Madison Square Garden, in the moments before lights out, the air was electric. People came dressed to impress. Some traveled from the far corners of the world to be there. The place was packed and the fans were ready.
Lights out! The crowd roared and the anticipation was palpable. The moment the house lights cut off is undoubtedly the most exciting moment because, quite frankly, Phish could come out and do just about anything to start the show. Ben and Jerry’s hosted a contest where fans could enter their prediction for Phish’s opening number of the run for a chance to win tickets to the final show. And that night they opened with a song that I don’t think anyone could have predicted: “Shake Your Coconuts” by Danish pop duo Junior Senior. Of the 60,000 entries Ben and Jerry’s received, not one contestant submitted “Shake Your Coconuts” to open the show. Phish surprised yet again.
And with that we were off and running! After the first song, looking down the barrel of 13 shows, as warm applause bathed the band, Anastasio joked with the audience, asking, “Are you tired yet?” The crowd roared!
Over the next 13 shows, Phish would perform nearly 35 hours of music. A book could be penned solely about The Baker’s Dozen in and of itself with all its highlights, nuances, bust-outs, debuts, and extended jams. And much has already been written and published about the now-legendary residency. Jesse Jarnow’s Rolling Stone recap is only outdone by his New York Times interview with Anastasio. And don’t sleep on Scott Bernstein’s “The Number Line: Phish Baker’s Dozen Residency by the Numbers” at JamBase.com, where you can also find individual show recaps, including this author’s outline of Night Two.
Only time can confirm that these 13 shows were the biggest thing Phish has ever done, arguably just ahead or just behind Big Cypress. But one thing is for certain: these 13 shows encapsulate the career of a band more than 30 years and some 1,600 shows after they started.
This is Phish right now, giving their best effort to every song, not repeating a single one, and keeping with a ridiculous theme for each night. An idea birthed 10, 20 years ago, perhaps only in jest, now executed so perfectly, so meticulously, that it may never be eclipsed by Phish or any other band.
What band would even attempt to play 237 different songs, including 61 covers, across 13 shows? What band? They even debuted 19 songs!
Not only did Phish deliver a stellar performance each and every night, but they pushed themselves to get creative with their themed setlists. In true prankster fashion, each morning’s doughnut announcement made gumshoes out of all of us, researching and predicting songs to match. And in true Phish fashion, we were never disappointed.
The musicianship, endurance, and originality of the Baker’s Dozen are certainly unprecedented. Looking at the residency as a complete run, it’s easy to gloss over the details and niceties of each single show. As such, we would be slipshod not to include brief night-by-night rundowns here.
And so, for those of us who were there, well, relish and cherish the memories here and forever. For those of you who weren’t there, I hope what I’ve written showcases the unique magnitude of what is undoubtedly the single greatest musical experience of my life.
My favorite night was Jam-Filled, followed closely by Powdered. “Izabella” was incredible, pure fire. Of course, “Sunshine of Your Feeling” was a damn special moment and “Everything in Its Right Place” > “What’s The Use” was the trippiest Phish I’ve ever seen.
So blessed to have shared it all with the rest of you lumps in the cosmic gravy!
Night One: Coconut
Opening and closing with coconut-themed songs, the latter of which was Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut” performed a cappella, Phish proved they were down to play along with the doughnut flavors.
In the first set, Phish played “Moonage Daydream” for the first time since their Ziggy Stardust Halloween gig and Anastasio brought the house down with a rousingly powerful guitar solo. The second-set-opening pairing of “Tweezer” > “Seven Below” showcased true Phish brilliance, though it would be completely overshadowed in the shows to come.
Night Two: Strawberry
Perhaps to get it out of the way, or otherwise to reward those playing along at home, Phish opened with an a cappella rendition of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” followed by “Halley’s Comet” (“How would you like to have your thick strawberry goo?”). That night’s first set featured an epic Type II jam on “Moma Dance” > “Breath and Burning.” Clearly these guys were here to play. Ending the first set with impassioned versions of “Foam” and “Roggae,” Phish concluded with “The Squirming Coil,” featuring a beloved McConnell solo in the spotlight.
For the second set, Phish opened with “Down with Disease,” stretching the jam over 20 minutes. Just when you thought it was over, it went deeper, and then, pow: “Strawberry Letter 23,” the Brothers Johnson funk ballad made famous by Shuggie Otis. If there was any doubt left as to how much Phish would incorporate these doughnut themes into their shows, well, here’s “A present from you / Strawberry letter 22.”
Phish went deep with “I Always Wanted It This Way,” as Anastasio played the Marimba Lumina, and this version of “Split Open and Melt” is a gooey one to say the least. What’s this? A “Down with Disease” reprise?! Yes! For seven minutes, Phish revisited “DWD,” with a little extra oomph and zest.
As if that’s not enough, Phish delivered a three-song encore: Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia” > “Cities” by Talking Heads, concluding with the quick bluegrass romp “My Sweet One,” after which everyone picked their faces up off the floor and headed out into the night.
Night Three: Red Velvet
Lights out. The band took the stage…but Trey headed to the drums? Kuroda painted the stage and the arena floor with a deep, crimson light, and the first sweet notes of “Sunday Morning” rang out as Fishman, clad in a bishop’s outfit, took center stage singing the cool lyrics made famous by Nico of The Velvet Underground. As Fishman sang, he swung incense and splashed “holy” water on the crowd. Gordon took an epic bass solo on his knees, front of stage, practically bulging out of his pants…ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Red Velvet night!
My favorite from the first set is “It’s Ice”—lengthy, dark, and atmospheric. The second-set opener of “AC/DC Bag” is perhaps one of the few subpar moments of the entire residency, but Phish quickly moved on, performing an incredible block of music, heavy with Type II jams: “Wolfman’s Brother” > “Twist” > “Waves.” The “Twist” was especially funky, as McConnell pushed for MVP status on the synth.
Encoring with “Sweet Jane,” once again awash in red light, Phish logged Red Velvet Night in the record books.
Night Four: Jam-Filled
For a jam band like Phish to take the stage under the pretense that they’ll incorporate a “jam-filled” doughnut theme into their performance was to establish an expectation that most of us were concerned they could not meet. Well, we were wrong. So unequivocally wrong.
Not 90 seconds into the opening number of “Sample in a Jar,” the band went off book, to the surprise and delight of the crowd. Next was the short lounge-music act that is “Lawn Boy” with Page sauntering around the stage. During Gordon’s customary bass solo, McConnell headed back to his station, but wait—instead, he returned to stage front armed with his keytar. The band then jammed on “Lawn Boy” for 30 incredible minutes (Page for President!), a first for the band and proof positive this night was indeed “Jam-Filled.” This was Phish at their best: loose and limber, having fun, and trying something new.
This jam would be heralded as the moment of the Baker’s Dozen residency, inspiring many to jokingly ask, “Is this still Lawn Boy?” (More on that later.) McConnell continued his campaign leading a dank, dark jam on “My Friend, My Friend,” and Phish closed out the five-song first set with “Bathtub Gin.”
“Fuego” opened the second set, with McConnell once again performing splendidly. “Thread” had its moments too, but the “Crosseyed and Painless” was massive, epic, and one of the top jams of the run, so awesome that Phish had to call the cops to stop it > “Makisupa Policeman.” Anastasio got a rise out of the crowd, singing, “We be jammin’.”
Encoring with rock stalwart “Julius,” Phish still wasn’t finished, > “Lawn Boy” reprise… God bless Leo! My only question is: was this the best show of the Baker’s Dozen or the best show of Phish 3.0?
Night Five: Powdered
Yes, a “powder” theme…yikes! Never have so many people been seen openly booting before the lights went down. The first song, “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes, performed a cappella, was delightful. “Roses Are Free” was rocking, into “Very Long Fuse.” And “Pebbles and Marbles” held the highest regard until that killer “Tube” at the end.
“Carini” > “Mr. Completely” opened the second set with pure fire and brimstone, and when Phish launched into “1999,” the crowd simply opened up and exploded. Notably, Phish had only played the classic Prince tune once prior, on New Year’s Eve 1998. And I think it’s safe to say no one thought they would play it again. Then Phish played it again! Bravo!
To conclude the “Powdered” night, Phish encored with Neil Young’s “Powderfinger,” giving the impression that Anastasio had yearned to perform this classic for years and years, perhaps always. Nicely done.
At this point Phish had proved two things: they would likely not be repeating songs, and they were performing and improvising at heights perhaps not seen since the late 1990s. As such, by Friday night, compelled by nights four and five, fans opted in and tickets for the remaining shows sold out. In short: shit just got real.
Night Six: Double Chocolate
Phish opened with “Chocolate Rain” by Tay Zonday—are you kidding me?! Incredible and hilarious! The band members even mimicked the YouTube celebrity’s oft-mimed head movement after the lyrics “I move away from the mic to breathe in.”
As all but Fishman moved to their instruments, we were treated to the 10th performance of “Ass Handed.” And then we were off and running. “Free” delivered a solid jam as usual; “Weigh” was a welcomed oldie; and even “Undermind” was fun. “Destiny Unbound” got the crowd moving, followed by perhaps the most patient, perfectly performed “Divided Sky” I’ve ever heard. “Things People Do” was up next and they could’ve called it a set but then, “Sand” with a solid jam to boot.
The second set’s “Have Mercy” > “Chalk Dust Torture” was everything, even teasing “Hood.” Now for the double chocolate: “You Sexy Thing” > “Mercury” > “You Sexy Thing”—pure, unadulterated Phish, with Gordo working hard to sing those high notes. “Backward Down the Number Line” came next with a heady jam, and “Rock and Roll” closed the set.
The “Fee” encore gave Anastasio the opportunity to sing “Have a chocolate doughnut and catch your breath,” followed by a stunning rendition of “Space Oddity,” all the more powerful in the arena than in the previous summer’s open-air venues.
Night Seven: Cinnamon
Before the show started, an announcement came over the PA system: “Ladies and gentlemen…we have an important announcement to make….” Mimicking the infamous Woodstock LSD warning announcement, the speaker continued: “Do not eat the brown doughnuts. If you eat the brown doughnuts, please report to the Water Wheel table.”
The band opened with “Llama,” perhaps a bit of a misstep, then “Wilson” got everyone focused, dialed in. “Stealing Time” > “Ya Mar” was lots of fun. Then “Tela” for the Gamehendge folks. “Vultures” got people moving again, perhaps pushing for a call and response “Woo!” > “Train Song” > “Horn” (a nice deep breath) then an epic, cacophonous “I Am the Walrus,” complete with crowd “Woos!”
For the second set, “Blaze On” > “Twenty Years” was fun, but the heart of the set was the “Alumni Blues” > “Letter to Jimmy Page” > “Alumni Blues,” particularly for the older heads in the audience. “Meatstick” happened. “Dirt,” perhaps a nod to the Cinnamon theme; then, as teased and promised the night before during “Chalk Dust Torture,” we got our “Hood.”
Encoring again with a Neil Young cover, Phish closed the evening with “Cinnamon Girl.”
Night Eight: Jimmies
After opening with “The Curtain/With,” the band then dove right into the theme with “Runaway Jim.” Phish played “Esther” flawlessly, followed by the narrated double-shot of “Forbin’s” > “Mockingbird.” Phish closed out the set with “David Bowie.”
Opening the second set with a jam-heavy powerhouse duo “Drowned” > “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing,” well, that was awesome. After 40 minutes of music, we got our “Omm pah pah, oom pah pah, oom pah pah, oom pah pahhhhhhhh-ahhhhhhhh….”
A jimmies doughnut from Federal Donuts handed out to concertgoers at Night Eight of the Baker’s Dozen. The Universe is a doughnut, take a bite. (Stephen Olker)
Trey and Mike took seats at the front edge of the stage and pretended to read the newspaper like old chums, casually discussing the lumps in the cosmic gravy, a prewritten narration for this special “Harpua.” The universe is a doughnut! > “2001” and an encore of “The Wind Cries Mary,” are you kidding me? Incredible.
What’s more is that before the encore, some front-row fan tossed a T-shirt onto the stage. Sure enough, Anastasio would return for the encore wearing said shirt, blue with white text that read simply, is this still lawn boy?
Bravo, y’all.
Night Nine: Maple
Opening with a Hendrixesque “O Canada” (on Canada day—they’re Vermonters, eh) with the Canadian flag spotlit above the crowd, the band then moved into “Crowd Control” and “Sugar Shack,” which gave each band member some time to warm up and ease us all into what was palpably the slowest-moving, most ass-dragging show of the run thus far. “When the Circus Comes to Town” got everyone misty-eyed with the lyric “never thought I’d make it this far,” perhaps with more poignancy on the ninth night of thirteen.
“Daniel Saw the Stone” came next and finally got the show going. “Army of One” saw Page crush it yet again (BD MVP, baby) and “The Wedge” was fun as usual, but no significant jams yet. “Guelah Papyrus” came and went, then Page soloed “Maple Leaf Rag,” then Guelah came back! “McGrupp” was easily the highlight, with Leo straight running the game, into “Limb By Limb,” which had its moments > “Walk Away,” which let Trey work the room into a frenzy, building and building each time until Kuroda had the whole arena lit bright white.
The second set opened with “Golden Age.” It was initially promising, and I love that song, but perhaps they should shelve that one, because I don’t think they’ll best that 2016 Vegas “Golden Age.” They gave it a good treatment this time, but abandoned it for “Leaves,” which is just a poor man’s “Free.” “Swept Away” came next, which no one wanted, but sounded nice and sweet and felt good in the room. “Steep” > “46 Days” was incredible, nicely done, gentlemen > “Piper,” yes, another solid showing, with a “46 Days” tease and spooky reprise > “Possum,” again, with Kuroda trying to keep up.
Phish encored with “Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide.” Neil Young it is not, but I’ll take Bowie any Tuesday night, and the Phish done well with it for the second time around, wrapping a relatively short show.
Ending 15 minutes early isn’t a Phish anyone wants to see, but at this point I think everyone was in need of a little respite heading into a midweek Night 10. And even still, the band had played two 80-minute sets.
Night Ten: Holes
Phish came out and opened up with what I know as the theme song for the HBO show The Wire. It’s a Tom Waits song called “Way Down in the Hole,” and they crushed it. After that, it was a perfectly played and perfectly placed “Buried Alive,” and things were really rocking. “Kill Devil Falls” smoothed things out before a welcome “Guyute,” featuring some strange and impressive vocalizing from all members. “I Didn’t Know” came next, keeping with some vocal play, then “NICU,” which felt like home. Up next was “Meat” > “Maze,” an incredible section of music, with “Meat” just diggin’ deep and “Maze” going hard. Highly recommended! After this, “Ginseng Sullivan and “Waiting All Night” gave us a breather, then “Heavy Things” and “Antelope” brought the energy back full on for a romp through space to close the first set.
Looking back on the second set, it’s one of the best of the run, no doubt. It featured an extended “Mike’s Groove,” to say the least! “Mike’s” opened up strong, to the roar of the crowd, and got weird and spooky as fog filled the stage for a baritone rendition of “O Holy Night” that gave way to “Taste,” which jammed as hard as it ever will, wow. “Wingsuit” came next, and that was a top-tier performance as well. “Sneakin’ Sally” snapped us all back real quick before > “Weekapaug” (though the intro was not played). Wow, what a “Mike’s Groove!”
Phish encored with “A Day in the Life” with the third verse referencing “4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire / And though the holes were rather small / they had to count them all / Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall / I’d love to turn you on….”
Night Eleven: Lemon Poppy
Opening with what sounded like a Bob Dylan song, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” (Blind Lemon Jefferson), quickly moved to “Punch You in the Eye” > “Party Time,” which seemed to energize all the weekend warriors in the arena. Phish can certainly read a room, that’s for sure! “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars” really punked it up, and then they brought it back down with a welcomed bust-out of “Dinner and a Movie.” “Ocelot” came next, perhaps Phish’s most Dead-sounding song. “Bold as Love” in the middle of the set > “First Tube” sent MSG shaking up and down as 20,000 fans peaked at the same time.
The second set opened with an a cappella “Dem Bones,” perhaps just to help everyone get settled, stretch it out a little bit, then “No Men in No Man’s Land” came out with a vengeance, but holy shit > “Everything in Its Right Place”—wow wow wow! “Sucking on a lemon…” Incredible; so wild and unexpected and perfectly executed as a Phish song, the trippiest I’ve ever seen, but wait, there’s more > “What’s the Use?” Wow. Kuroda outdid himself with this one! MSG was in outer space, rotating and orbiting high above New York City. “Scents” helped people return to earth, and offered a solid jam to boot > “Caspian” was fun but then > “Fluffhead,” and the crowd went wild! Complete with “Everything in Its Right Place” teases and quotes galore.
For the encore, McConnell once again strapped on his keytar, joined Anastasio and Gordon at the front edge of the stage, and sent us all home with a silky, funky “Frankenstein.”
Night Twelve: Boston Cream
This was the night we were all waiting for—the doughnut flavor theme that started it all, now famously foreshadowed in that 2007 Relix article. Well, here we are!
Marley’s “Soul Shakedown Party” was a nice, easy way to start the show, a gentle groove to loosen up. “Uncle Pen” is always welcome. And “The Sloth,” hell yeah! They did a nice number there. “Gotta Jibboo” felt a little funkier than in the past, and had a nice little jam. “Fuck Your Face” brought the punk, following in the success of the previous show’s first punk/funk set balance. And then, they hit us with it: “Sunshine of Your Feeling,” a medley of Cream and Boston songs, with teases and quotes of “Sunshine of Your Love,” “More Than a Feeling,” “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” and the “Long Time” portion of Boston’s “Foreplay/Long Time,” and man, did they kill it. The crowd applauded earnestly, the band was all smiles, everyone was dialed in, it was just pure joy.
Afterward, as the applause died, Trey said, “Tomorrow’s doughnut is Kansas Metallica flavored.” And everyone laughed. Fishman: “We’ve been waiting 20 years to make that joke.” And the band nodded, Page grinning ear to ear. “Seriously,” Fishman said.
“Frost” came next, a TAB song > “Scent of A Mule,” that featured some incredible work from Page McConnell, teasing all those Boston and Cream songs while Kuroda hit us with a nice yellow hue as if to apologize that Zeppelin’s “Lemon” song was omitted on the night. Next came Hendrix’s “Fire” again, perhaps making up for the absence on the Jimmies night? Then “Alaska” > “Plasma” to wrap an incredible first set of jams, smiles, covers, and the punch line to a joke that started 20 years prior.
Set two kicked off with “Ghost,” a classic jam vehicle, which most were waiting for since Night One. They jammed, but not too deep > “Petrichor”, well-executed, perhaps the best-executed? > “Light” > “The Lizards” to get everyone back on track. “The Horse” > “Silent in the Morning” to cool things down then > “Quinn the Eskimo” > “Rocky Top.”
With a “Joy” encore, you could tell they hit their peak with “Sunshine of Your Feeling” and had nothing left to give…full of joy, the band concluded the penultimate night of the Baker’s Dozen.
Night Thirteen: Glazed
To say we were “glazed” after 13 shows is an understatement. We were fully glossed, glazed, dazed, and raged. A welcome “Dogs Stole Things” kicked off the set, with a nicely performed “Rift” as a one-two punch. “Ha Ha Ha” fittingly came next, followed by the disco funk of “Camel Walk,” which allowed everyone to settle into a groove. “Crazy Sometimes” got the crowd going hard > “Saw It Again” > “Sanity” > “Bouncing around the Room” was a nice block of music: well-performed, well-placed, more than a wink and a nod to this extended run at the Garden, but it didn’t stop there. Next was “Most Events Aren’t Planned”, from Page’s Vida Blue project, perhaps as a hat tip for the MVP of this run? “Bug” got the crowd energized, followed by a brief pause to cool down, as Trey asked Page how he was feeling. “A bit glazed,” Page answered > “I Been Around.” But wait, there’s more!
“Izabella”—wow. A true bust-out of this Hendrix song, perhaps neglected on Jimmies night, but on Night 12 fans on the floor close to the stage held up a large, bright-pink sign that read izabella. And now, delivered on the final night of the run, well, the crowd went absolutely wild. They went crazy! The whole place was bursting with emotion and joy and shock—bewilderment, really. This was a shining moment of the run, and certainly a highlight for many, including my coauthor, Jason, who caught Phish’s performance of his daughter’s namesake song in 1997.
The second set opened with the long-awaited “Simple,” which reached new heights, though not perhaps higher than the Northerly Island version three weeks prior. “Rise”/”Come Together” came next > “Starman,” hell yeah, more Bowie! Well done, guys. Now “YEM,” rocking the trampolines, extended vocal jam. Then “Loving Cup,” gimme one drink!
The encore had everyone waiting with bated breath. Returning to the stage, Phish gently rolled into “On the Road Again,” which had both Trey and Page tearing up, choking up on “playing music with my friends,” perhaps finally letting it all sink in: the massive accomplishment of this run, the survival of this band, the continued jams and new music, only continuing to grow this wholly unique and special experience. Concluding the song, as the crowd applauded, Page moved from behind his rig towards the front of the stage and Trey played a little reggae riff that sounded a lot like…Page said, “A lot of people have been asking me, is this still ‘Lawn Boy?’ Yes, it is.” And the crowd roared; an Olfactory Hues reprise! Then Mike hit the introductory bass solo for “Weekapaug Groove,” unplayed from Friday, and then the band launched into “Tweezer Reprise,” an encore for the ages.
After exiting the stage, the band returned to witness a Phish banner hoisted up at the edge of the stage, exalting their unprecedented run of 13 consecutive shows. After a quick band photo with the banner, it ascended to its home at the ceiling at Madison Square Garden, a testament to an incredible musical experience—one that may never be topped.
For 13 nights, this band delivered beyond anyone’s expectations. And now complete, with the band gone from the stage, the house lights back on, the PA played Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” as attendees slowly made their way out of the arena.