Photo by Chris Bavaro

Phish returned to New York’s Madison Square Garden yesterday for the fourth show of their five-night summer residency at The World’s Most Famous Arena. Continuing the run’s theme, the Vermont Quartet looked back to 1995 with both their setlist and on-stage antics. Trey Anastasio also continued the trend of bringing back era-appropriate outfits by sporting a Jah Volunteer t-shirt throughout the night.

At the start of their first set, Phish briefly reprised the chess match they engaged in with their audience throughout 1995, and virtually in 2020 during COVID, with Page McConnell humorously making a single check-mate move on the stage while Red Light Management’s Jason Comfort narrated the game on the venue’s PA. Phish then picked up their instruments and launched into “Wilson,” a ’80s tune they regularly played in 1995 and which was officially released that year on A Live One. (The performance captured on that double album is from Phish’s 1994 Garden debut.) “Wilson” segued into Phish’s cover of “Timber (Jerry the Mule),” which was revived in 1995 after sitting on the shelf for three years, and then Jon Fishman’s rarely performed “Ha Ha Ha,” which the band debuted at 1995’s Voters for Choice benefit in Lowell, MA and hadn’t played since August 27, 2021. During “Timber (Jerry the Mule),” Anastasio also nodded to 1995 by playing the auxiliary percussion kit that he employed that year, as he reportedly tried to shift the band’s emphasis away from his lead guitar and push their rhythm in a different direction.

From there, Phish moved into another 1995 staple, “Scent of a Mule,” “Theme from the Bottom”–a second song they debuted at the Lowell Voters for Choice benefit–and “Halley’s Comet,” the Richard Wright original that developed into a jam vehicle as the band moved into larger venues and stretched out their material on a more regular basis. Anastasio also played around on his percussion kit during the quirky cover, before it segued into the beautiful “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday” and the sacred selection “Avenu Malkenu,” marking the rare time, in recent memory, when Phish has played the Hebrew prayer twice in the same calendar year. The first half of the show then came to a close with 1995 staples “NICU,” “Funky Bitch” and “Taste,” the latter of which the band worked out in real time that year as it evolved from “The Fog That Surrounds” and “The Taste That Surrounds.”

For their second set, Phish kicked things off with another cherished tune, “The Curtain With.” However, their decision to play the oft-requested number briefly broke from their 1995 narrative since the band didn’t dust off the selection between 1988-2000 while they reworked its ending into “Rift” and performed the rest of the song as “The Curtain.” Yesterday’s version of the number uncoiled into an extended jam that surfaced as a 15-minute version of “Prince Caspian,” another 1995 debut, and then a 29-minute cover of The Who’s “Drowned,” which Phish picked up after covering Quadrophenia on Halloween in 1995 and had not performed live since October 15, 2023 after years of regular play. From there, Phish moved into yet another song they debuted in 1995, the tender “Billy Breathes” and an extended version of “It’s Ice” that found Anastasio back on percussion for a bit. The set then capped off with Phish’s take on the Chuck Berry rocker “Johnny B. Goode,” which they introduced into their repertoire in 1995 but dropped after a July 8, 1998, show in Spain, and, finally, “Free,” the Billy Breathes single that first surfaced at the previously mentioned Lowell show

For their encore, Phish revisited one final Lowell 1995 debut, “Strange Design” and then offered a cover of The Rolling Stones’ classic “Loving Cup.”

Phish will return to MSG tomorrow, revisiting 1996.

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via Phish.net

Monday, July 27, 2026, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Set I: Wilson > Timber (Jerry the Mule)[1], Ha Ha Ha, Scent of a Mule, Theme from the Bottom, Halley’s Comet[1] -> The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu, NICU, Funky Bitch, Taste

Set II: The Curtain With > Prince Caspian[1] > Drowned[1] > Billy Breathes > It’s Ice[1], Johnny B. Goode, Free

E: Strange Design, Loving Cup

[1] Trey on mini drum kit.

This show was Phish’s 95^th performance at Madison Square Garden, included several 1995-related references (a setlist composed of songs from the band’s 1995 era, Trey wearing a Jah Volunteer shirt, a chess board, and a mini drum kit) and featured multiple bustouts: Ha Ha Ha (last played August 27, 2021, or 231 shows), Drowned (last played October 15, 2023, or 113 shows), and Johnny B. Goode (last played August 8, 1998, or 927 shows). Wilson was preceded by Page’s chess move for the band (the P.A. announced a checkmate, but Page moved the band’s rook to C4 rather than A4, threatening the audience’s queen rather than king). Timber (Jerry the Mule), Halley’s Comet, Prince Caspian, Drowned, and It’s Ice featured Trey on a mini drum kit. Trey teased Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35 in Timber (Jerry the Mule), San-Ho-Zay in Halley’s Comet, Tequila and Cissy Strut (along with the rest of the band) in Drowned, and Johnny B. Goode in Loving Cup.