Article Contributed by Jamie Huenefeld
Published on 2026-07-31
The ceiling at Madison Square Garden bled Knicks blue and orange before a note was played, and the stage lights followed suit. It was the right welcome for the last night of Phish's "Phish In Five" residency, a five-show run in which the Vermont quartet devoted each night to a single year of its own history. July 22 was 1992. July 29 was 1996, and also the band's ninety-sixth performance at the Garden. That piece of arithmetic seemed to delight the band as much as anyone in the building.
Three-quarters of the band walked out dressed for the occasion. Trey Anastasio wore a lime-green velour shirt cut from the same cloth that he wore for the Clifford Ball Festival, held August 16-17, 1996 at the former air force base in Plattsburgh, New York. Mike Gordon wore a green muscle shirt with neon yellow pants, which was also a Clifford Ball outfit. Jon Fishman arrived in a weathered muumuu held together with duct tape, and plausibly the same one that survived the festival.
The crew rolled out a stand with four cordless mics, and the band opened acappella with "The Star-Spangled Banner." The tune had not appeared since December 28, 2016, a gap of 362 shows, and that one happened in this same building. The cover's debut was also at Madison Square Garden on October 17, 1996. A barbershop national anthem opener is a patriotic rarity for this band.
They picked up their instruments for "McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters," last heard at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 18. The Gamehendge tune, drawn from Anastasio's college thesis The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, was short and precisely executed, and pivoted on a dime into a high-powered "Axilla (Part II)." Anastasio started singing the lyrics to "Axilla," caught himself, mentioned that the band had "already played that one," and switched to Part II. The Hoist tune got a jam that stretched well past its usual dimensions where the band slid into a slightly dark, heavy sequence.
That gave way to a carnival sound from Page McConnell's electric piano that could only mean "Esther." Anastasio was razor sharp through the Junta vintage, and the soaring outro landed. A ten-minute "Guyute" followed, with Fishman operating as a machine through the composed sections. Anastasio then switched to acoustic guitar for the rarely played "Talk," a Billy Breathes deep cut that had been on the shelf since October 13, 2023, a 122-show wait. The acoustic stayed on for "If I Could," another song last played at Merriweather on July 18.
McConnell took the microphone next for "Bold As Love." Phish played the Jimi Hendrix cover exactly once in all of 1996, and had not touched the classic rock tune since June 21, 2025 at SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. Chris Kuroda aka CK5 shaped the lights to the lyrics as the colors turned over. Anastasio crushed the solo and Fishman was a beast behind him.
"Colonel Forbin's Ascent" followed with McConnell on baby grand, the band firing on all cylinders. The transition into "Fly Famous Mockingbird" was seamless. Notably, this version carried no narration between the two frequently paired tunes, which had last appeared together at Sphere in Las Vegas on April 18. This omission was a foreshadowing of what was yet to come. Anastasio nailed the composed sections, Gordon held down the low end and led at several points, and everyone stayed in sync through a soft landing.
The Garden lost it's collective mind as Gordon and Anastasio stepped up to the mic and launched into "Harpua." McConnell opened on clavinet. Anastasio told the story of Harpua the dog who went looking for trouble and normally finds Jimmy. Jimmy, however, was not there. Jimmy was in Plattsburgh, lifted into the clouds by the vibrations at the Clifford Ball and left behind when the version went unfinished in 1996. Fishman's samples landed exactly where they needed to. McConnell played a free-Jimmy melody on the Moog. Jimmy was eventually sprung from his cloud prison, thirty years older and having missed a great deal, including McConnell's sandwiches, the Baker's Dozen, Anastasio's rescue from the stuck platform at the Garden on December 31, 2019 and every memorable festival in between. This was the first time "Colonel Forbin's Ascent" and "Harpua" had appeared in the same set, and also closed a first set that will be remembered for years.
"You Enjoy Myself" kicked off set two, and Anastasio again nailed the composed section. A glow ring war broke out on the floor. Anastasio exited the trampolines early. Most nights the vocal jam is the exit but tonight, the band simply kept playing. Gordon dropped in a tasty bass jam, and a funky vocal jam led into a clav-fueled extended jam with Gordon driving and Fishman holding steady. Kuroda hit every peak. McConnell returned to the baby grand and brought elegance to match Anastasio's licks. Deep into type two territory and approaching twenty-five minutes, Anastasio moved to the mini drum kit. Fishman triggered an Austin Powers "yeah baby" sample. McConnell took the lead on Moog while Anastasio banged away. Around thirty-five minutes, Anastasio picked the guitar back up and the mood went dark with McConnell still on Moog, before the jam petered into "Waste." This mellow tune became a sing-along, and the perfect juxtaposition to the heat that preceded.
"I Didn't Know" followed, and started acappella. Fishman grabbed his trusty vacuum and was introduced as Elvis Presley by Anastasio, who informed the room straight-faced that he had played this very building in 1969. Anastasio hopped on drums as Fishman requested his cape. The remaining three started playing "Suspicious Minds," and Fishman, as Elvis, sang the country-soul classic center stage with McConnell leading the charge on baby grand. Phish had not played this cover since December 6, 1996, which is a gap of 1,021 shows. That version came at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas, and was sung by four Elvis impersonators inside a "Harpua." "Hold Your Head Up" wrapped the antics as Fishman took a victory lap across the stage in his cape.
Without looking at each other, the band dropped into a thirty-one minute "Crosseyed and Painless," the Talking Heads tune Phish learned for its Halloween 1996 costume, Remain in Light. McConnell's clavinet kept the groove funky. Gordon announced that Elvis had not left the building, a nod to Fishman's lead vocal minutes earlier. Fishman attacked the kit with a great mix of high hat and more cowbell than strictly necessary. The jam slipped into evil territory. McConnell moved back to the Moog, which delivered a synthy and disco-funk. Anastasio switched to the mini kit while Fishman kept quoting "Suspicious Minds" and slipped in a "Buffalo Bill" tease. McConnell kept thrusting, playing the Moog and electric piano together at one point. Deep in, Gordon wove through and drove a tasty bass-led sequence, with Fishman tying it to McConnell's clavinet. Anastasio returned to guitar and delivered prog-rock peaks over a funky foundation. Phish does not get better than that, and this version belongs in the JOTY conversation. "Character Zero" righteously closed the soon to be legendary set.
Anastasio returned for the encore in a Knicks jersey with the number ninety-six on the front and ANASTASIO on the back. McConnell got another moment on "A Day in the Life," killing both the vocal and the baby grand on a Beatles cover last heard September 12, 2025. Then came "Backwards Down the Number Line," a 2009 song from Joy and the only song all night that did not belong to the nineties. However, that was the point. The run had marched forward from 1992 to 1996 over five nights, and this song added a bow, because they truly went backwards down the number line.
The band heads north to Fenway Park in Boston, MA on July 31 & Aug. 1 for two nights at the ballpark. This will be their first appearances there since 2019 and part of the 2026 Fenway Concert Series. After a month off, the summer will wrap with the return of the band's Labor Day weekend tradition, where they will perform three nights at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO (Sept. 4-6), just outside Denver. The band spent last year's fourth of July holiday weekend at Folsom Field in Boulder, making this a homecoming of sorts for a run that has anchored the end of Phish summers for well over a decade. Looking further ahead, Phish will return to the Moon Palace Cancún in Quintana Roo, Mexico (Jan. 27-30, 2027) for four nights on the beach. Visit the band's tour page for the complete itinerary and ticket information.
Check out more photos from the show! Also, view our prior coverage of the Phish summer tour at Merriweather Post Pavilion (review/photos) and Madison Square Garden Night One (review/photos).
Band: Phish
Location: New York, NY
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Date: July 29, 2026
Set One: The Star-Spangled Banner [1], McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Axilla (Part II) [2] > Esther, Guyute, Talk [3][4], If I Could [4], Bold As Love [5], Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird [6], Harpua [7]
Set Two: You Enjoy Myself [8] > Waste, I Didn't Know [9] > Suspicious Minds [10] > Hold Your Head Up [11], Crosseyed and Painless [8][12] > Character Zero
Encore: A Day in the Life [13], Backwards Down the Number Line
Notes:
[1] Traditional; performed acappella. First since December 28, 2016 (362 shows).
[2] Lyrics restarted; Anastasio began "Axilla" before switching to Part II.
[3] First since October 13, 2023 (122 shows).
[4] Anastasio on acoustic guitar.
[5] Jimi Hendrix cover. First since June 21, 2025.
[6] Pairing performed without narration.
[7] First since December 31, 2023 (116 shows). Narration centered on Jimmy, stranded in the clouds for thirty years since the unfinished Clifford Ball version.
[8] Anastasio on mini drum kit.
[9] Unfinished. Fishman introduced as Elvis Presley.
[10] Elvis Presley cover, written by Mark James. First since December 6, 1996 (1,021 shows). Fishman on lead vocals.
[11] Argent cover.
[12] Talking Heads cover. Contained "Buffalo Bill" and "Suspicious Minds" teases from Fishman.
[13] The Beatles cover.
