Kicking off on December 28, 2025, Madison Square Garden hosted Phish for their annual New Years Eve run of shows, bringing their total number of performances at MSG now to 88, second only to the Piano Man, Billy Joel.
For fans expecting a run of the mill ‘warm up show’ from Phish, with just the hits and a few standard jams, and maybe one surprise… well those folks hopefully will remember Night 1 of the 2025 Phish run, as Phish made sure to do anything but. Instead, they took the crowd for a spin, diving deep into unexpected territory on a few songs and dusting one gem off the shelf for the first time in over 6 years.
Opening with “Buried Alive” to rile up the crowd, an “AC/DC Bag” followed, getting the show on the road rapidly. On paper, the “Roggae” and “Rift” would seem as typical first set fare, but with what followed, serve as the only respite for the night.
An unfinished version of “Wolfman’s Brother” jammed nicely to the tune of 13 minutes, segueing from its improv into “Punch You in the Eye,” which rarely sees a jam into the song. The spirited “Punch” found its way into “Sigma Oasis” and later a refreshing “Taste,” all part of the same 40 minutes of non-stop Phish.
For the first time in a while (with Phish at least), Trey Anastasio picked up his acoustic guitar and quietly strummed his way into “Sleep,” a remnant of Farmhouse, played for the first time since November 2019. Adding in “Antelope” to close, Anastasio stretched the ending out to a continuous frenzy to the delight of the 20,000 assembled for Sunday evening services at MSG.
The second set, following an “Oblivion” to start, went into another extended combo of relentless jamming, starting with “Down with Disease” to the tune of 14 unfinished minutes, then arriving at “Simple”, which resurfaced later on before pushing into “Gotta Jibboo.”
The standout portion of the night though was the emergence of “Theme from the Bottom,” which is not a typical mid-Set 2 song, but after this incredible 24-minute version, fans will be looking forward to more of this theme. Closing the set was “Everything’s Right” which was right on the nose, while “Slave to the Traffic” nodded to the travel woes many faced getting to New York during the icy weekend.
Phish returns for three more nights at MSG to close out 2025. Stay tuned to NYSMusic.com for updates, reviews and setlists.
Setlist via Phish.net
Phish – MSG – Sunday, December 28, 2025
Set 1: Buried Alive > AC/DC Bag, Roggae, Rift, Wolfman’s Brother[1] > Punch You in the Eye > Sigma Oasis > Taste, Sleep[2], Run Like an Antelope
Set 2: Oblivion > Down with Disease[1] -> Simple -> Gotta Jibboo, Theme from the Bottom[1] -> Simple > Everything’s Right
Encore: Slave to the Traffic Light
[1] Unfinished
[2] Trey on acoustic guitar.Trey teased Norwegian Wood in Roggae. Wolfman’s Brother, Down with Disease, and Theme from the Bottom were unfinished. Sleep featured Trey on acoustic guitar and was performed for the first time since November 29, 2019 (231 shows). Trey teased Manteca in Down with Disease.
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