Happy New Year all!! I want to take time to really digest the MSG run, and hopefully I will get reviews done shortly. To sum up: seven really wonderful, inspiring sets- pretty much the perfect way to in ring in the new year. But right now, I want to cover the NYE stunt. It was a sight for any pair of eyes, and brought me my first most epic Phish moment, which was actually 4 in 1 for me.
1)The New Years Eve Vibe- Being present on major Phish holidays are essential to tour, and NYE is well known for being particularly phenomenal. Historically, they play at their very highest skill levels (12.31.95), as long as they possibly can (12.31.99), or with as many wild surprises as we all can imagine (1992 Run). Often times, we find that the nights before the holiday are two times better than the holiday show itself. This is something that is always arguable, but doubtlessly the 1996 run in Boston was part of this trend. In any case, New Years Eve has a great vibe, and the whole run is laced with genius musical moments and astonishing tricks. This 2010-2011 run was familiar to new and old phans alike. We were back in the Northeast- not that Miami wasn't a great time, but this felt right to us. I couldn't make it to the Worcestor shows, which was a major bummer because (besides missing two great shows on the run) there is absolutely no lot to be found around MSG. My loving Phish community covered in snow, and still raging? Would have be great to be a part of. But when the boys got to New York, we were all ready for them, and for three solid nights they gave us their all. Each night brought something that stood out so beautifully for me, and I'll get into all that goodness at a later date.
2) A Round Room at the End of the Day- Madison Square Garden is also a historic aspect of Phishtory. The boys have played consistently great shows there and this run was no different. I was personally very excited to see Phish in one of their favorite places, in my favorite city. I only caught one of the shows from Fall 2009 and that was before I was as obscenely infatuated as I am now. So the vibe was back, the kids (us and them) were back in their comfort zones. And MSG did not fail to deliver. The huge round space was made for Phish's eachoing, bouncing sound. The flowing walls of people begged to be covered in Koruda's lights. And the event staff gave us very little problems. Hell, they love us there- we're nice and friendly, we have a good time but care about each other, and buy tons of stuff. How could they not like us? Don't answer that, actually... in any case, having the last 2 shows of the year be at MSG, swimming in that warm, round room to ring in 2011... it was a great feelings. And to think, we had another one coming!
3)The First Ever New Years Day Show- That about says it. Two thousand eleven saw the first ever New Years Day show from Phish, and boy was it phenomenal. Whenever the guys do something new, they like to make it extra special. The buzz all around the New Years run was that Phish was going to blow it out of the water, and having not gotten a Harpua during the Halloween run, I'm not surpirsed that a lot of us expected it. But no, what we got instead was a fabulose close to the run and most exciting way to open the new year. With bust-outs like Tube, Round Room, Walls of the Cave, and Cross Eyed and Painless, everyone pretty much got what they were looking for. Trey did his classic twist of lyrics for Makisupa and made the whole stadium cheer when he said "I went home last night after doin' the New Years stunt, laid back on my couch and rolled myself a blunt." And fianlly, Page broke out the keytar for the Frankenstein closer. Every face was smiling as we left MSG that night.
4)Why Trey Rolled His Blunt- The fourth reason why this New Years run was so epic for me (though the list could go on and on) was the highly anticipated New Years stunt. I didn't know what to expect this year, but I don't think I expected the brilliant mix of past tricks the boys have pulled on us. Shooting Fish out of a cannon in Miami last year may have topped these stunts individually, but we got a collaboration of three historic Phish NYE moments, all rolled into one glorious explosion. In 1994, we were up in Boston to welcome '95- two monumental years for our band. But as their annual stung this year, the boys slipped away from stage to board a flying hot dog that floated across the stadium. For New Years 1997, the boys were in MSG and released a plethora of differnt colored and shaped balloons upon the crowd, creating a wild and crazy balloon party. And in 1999 in Oswego, NY, Phish and their phans attempted to break the Guiness World Record for largest group dance... to Meatstick. When that 20+ minute Meatstick started, no one knew what was coming. Alright, we knew the balloons were coming because hundreds were held to the ceiling by nets, and some of us might have been suspect of an on-coming Meatstcik from the begining because of the long red balloons. The addition stage set up was a give away of some sort, but still kept us guessing as to when (the stage was set up for the whole show) and what- most thought horns or an additional musical ensemble. But when small groups from Broadway plays started appearing on stage singing Meatstick in their respective languages, and four Orthodox Jews came dancing onto the raised platform, we knew we were in for something huge. Quickly, the staged filled up with a wide variety of costumed dancers and everyone was doing the Meatstick dance, boys included. Somewhere in the mix, we lost our favorite musicians, but moments later, they came flying in from the top right corner of the stadium on, none other than, the flying hotdog.. or meatstick. When they made their way across MSG, landed, and returned safely to the stage, all the dancers and all the phans sung Auld Lang Syne together, and the balloon were released to be bounced around during a phenomenal After Midnight.
What an insane run it was for me and so many other phans. NYE in NYC was the only way to say goodbye to 2010, and Phish certainly pulled a once-twice- three times over on us. Thanks, boys!
Check back tomorrow as I start to review the three show more in depth!
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