2023-12-30 - MSG, New York, NY - Post-Show Discussion and Review

[anthrax]

SATURDAY 12/30/2023
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
New York, NY
SET 1: Backwards Down the Number Line, Wolfman's Brother, Turtle in the Clouds, Undermind, Kill Devil Falls, Fuego -> Train Song, It's Ice > Life Saving Gun

SET 2: The Well -> Tweezer -> Twist > Piper -> Golden Age -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > Sigma Oasis > David Bowie

ENCORE: Slave to the Traffic Light > More


Trey teased The Well in Twist.

[anthrax]

wolfman's was good.  fuego and life saving gun really took off in the first set.  i had high hopes for the second set, but i thought it kinda fell flat.  tweezer didn't achieve any sort of a liftoff.  will need to relisten today.

[anthrax]

anyone else notice the low end (mike and the bass drum) pumping through the webcasts like never before?  it's pretty great!

[Hicks]

anyone else notice the low end (mike and the bass drum) pumping through the webcasts like never before?  it's pretty great!

Yep webcast is sounding great again with prominent Mike and less harsh/shrill tone from Trey, hallelujah! 

Agree, first set was definitely much more energetic and interesting than the second set last night.

[GBL]

1st set > 2nd set by miles and miles

it wasn't bad, it just wasn't good

[rowjimmy]

Wolfman's grooved. it was a slow version but thus enabled the groove and microjam situation. KDF is a straight up ripper here. the Fuego is you best dose of type-II jamming on the night. LSG fucking rips as well. Unexpected heights here.

Set two has everything you want to hear in a Phish show but almost none of the depth you'd expect from such a setlist. It's a little like they were either looking for the right vehicle for the night or trying to knock out some must-plays before the more scripted 12/31 show. I didn't dislike this set. In fact it held my focus as I kept waiting for them to step off into the deep end. Oh well.
David Bowie continues the recent trend of well executed, mildly jammed versions. No type-II action to speak of but it's right there. If they drop this early in a set in 2024, buckle the fuck up.

[Caravan2001]

2nd set looks great on paper. In person, I was happy to be there with my friends but will likely never replay. Nothing ever got there, except maybe LSG which I dug.