[For this recap we are pleased to welcome Brian Brinkman (@howard_roark), co-host of the Beyond the Pond podcast.]

Following two strong shows on 12/28 and 12/29, Phish climbed on stage on Saturday, December 30 with an opportunity to elevate the 2017 New Year’s Eve Run to a rare status. Most years, the band needs a night or two to settle into the NYE run, thus producing a show or two that’s of a lesser quality than the best of the run. Think: 12/28/97, 12/27/10, 12/29/12, and 12/29/16. It’s often understandable that there will be a “dud” in the run, seeing as the band is focusing all their energy on four shows in the middle of winter, when their main approach is across month-long tours.

What made 2017’s NYE Run different, heading into 12/30, is that both 12/28 and 12/29 had produced spectacular jams in “No Men In No Men’s Land,” “Twist,” “Chalk Dust Torture,” “Ghost,” and “Split Open & Melt,” as well as solid micro jams in songs like “Tube,” “Your Pet Cat,” “Everything’s Right,” “Blaze On,” and “I Always Wanted It This Way.” The song selection had been inspired for the most part, and the overall flow of each show had been purposeful. Halfway through the run, the band had failed to produce a dud, and were poised to bring MSG to its knees, rightfully honoring their banner hanging in the rafters.

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