Phish - New Year's Eve 1995 December 25, 2005 - Arizona Central By Michael Senft *** 1/2 - Now that Vermont jam band Phish has disbanded, phans no longer need to worry about uneven studio albums. Instead the band will release classic live shows, such as New Years Eve 1995, which captures the band in fine form at Madison Square Garden just as it was beginning to become the live superstars of the late '90s jam scene. The three-disc set doesn't feature many tunes recognizable to non-phans, but it does include plenty of improvisational gems, a lot of humor and a few covers, like Collective Soul's Shine and the Who's Drowned, thrown in for good measure. Much of the show is composed of tunes from the band's mostly unreleased "Gamehendge" song cycle, based on a musical fairy tale Phish leader Trey Anastasio composed for his senior thesis in college. The show includes such rocking numbers as Maze and Chalk Dust Torture. New Years Eve 1995 may not be the best introduction to the demented improvisations of Phish, but it's a fun document with plenty of gems for both phans and non-phans. Article Copyright © 2005 Arizona Central