Last Friday we looked at the top moments in Worcester New Year’s Run history, and this Friday our focus turns to Madison Square Garden. Selecting the ten best moments in MSG Holiday Run history proved to be quite the task, thus I decided not to rank my selections. Rather than claim a “top ten,” these are, rather, My Favorite Moments From MSG Holiday Runs — in no qualitative order. Instead of ranking them, I chose to craft a “set” out of these top-shelf highlights. Phish has played eleven shows at the end of December at the World’s Most Famous Arena, from their debut in 1994 to their first comeback in 2002. And as we prepare for numbers twelve, thirteen and fourteen, here’s a look back at some of Phish’s greatest moments ever at 7th Ave and 32nd St.
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“Tube” 12.29.97 II
This best-ever “Tube” came amidst of one of the hottest sets ever dropped at MSG.
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“Carini > Wolfman’s” 12.28.98 II
Just as MSG housed “Tube’s” peak rendition, it did the same for “Carini” on 12.28.98. Taking the song for the interstellar jaunt of its lifetime, the band sculpted a ferocious and psychedelic masterpiece that fused “Wolfman’s” based in ambient space-groove. A straight monster.
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“Harry Hood” 12.30.95 II
My personal favorite version of Phish’s seminal piece; a cathartic journey that changed my life forever.
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“Tweezer > Cities” 12.31.98 II
The centerpiece of a smoking second set on New Year’s Eve. The “Tweezer” spotlights the band’s place at the end of ’98, straddling ambient soundscapes and thick grooves.
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“Antelope” 12.29.97 II
One of the best versions of the late-’90s came in the first set of one the band’s greatest nights at MSG.
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“Reba” 12.31.95 I
This famous first-setter from New Year’s ’95 is a staple of any best versions list.
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“Mike’s Song” 12.31.95 II
The final rendition of “Mike’s Song” in, perhaps, its greatest year ever, brought one of its most impressive jams of the year.
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“Disease > Bowie > Possum” 12.29.97 II
We’re covering most of this epic second set here.
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“You Enjoy Myself” 12.29.98 II
A version so good I wrote an entire piece on it.
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“AC/DC Bag > McGrupp” 12.30.97 II
A smashing segment of improv that kicked off a marathon second set.
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“Tweezer” 12.30.94 II
Gotta’ give a nod to the biggest jam of the band’s first-ever show at The Garden.
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“Auld Lang Syne > Weekapaug > Sea and Sand” 12.31.95 III
The best post-midnight jam in MSG history. Easily.
