NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Concert goers at Phish‘s April 22nd Madison Square Garden (MSG) show were treated to a visual experience celebrating the planet and Earth Day during the third set and encore. The set of performances at MSG was rescheduled and initially set to take place over New Year’s Eve.
The iconic and beloved jam band finished up Set I and Set II before the MSG stage was cleared off entirely, and a compact drum set and essential rigs were installed and centered, as reported by NYSMusic. The vast area around the stage that now surrounded the band was revealed to be a large white sheet before the band’s 11:45pm return to the stage.
Once Phish returned to the stage for “Free,” the stage was raised, bringing with it the now stretched out white sheet, which projections would appear during an Earth Day-themed third set. The five-song set “Free,” “A Wave of Hope,” “Waves,” “Sand,” and “Split Open and Melt” were played while water and laser projections lit up the stage from underneath. However, Phish wasn’t done with their visual onslaught.
During “Split Open and Melt,” long lines of kelp were dropped from the ceiling; the tech team turned on all the blue lighting and gave the illusion the band was playing underwater as the kelp drifted back and forth.
During “Waves,” drone-operated dolphins appeared, floating through the air as they flipped around through waves of fog. The famed blue whale from the American Museum of Natural History arose moments later, coasting through the water and providing a stunning visual for the sold-out crowd.
As the stage was lowered and Phish readied for their encore, the sound of crackling ice could be heard all around, giving the fans an idea that the single-song encore would be “It’s Ice.”
Social media lit up with videos and comments regarding the drone-operated marine life. Jamie S. said, “Most insane concert experience I have ever been part of.” Christina L. on social media said,
“For 30 minutes, the arena felt like the ocean, with a blue color all around, making all of us think we were underwater.”
Check out some of the videos below. According to the description on the video, the creative team came from a company called Moment Factory.
