The group rang in the New Year in front of a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden
On December 31, Phish rang in the New Year with a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The group highlighted their performance with a rarity that hasn’t been played in full in three decades. Phish have now performed 83 sold-out shows at The Garden since their debut performance there in 1994, the same year they last played the epic “Gamehendge” in its entirety. Check out the fan-filmed footage below.
Based upon Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio’s college thesis, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, “Gamehendge” saga chronicles the adventures of Colonel Forbin, a retired colonel from Long Island, NY, who enters the land of Gamehendge to rescue a tome called the Helping Friendly Book from an evil dictator named Wilson. Gamehendge hasn’t been performed in its entirety since July 1994. While past renditions have featured Anastasio narrating the tale, last night’s once-in-a-lifetime production included a full cast of actors, dozens of dancers, aerialists, enormous puppets, a custom-built rhombus stage set, and a colossal flying mockingbird that flew around the arena. Gamehendge includes a number of beloved Phish favorites, including “The Lizards,” “Wilson,” “AC/DC Bag,” “The Divided Sky” and more.
This spring, Phish will be performing at Sphere in Las Vegas. The four-show residency is slated to start on April 18. The group follows rock icons U2, who are in the midst of the inaugural residency at the groundbreaking venue. Check out the full list of dates below.
“From the moment we first heard about Sphere and its potential, we’ve been dreaming up ways to bring our show to this breathtaking canvas,” said Trey Anastasio, Phish guitarist and vocalist. “We’re thrilled to present this completely unique experience to Phish fans.”
Sphere is powered by next-generation technologies, including a 160,000 square-foot LED display inside the main venue bowl that wraps up, over, and around the audience, creating a fully immersive visual environment. At 16K x 16K, it is the highest-resolution LED screen on earth. The venue also features Sphere Immersive Sound, powered by HOLOPLOT, the world’s most advanced concert-grade audio system, which delivers audio with unmatched clarity and precision to every guest.
Widely recognized among live music’s most beloved and inventive artists, Phish has played over 2,000 shows since their formation, regularly selling out multiple nights at arenas across North America including such annual traditions as sold-out Labor Day weekend runs at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park soccer stadium outside of Denver, Halloween extravaganzas, and four-night New Year’s Eve celebrations at NYC’s world-famous Madison Square Garden.
In 2017, Phish performed The Bakers’ Dozen, a 13-night concert series that saw the band play 237 unique songs, repeating none during the entire run. The 13 shows concluded with Phish being presented with a banner commemorating the unprecedented series, which hangs in The Garden’s rafters alongside ones for Billy Joel and Harry Styles.
In addition to the four-night run at Sphere in Las Vegas, 2024 will see Phish hosting its first curated festival in nearly a decade, set for August 15-18, 2024 at The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware.