Wow, what a great show and experience this was.

12/29 at the Garden... always a blast. My Portland, OR crew had fun during the day hitting up restaurants, bodegas, and seeing the sites. We spent a lot of time in Chinatown where we got this amazing vegan dim sum, and then hit the Museums up by Central Park before I split and headed downtown to the big MSG.

Last year's 12/29 set the bar rather high (was so lucky to be there for that), and I was so excited to see what was planned for us this evening. Before the show I met up with a bunch of folks from the Discord and we took a nice photo. Showtime!

Carini -> Plasma -> Carini to start the show was a barnburner. Obviously, Carini being one of the hypest openers, a great natural exploration and segue, and then bringing it back brought the place down. Pure energy and I love when they do this to start a show (reminds me of Seattle N1 2023, to name one example). The next song I did not recognize and was like, what is this talk-box that they are using (was it a sample?). I fully admit, I had to look on Phish.net to see what it was, and when I saw that it was Quadrophonic Toppling, I burst out laughing. Having experienced fully the "QuadTopGate" saga where the Phish.net setlist deciders (temporarily) took away the experience for those who saw it live in Alabama 5/27/2022, to get this in a clear version without any controversy really amused me and made me happy. These fucking guys, man. That is one for the stat books.

Another personal first came in the very next song - a great version of The Curtain (With), my first live version of either Curtain - it was well done and continued the energy. BATHTUB GIN comes next... This was an incredible version. I perfectly timed a bathroom break and came out right for the jam, and this was a superb peak. I was in full "holy shit" mode and so was the rest of my row. Maybe the highlight of the show for me, and that's saying something. A must-hear. NICU is always fun and I really love Evolve, it's my favorite song off of the eponymous album and I love catching this live. Was singing along to every word. I love the idea of Evolve and also naming the album after it because it exemplifies what Phish does: constantly evolving and finding new ways to perform. Mist was solid and then a perfectly placed Fluffhead, which was fucking awesome. Reminded me of 12/30/2024 same spot. Great first set.

Starting Set 2 with Mike's was a power move. Energy = High. I caught the Blaze On opening and called that out but then instead a nice redirect into The Final Hurrah (always love any of Kasvot or Sci-Fi getting some play!) and this was my first one I've ever seen, which was super cool. Groove comes after as expected and I love Weekapaug Groove, it's probably my favorite Phish song. Was dancing my ass off!

The next 40 minutes are absolutely incredible must-hear Phish. Wave of Hope (incredible vehicle) (20) - Twenty Years Later (11) - Golden Age (14) is an all-star stretch on one of the most hallowed Phish days of the year. Golden Age I would take at every show (controversial take but it's one of their best). Zero was perfectly timed and everyone was singing along.

Sometimes a next-level show is separated from a simply great one because every time they could elevate the show to the next level (first, second, and encore) they do so. This happened here with the Lizards choice to begin the encore. My first one ever, I was on cloud nine. If you had asked me prior to the run which songs were I chasing, this would have been in the first three I mentioned. So I was jacked up. Fantastic work from Trey as usual. Possum felt like icing on the cake, and that was that. Another superb 12/29 show in the books, and two great shows to start the 2025-26 run. Bathtub Gin, Wave > 20 Years Later > Golden Age must hears. Can you believe there would be another two nights in store?