Show Review - Phish 7/29/26 New York, NY

Phish wrapped their five-night Madison Square Garden run last night with a show that was truly one for the books, celebrating show #96 with coveted rarities, excellent flow, and two jams over the 30-minute mark in the same set.

It was clear that things were going to take off quickly as the band began the first set with an a cappella rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the first time since 12/28/16 (362 shows). Guitarist Trey Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon both sported era-appropriate outfits for the night – the former in the gold velour button-down and the latter in neon green, both outfits that made appearances at The Clifford Ball.

“McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters” got the proper musical portion of the night started with a very well-played version, keyboardist Page McConnell shining on a sparkling piano solo. “Axilla (Part II)” was tapped next to bookend the run after “Part I” made an appearance during last week’s 1992 show. While “Part II” wasn’t played at all in 1996, having been shelved from 12/31/95 to 8/31/21, it technically existed during the year and worked well in the context of this set.

Anastasio tore off some heavy riffs to get the thick and soupy jam going, drummer Jon Fishman hammering his kit right alongside. Breaking from the song proper into an airy and psychedelic space, the quartet proceeded to build a very “Wingsuit”-esque motif with excellent interplay between guitar and keyboards.

Fading into “Esther,” the classic hits kept coming through one of the cleantest versions of “Guyute” that I can recall hearing in the modern era. Anastasio tore through the complex composition with well-practiced ease, its third performance of 2026 marking the most appearances in a single year since 2011.

While there was no “Acoustic Army” or bluegrass mini-set, Anastasio still took the opportunity to use his acoustic guitar on a mellow pairing of “Talk” and “If I Could.” The former made its first appearance since 10/13/23 (122 shows) and just the second since 2009, offering a lovely mid-set cooldown ahead of a rocking “Bold As Love.”

With the opening notes of “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent,” the Garden proceeded to go absolutely nuts as the band worked through the classic pairing with “Fly Famous Mockingbird” for the second time this year. While “Forbin” didn’t contain any narration – a trend with recent versions – the band more than made up for that with a set-closing “Harpua,” the first since 12/31/23’s Gamehendge performance.

There’s something truly special about how excited we all get for nonsense like this, and Anastasio was clearly having a ball as he spoke about Jimmy being trapped in the clouds for 30 years after having an incredible experience at The Clifford Ball. Naming key moments that Jimmy had missed out on (other festivals, even standout jams like the Riverport Gin and Tahoe Tweezer), the crowd cheered at each mention as the band continued with huge grins on their faces.

Playing some specific tones (read: chaotic noises that sounded as if “NO2” was on the way) to rescue Jimmy, the band concluded “Harpua” with McConnell’s usual nimble organ solo and sent us into setbreak overjoyed.

Obviously, the only thing missing from the strong opening frame was meaningful improv – and the band had just been saving it up for the second set. For the first time ever, Phish performed two 30+ minute jams in the same set of a “normal” two-set show (Big Cypress and IT both boasted multiple) – and they weren’t just long for the sake of it.

The long-awaited “You Enjoy Myself” kicked off the set with a strong Type I segment, Anastasio leading through a blistering peak and brief vocal jam. Keeping with the trend of older songs with newer jamming styles and flavour, the 4.0 “second jam” emerged from the scatting with delayed guitar and a slinky funk groove.

McConnell took to his clav as Anastasio dialled in some hypnotic envelope-filter work, Fish matching his riffs with well-timed drum hits. Not taking too long before beginning to float outside the song proper, the broader funky vibe remained but loosened into a more upbeat and airy motif.

Beginning to build a melodic major-key vibe atop the fluid and ever-changing drumbeat, Anastasio’s articulate and clear tone really shone through as McConnell moved to piano. Fish kept up some tempo and time signature changes for a while before following the guitarist’s lead into a more straightforward zone, beginning to build to an exuberant peak.

With every member of the band locking in together, it seemed as though we were poised for an epic bliss release as the tension mounted. Gordon dug in as things took on a “Down with Disease”-like tone, Anastasio continuing to build around the same repeating riff from a few minutes earlier. Rather than explode into full peak mode, the band left the tension unresolved and spaced out among chaotic guitar loops as Fish continued to push forward – a move similarly done in the 6/24/25 “What’s Going Through Your Mind.”

A peak was eventually reached, the packed Garden reacting with a huge cheer as Anastasio shredded through the joyous motif. Demonstrating that they were not content to end things there, a post-peak groove developed as McConnell moved to Rhodes and Anastasio emphasized a more chordal mode, quickly linking up with Gordon on a new repetitive riff.

Some “woo” action emerged with Fish digging in on a propulsive funk groove, setting up what would be the main vibe for the remainder of the extensive “YEM.” The filthy sounds continued as Anastasio went for some choppy wah action, McConnell lightly playing some Yamaha CS60 before pivoting over to Moog One. Anastasio then went toward his percussion mini-kit for the first time during the show, leaving McConnell to lead in the sparse, driving groove.

Gordon dug in on the low-end to add contrast to the big spacey synth tones produced by McConnell, Fish throwing in some samples for good measure. A brief hint at the “Tweezer” riff on keys kept the funk pocket rolling along as Anastasio eventually returned to guitar with some dark-tinged delay lines, leading the band through one last bit of jamming before wrapping “YEM” at a hair over 36 minutes.

With a review of phish.net’s jam charts, it seems like the MSG “YEM” stands as the second-longest version played in the band’s history, only trailing 10/31/95 out of the 500+ times it’s been performed.

“Waste” offered a gentle cooldown next – and featured a surprise extra bit of guitar solo than usual, Anastasio taking his time with a really gorgeous anthemic run. “I Didn’t Know” was certainly a surprise to see next as it’s usually a first-set bit of fun. The surprises continued as Fish’s vacuum solo led into a bustout of Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds,” performed with a cape just like it had been on 12/6/96 in Vegas – 1,021 shows ago.

After the obligatory “Hold Your Head Up,” the run’s lone repeat, the band launched into what we had all been waiting for out of 1996 – a monster “Crosseyed and Painless.” The Garden seemed to shake with excitement as 20,000 people began to absolutely rage, and the band matched the intensity with one of the craziest half-hour stretches of music I’ve seen live from them.

Fish drove forward at a brisk tempo as the other three musicians immediately played with aggression and intensity, Gordon and Anastasio finding a repeating riff almost immediately to work off of. McConnell’s clav work dominated as Anastasio began to poke at the edges of the “Crosseyed” groove, hinting at a major shift but quickly abandoning that in favour of some synced-up hits with Gordon and Fish.

Quieting into space from there, Anastasio looped some high-pitched feedback as the jam faded close to silence, buoyed by Fish’s continued groove and then Moog tones from McConnell. The drummer toyed with the pace of the jam, dropping into half-time as the classic ’96 sparse groove vibe began to return.

Anastasio worked some repetitive wah riffs among McConnell’s squiggly synths, Gordon dive-bombing with some deep-impact play. Emerging into the next section as a sort of weird and spacey reggae-ish sound, the tones got higher and higher pitched as Fish rolled fills across his toms and snare with remarkable fluidity and swing.

Kicking into double-time and then back again, Fish inspired a switch from Anastasio into more driving play that Gordon quickly picked back up on. Beginning to pick up speed and intensity more, the band built a crazed and frenzied peak as Anastasio and McConnell matched each other’s energy to see how wild their play could get. The rhythm section also put on an absolute clinic here, the red-hot space getting augmented by “Suspicious Minds” quotes from Fish among the dense cloud of screaming guitar loops.

Pushing past the peak into more sparse grooving, McConnell returned to sharp clav work as Anastasio returned to percussion, Fish quickly matching the keyboardist’s hits with more lightning-fast and head-spinning fills. Gordon initiated a modulation as the band took their foot off the gas a bit, shifting from blazing-hot speeds to a more deliberate and deep pocket.

More of that classic percussion-forward jamming characteristic of 1996 took place, the greasy pocket getting accentuated as Anastasio returned to guitar amid floaty drum fills. Taking a darker turn, Fish toyed between double- and half-time once again, Anastasio’s fluid and delay-heavy lines acting as a really cool centrepiece to the jam as McConnell returned to more grounded play on piano.

Digging into a classick rock-feeling mode, the band lit up one final peak in the jam to close things out, blowing past the 30-minute mark with energy and exuberance, much to the delight of all of us in the audience. Is this my new pick for JOTY? Very possibly.

The expected “Character Zero” brought the house down to close the set, sheer awe at what had just gone down leading to some raucous energy.

For the encore, Anastasio emerged in a Knicks jersey – number 96 and his name on the back. “A Day in The Life” capped the classic ’96 picks before a tongue-in-cheek play of “Backwards Down the Number Line” brought things to a close with a fun nod to the five-night run as a whole, and a surprise addition of a modern-era song to the show.

Phish in five – undefeated since 1983. The energy leaving the Garden last night was truly special, as spontaneous cheers erupted at the exits as virtually every single person grinned in excitement at the magic we had just witnessed. Best band in the world.

And oh yeah, tour isn’t even done yet – Fenway Park is up tomorrow and Saturday plus we’ve got Dick’s coming up next month. With the setlists undoubtedly getting filled with all the recent compositions Anastasio hasn’t been able to play for the past week, it should be interesting – but I have a feeling there are still many big jams to be had.

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