"McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters" opens the third set. This is another song who's lyrics predate the conception of the Gamehendge setting.[1] Despite not appearing on "TMWSIY", it has appeared at some point or another in every previous live performance of the Gamehendge saga, usually as a summary of the events of the story from a shepherd witnessing them from afar.
"McGrupp" and its placement in tonight's performance serve multiple purposes. The most visible one is that it allows for McGrupp, a character that gets seldom mentioned in the text of the story, their flowers as they prance around the stage. Additionally, it alludes to some events that go on in the world below such as Tela's death. Finally, the idea of "McGrupp" serving as a straightforward summary of the story from a neutral point of view is subverted. Instead, "McGrupp" and the subsequent bit of narration tie together to become a warning that the rest of the story will cut completely outside the lines.
Jimmy and his grandma reappear from beneath the stage to continue narration. Tela is mourned, and Trey has a back and forth with Jimmy and his grandma about whether she really was a spy.[2] The Wolf refuses to give the Helping Friendly Book back to the collective ownership of the lizards upon having the sum total of all the world's knowledge in her hands. Interrestingly, the narration phrases this turn of events as a last-second betrayel of her ideals once the chance to seize the Book for herself arises, almost as if she was corrupted by it.
Regardless, Colonel Forbin sees this turn of events and decides that the last recourse for good to triumph over evil is to seek divine aid immediately. He must rendezvous with the Great and Knowledgeable Icculus post-haste.
Colonel Forbin's Ascent/Fly Famous Mockingbird
Musically, "Colonel Forbin's Ascent" carries its weight and then some in service of reinforcing the gravity of the situation. The opening riff and verse set the stage showing Forbin, at wit's end, powering through the physical and mental obstacles he faces on his way to the summit of the mountain. A bridge connects this to the first double time section, which shows forces of nature beyond Forbin's control in action. The second half of the song mirrors the first: the next slow section describing Forbin's cascade from the end of the upheaval to the descent of Icculus, connected to a double time section where Icculus explains the power of the Helping Friendly Book and calls upon the Famous Mockingbird to retrieve it.
On stage, the Rhombus, whose dimensions have been waxing and waning throughout the show, returns to its maximum height so Forbin can climb up it. The act of ascending the Rhombus has its origins in experiences from Trey's real life. The Rhombus is a real sculpture originally titled "New Piece", fixated outside the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ.[3] One day, Trey and other Phish lyricists were able to climb to the top of the Rhombus, slide down the door, and start a bonfire inside. When they climbed out, the vantage point from the top of the Rhombus showed a sky divided between light and dark.[4]
As the Famous Mockingbird begins its flight, it is revealed that the wisdom of the Helping Friendly Book was within the lizards (and the audience) the whole time. The Mockingbird's majestic flight path throughout MSG with the Helping Friendly Book in hand is, in effect, blessing the audience with its presence.[5] The band and backing choir going through "Fly Famous Mockingbird" accentuates this as the emotional climax of the narrative.
The final repitition of "Mockingbird"'s refrain brings with it a sense of resolution for the subjects of the Gamehendge saga. The lizards would once again have regular access to the teachings of the Helping Friendly Book. Colonel Forbin would finally get to see a conflict resolved in the way he thought the world should work: good triumphing over evil with no strings attached.
Split Open and Melt
Remember, way back before we stepped through the corridor into Gamehendge, when Trey introduced Annie Golden as Jimmy's grandmother? Ahead of this introduction, Trey lamented that Jimmy lacked a strong female influence in his life, specifically to counteract Jimmy's father, who's primary purpose in the "Harpua" story is to announce the death of Poster Nutbag, being a "gaslighting asshole". The last time we see Jimmy in this performance, he is with Poster Nutbag, who was alive and well this whole time![6]
What better way to parallel Jimmy reuniting with Poster than Colonel Forbin reuniting with McGrupp? In previous tellings of the Gamehendge saga, Forbin ends up forcibly seperated from McGrupp and becomes the first prisoner of Errand Wolfe's new regime. This, combined with Poster Nutbag being alive the whole time, reinforce the idea that this is the happiest ending of them all. Everything up to this point has been timed so that this denouement occurs as midnight approaches. In the midst of these two cathartic reunions, Jimmy's grandma leads the countdown to the new year and the latest installment of the Phish tradition of ringing it in with "Auld Lang Syne", long associated with the celebration of one another and ourselves.
Of course, this is Phish we are talking about. Going into a Phish show, one must always expect the unexpected. Even on this night of nights, where many a concertgoer's ultimate bucket list item got crossed off, there had to be one final twist (though not a "Twist", as that was played the night before) in store. Remember when there was an upheaval going on as Colonel Forbin was climbing up the mountain to meet Icculus? One could easily chalk that up to simply divine providence at work. Trey unveils the real cause of that by divulging one very important detail he forgot to tell Jimmy and his grandmother: that the mountain that Forbin met Icculus on was actually an active volcano.
"Split Open and Melt" becomes the newest addition to the Gamehendge canon, chronicling the volcanic eruption that ended Lizard society. Jamming this routine crowd-pleaser out as we transition from the land of lizards to the modern world rings in 2024. The visual accompaniment of this jam includes Chris Kuroda's lights changing to the colors of volcanic activity, the Rhombus setpiece flattening as the jam progresses, and the lizards dancing the night away as they jump off stage one by one, their final departure from the land of Gamehendge.
This finale paints the original thesis of TMWSIY, as explained in Trey's process paper, that one must accept the inevitability of things and make decisions based on that assumption, in a new light. The original TMWSIY narration frames this in a cynical matter: the inevitability was that there would always be evil people looking to stoke conflict over possession of the Helping Friendly Book, and refusing to accept that inevitability proved to be the downfall of Colonel Forbin (and Lizard society at large). The use of "Possum" as the original epilogue makes perfect sense in this framework: Icculus looks down from atop his mountain and sees that the inevitability of things claimed another victim as if said victim was roadkill.[7] Using the newly canonized "Split Open and Melt" instead puts a silver lining on a different inevitability: sure, the world may end, but there's always a party at the end of the world.
This ends up tying every story beat from the Gamehendge universe together. All the way back in "The Lizards", the secret to obtaining eternal joy and never-ending splendor as written in the Helping Friendly Book was declared to be "surrender to the flow". This full meaning of this phrase has been public knowledge since Trey's senior study was uploaded to the internet. Jimmy's grandma's proclamation that the wisdom of the Book was within us all along rings truer with this in mind. Finally, as the volcanic eruption continues on (represented both visually, and musically), the lizards continue to play along with the eternal joy and never-ending splendor the Book preaches.
You Enjoy Myself
Now that I've gone through two articles worth of connecting Gamehendge dots, the question remains: where does 12/31/2023 fit in the Phish pantheon? I've always viewed Phish's greatest strength as them defying genres across a broad body of work (improvisational skills are baked in here). As a result, there is a moment in Phishtory for everyone.
The shows one holds dearest to them are informed by what they value most out of Phish. If you fancy yourself a "lore" enthusiast, 12/31/2023 obviously has that in spades, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this. As a child of the reunion, and a fan of narrative arcs that get formed by the escapade of real people, what makes this show so special is that it's the culmination of seeds planted all the way back when Trey submitted his senior study, of increasing levels of theatrics involved in each NYE gag, of a commitment to really lock in the band's most intricately composed pieces starting with the reunion, of "Harpua" becoming an event in and of itself, and many more.
Sirius XM's dedicated Phish channel has started playing an ad bumper putting the crowd pop Annie Golden recieved from saying the word "Gamehendge" up next to bites from Big Cypress and the Baker's Dozen. There is a throughline between these three achievements, namely they served as the band pushing themselves to exceed limits. The 7-hour set that rang in the new millennium at Big Cypress remains the band's zenith because they made it through the ultramarathon set at the one shot they got at it. The Baker's Dozen was a thought the band had in mind for years, and were able to make that reality by maximizing the emphasis they had on show-to-show variety with some once-in-a-lifetime (though not "Once in a Lifetime") jams. The canonical performance of Gamehendge is Phish's foray into extending Broadway out to Madison Square Garden.
Put it simply, this was an all-timer no matter how you butter it.
