Phish Brought Their Annual New Years Run to Madison Square Garden

Last updated: 8 Jan 2019, 0:09:31
Published: 8 Jan 2019, 0:09:30
Written by: Asal Shah
Photography by: Jeff Kravitz
Tagged: Phish New Year's Run 2018 Phish at Madison Square Garden Phish at Madison Square Garden Phish at Madison Square Garden

No matter how your 2018 was, it's safe to say that if you found yourself at one of the four Phish gigs at Madison Square Garden the last week of the year, then it ended with a bang. The annual run kicked off December 28th and wrapped up New Years Eve night, with a massive THREE SET performance! Let's geek out over the jam band's setlist from each night.

Night 1 (December 28)

The kick off night was filled with high energy rock as they slammed on tunes like "We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains," "Martian Monster," "Free," "If I Could," and ended the first set on "Walls of the Cave."

The second set fired off with Trey Anastasio's "Set Your Soul Free" and ended on "Possum" before coming back out for a two song encore - "Bouncing Around the Room" and "Slave to the Traffic Light." Check out the full setlist below.

Night 2 ( December 29)

The second night packed more heat than the night before. It had a plethora of improvisations, covers, and killer guitar solos. The first set fired off with "Buried Alive" and ended on "Wolfman's Brother" where they sang "Party Time" lyrics over the song's tune.

The second set started with an extended jam of "Carni," and they ended on "First Tube" before coming out for an epic encore of "Shine a Light" by Rolling Stones and a "Tweezer" Reprise.

Other covers they did in the night was "Cities" by Talking Head, "Corinna" by Taj Mahal, "Ya Mar" by Cyril Ferguson, "No Quarter" by Led Zeppelin, and "Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30" by Richard Strauss.

Night 3 (December 30)

The improvisation on the third night was even more intense, as most of the songs in the second set had extended jams. They also performed "Glide II" for the first time since 1995! Not only that, but they live debuted 1996's "Bliss" with Trey on acoustic guitar.

Their encore on this night had a total of four songs, which started off with a Son Seals cover "Funky B*tch." Peep the full setlist below.

Night 4 (December 31)

New Years Eve night was definitely the grande finale. The performance had not two sets, but THREE. The first set had 12 songs, second had six, and the third set, which was the midnight shebang, had eight songs.

"Mercury" ushered in the New Year and the band incorporated acrobatic dancers that were raised in harnesses above the stage as confetti fell from the ceiling. The countdown was led to the traditional playing of “Auld Lang Syne” and the venue was doused in metallic balloons and streamers. Trey and Mike Gordon and then strapped on harnesses and suspended into the air as they performed Kasvot Växt anthem “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”

See the setlist and watch a video from the show below!