Phish completed another successful four-day run at their traditional home for New Year’s Eve, Madison Square Garden. The band now has 91 shows at the World’s Most Famous Arena to their credit, including last year’s NYE show. Phish closed out the year 2025 at MSG in typical grandiose fashion, with high soaring jams and a Broadway-like spectacle of dancers and singers.
The show began with two heavy hitters in “Free” and “Birds of a Feather” which set the tone nicely for the opening set. An exploratory “Stash” was placed in its typical mid first set position and “Waste” gave the room a little time to breathe right afterwards. Other first set highlights included a rollicking “Kill Devil Falls” and the set-closing “Life Changing Gun.”
Set two brought with it some deeper jams courtesy of the set opening “Sand” and a wild “No Men In No Man’s No Land” that succeeded “Fuego.” By the time the crowd favorite “You Enjoy Myself” came along, Phish had MSG in full swing. With the help of an “ice cream” man who made his way on to the stage and his cowbell, the band poked a little fun at the setlist, pairing the old school classic “It’s Ice” with a first time cover of Prince’s “Cream.”
The “gag” carried right over through set break as well, as songs on the PA all included references to ice cream or cream like “Cold as Ice,” “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Ice Cream Man” and “Ice Ice Baby.” The third set was then nothing short of a Broadway musical, starting with the opening “Harry Hood” and a host of elegant dancers. “Also Sprach Zarathustra” aka “2001” then later served as the springboard into 2026 with a colossal, funked out jam. Fittingly, “Tweezer” with its “step into the freezer” lyrics were the first of the new year as Phish delighted MSG with even more dancers and singers adorning the stage, singing the lyrics in different languages.
Phish MSG New York, NY 12/31/25
Set 1: Free, Birds of a Feather, Bouncing Around the Room, Stash, Waste, My Friend, My Friend, A Life Beyond The Dream, Kill Devil Falls, More, Monsters, Life Saving Gun
Set 2: Sand > Fuego > No Men In No Man’s Land, What’s Going Through Your Mind, You Enjoy Myself, It’s Ice > Cream [1]
Set 3: Harry Hood, Also Sprach Zarathustra [2] > Auld Lang Syne > Tweezer [3] > Piper > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
Encore: Sincere [4], Spock’s Brain > Tweezer Reprise
[1] Phish debut.
[2] Trey on drums.
[3] Lyrics sung in multiple languages.
[4] Phish debut.
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