Phish: Madison Square Garden 12/29+30/1997

After a standout show on 12/29/97, the band gave a loose, funky performance on the second night of their three-night stand at Madison Square Garden. The band came out of the gates smoking on night three of a four-show holiday tour on December 30th with "Sneakin' Sally Thru The Alley" > "Taste". The nearly 3.5 hour marathon was capped by a playful, non-stop second set that highlighted a sublime "AC/DC Bag", rare "McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters" and a heavily-narrated "Harpua" which introduced elements of the New Year's Eve Udder Ball gag and Tom Marshall's mysterious appearance from Trey's past for Phish's first and only cover of The Proclaimer's "I Wanna Be (500 Miles)". An extended "Harry Hood" > "My Soul" and a deep, four-song encore of "Carini" > "Black-Eyed Katy" > a reprised "Sneakin' Sally" and "Frankenstein" completed a curfew-breaking second set so long that the band got to wish the audience an early happy new year. Paul Languedoc's 2-track soundboard mix mastered by Fred Kevorkian was sync'd to all the available video shot from the front-of-house position to create this latest LivePhish Video offering. 12/30/97 Madison Square Garden is an excellent example of just how fun a Phish Holiday show could be. Alone or as a necessary companion to the previous show, this is must-hear (and must-see) Phish from the archives. Enjoy!