Written by: Geoff Tischman

It’s hard to believe that my first Phish show was almost 30 years ago.

But time passes, and here we are in 2017 and Phish has never sounded better.

I caught the legendary Vermont act near the end of their Baker’s Dozen run at Madison Square Garden–a series of thirteen dates (July 21-August 6) that found the band never playing the same song twice.

The band’s run has found them playing covers from everyone by the Velvet Underground to Scott Joplin to Tom Waits and the covers they’ve chosen have corresponded with the donuts that fans were treated with each night.

The show I saw found Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” being complemented by maple donuts, while an early show had Waits’ “Way Down In The Hole” served up with donut holes.

You get the idea.

The Baker’s Dozen edible tour accent caught the donut maker enlisted to do the honors by surprise.

NPR’s World Cafe’ reported: A couple months ago, Felicia D’Ambrosio, co-owner of Federal Donuts, got an email from Phish, a band she’s been crazy about and following for years. The email simply listed flavors. The flavors, while mostly conventional ideas such as strawberry and powdered, had much bigger meaning than D’Ambrosio could’ve imagined at the time. They’d play into a nightly theme for the celebrated jam band’s 13-show residency, aptly known as the Baker’s Dozen, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden from July 21 to August 6. And Phish asked D’Ambrosio’s popular Philadelphia doughnut and fried chicken shop to provide treats to concert-goers as they enter the show each night.”

NPR went on to say: “D’Ambrosio says it was hard to keep herself from sharing any insider information about Baker’s Dozen themes leading up to the residency. But she admits to feeling privileged knowing what was to come of the shows when she saw their list of preferred flavors. ‘When I saw [jam-filled] in their total brainstorm of ideas I was like, ‘Oh, man, the band is promising what they are going to deliver,” D’Ambrosio says. “Then later we found out these flavors would drive this gag, which is sort of central to the Phish experience, with all its fun surprises with everything that happens at the show. And everyone has been like, ‘I can’t believe you kept it a secret.'”

SET 1:

O Canada, Crowd Control, Sugar Shack, When The Circus Comes, Daniel Saw The Stone, Army Of One, The Wedge, Guelah Papryus, Maple Leaf Rag, McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters, Limb By Limb, Away

SET 2:

Golden Age, Leaves, Swept Away, Steep, 46 Days, Piper, Possum

Encore: Rock ‘n Roll Suicide