Screengrabs courtesy of LivePhish

Last night, Phish took their annual New Year’s Eve gig to new heights as guitarist Trey Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon celebrated the new year (and the band’s 60th show at Madison Square Garden) by taking flight for Kasvot Växt standout “Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”

Anticipation hung in the air as Phish took the stage for their third set at 11:45 p.m. and fans wondered what theatrical gag the band would pull for the new year.

Anastasio and Gordon hinted at the celestial nature of their performance by wearing silver space suits, and after aerial dancers accompanied their “Mercury”> “Auld Lang Syne” countdown, 2019 began with the aforementioned “S.A.N.T.O.S.,” a high-energy space-rock romp with the two frontmen soaring through the air every time they sang the lyric “This is what space smells like.”

In the days prior, the band’s new Kavot Växt tunes were peppered throughout their MSG setlists, and Dec. 31 was no different. After kicking off night set one with a funkified “Moma Dance” the quartet offered the first “Stray Dog” since their Halloween performance in Las Vegas.

Later, fans were thrilled to hear “Lawn Boy” as keyboardist Page McConnell took centerstage and exclaimed “It’s still ‘Lawn Boy! (The “Is this still ‘Lawn Boy’?” meme emerged at the band’s Baker’s Dozen residency, and continues to inspire t-shirts and online debate.)

Following a “Steam”> “Chalk Dust Torture”> “What’s the Use?” segment, the band enjoyed the second-ever go-around of Kavot Växt’s “Play By Play,” with Anastasio employing a looping guitar line to add to the tune’s general intensity. After slowing things down once more with “Waste” drummer Jon Fishman told the crowd, “We have a request from the guitar player.”

“This is my favorite Phish song,” Anastasio replied.

“This is his favorite Phish song. So I must oblige him,” Fishman concluded, before leading the band on “Ass Handed.”

Set one closed with the run’s long-awaited “Run Like an Antelope,” and set two was equally filled with favorites as the band jammed straight through “Down with Disease”> “Farmhouse”> “Seven Below”> “Twist”> “Harry Hood.” The final tune appropriately made a sonic pit-stop at Kavot Växt’s “Passing Through” before finding its way back to the peak of “Harry Hood.”

Once the band rang in 2019, and romped through “S.A.N.T.O.S.” they jumped kept the energy going with “Simple” and a rocking exploration of “Saw It Again”> “Limb By Limb”> “Rock and Roll”> “Suzy Greenberg.”

Ducking backstage and returning to their normal clothing, Phish closed out their New Year’s Run with “The Lizards” and “Character Zero.”

Check out the full setlist and photos from the evening below:

Phish

December 31, 2018

Madison Square Garden, New York City 

Set I: The Moma Dance, Stray Dog, 555, Sand, Lawn Boy, Steam > Chalk Dust Torture > What’s the Use? > Play by Play, Waste, Ass Handed, Run Like an Antelope

Set II: Down with Disease > Farmhouse > Seven Below > Twist > Harry Hood > Passing Through, Harry Hood

Set III: Mercury > Auld Lang Syne, Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S., Simple, Saw It Again > Limb By Limb > Rock and Roll > Suzy Greenberg

Enc: The Lizards, Character Zero