After a “Never Miss a Sunday Show” Sunday evening at MSG, Phish returned to the Garden with high expectations. Who knows what they have in store for tomorrow night, but the boys delivered one of the best shows I have ever witnessed. Hands down.

From the “Wilson” opener, MSG knew it was in for a treat. First set highlights include a rocking “46 Days,” a bust-out of the Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic “Ballad of Curtis Lowe,” a great first set “Mike’s Song > Contact > Weekapaug Groove” and a searing “About to Run.”

After an awesome first set, no one was prepared for what was to come in set two. MSG roared as the opening chords of “Tweezer” rang through the arena. At the 7-minute mark, we knew we were in for something special. Over the next 30+ minutes, Phish took the Phans at MSG on a journey through peaks and valleys, and plenty of undiscovered territory. When it was all said and done, the “Tweezer” clocked in over 30 minutes.

The “Tweezer” ended with a skit based around the story of Phish’s first show at MSG 25 years ago. The comic relief was a welcome respite from the relentless “Tweezer” jams, but Phish roared back immediately with a solid “Ruby Waves” that showed the promise of the legendary Alpine Valley version from the summer. I funky “Steam” followed and reprised back into “Tweezer” and “Ruby Waves” before a gorgeous “Slave to the Traffic Light” to finish the set. Wow.

Trey saved the “Tweezer Reprise” for another day and encored a rip-roaring “Rock and Roll” to finish the evening.

Set 1
01.Intro
02.Wilson
03.The Final Hurrah
04.46 Days
05.Ballad Of Curtis Loew
06 Blaze On
07.Corinna
08.Mikes Song>
09.Contact>
10.Weekapaug Groove
11.About To Run
12.More

Set 2
01.Intro
02.Tweezer
03.Trey 12/30/94 Pan Story
04.Ruby Waves
05.Steam>
06.Tweezer>
07.Ruby Waves
08.Slave To The Traffic Light
09.Crowd
10.Rock N’ Roll

Thanks to Chris King for the recording!

Photo credit: phishfromtheroad