Phish - December 31st, 1998
Madison Square Garden · New York · NY
1 Phish debut.
Song length in play order. Tap a point for that song. Swipe the chart to see the rest.
Tonight's unique songs by the era Phish first played them.
- '83-'898
- '90-'948
- '95-'005
The studio home of each song, from phish.net. Covers count as one slice.
- A Picture of Nectar4
- The Story of the Ghost2
- Billy Breathes1
- The White Tape1
- Covers5
- No studio album8
Shows since each song's previous appearance. A big number is a bustout.
- 3-54
- 6-1514
- 16-501
- 51+ · bustout1
Whose songbook tonight drew from.
- Phish original16
- Prince1
- Talking Heads1
- The Beatles1
- The Edgar Winter Group1
- Traditional1
A typical night, rotation-wise - 1 song shelved 50+ shows.
Gap = shows since the song was last played, at the moment it was played.
The 1st jam is pretty chill and just grooves along with typical melodic lines. The 2nd jam kicks in at 7:35, and immediately drops into serene and melodic heartfelt playing. The band seems completely at ease, enjoying the warm and upbeat nature of the jamming.
Orgasmic "sleety" symphony which breaks down into throbbing B&D industrial metal that ratchets abruptly into "Ha Ha Ha." [The jam moves beyond the typical structure, breaking into gritty and pulsating play that bridges the ambient sound of '98 and sparser grooves of '99 and '00 quite well.]
Amazing -> "Cities."
Segues out of "Tweezer." Good funky version that gets eerie and spacey at the end before transitioning to "Velvet Sea."
Jam breaks away completely from "Antelope" at 6:30 into a nice, slighty dark foray. Returns to the standard by 8:00.
Follows "Auld Lang Syne" with the sounds of balloons popping on stage. The initially straightforward jam grows rocking and dissonant, then eventually calms to a quiet space.
An extended and very unique intro to 7:30. The delicate and spiraling jam foreshadows the sound and tone of '99.
Versions phish.net's jam charts single out as noteworthy.
Prince’s 1999 made its Phish debut (appropriately) at this show and included dancers on stage and synchronized steps from Trey and Mike, who wound up lying on the stage with the dancers surrounding them. Weekapaug and Runaway Jim subsequently featured 1999 teases; Jim also included Auld Lang Syne teases. Hydrogen contained Albert teases from Trey. For this show, the Holiday Run dancers’ costumes included a devil, a prostitute, and a pimp. The band jammed Runaway Jim until just before the New Year. The dancers reappeared throughout the crowd and handed out thousands of glowrings to the fans just before a grand balloon drop and pyrotechnics display at midnight. The band counted the crowd into the New Year before busting into Auld Lang Syne. While some fans used the glowrings to start a Glowstick War during Hood, others used them to create long chain links of rings spanning the venue from end to end.
Setlist, gaps, jam charts, and notes from phish.net, a project of the non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.