The Baker's Dozen was a series of thirteen concerts performed by Vermont-based jam band Phish between July 21 and August 6, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Each night featured a completely unique setlist with no songs repeated throughout the event, with the band playing 237 songs in total. The full set of shows was released as a box set entitled The Complete Baker's Dozen, alongside a three-disc live album of highlights, The Baker's Dozen: Live at Madison Square Garden.
Background
Phish had planned to perform a Baker's Dozen themed concert series since before their 2004 breakup. Keyboardist Page McConnell told Relix in 2007 that the original plan was to hold 13 concerts at either Madison Square Garden or the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. McConnell said the reason the shows were not held when originally planned because, "Even if creatively it made sense to the four of us, the management – I don't want to say they wouldn’t let us do it, but really, they just wouldn't let us do it."
Phish announced the Baker's Dozen shows on their website on January 17, 2017, and held the residency at the conclusion of their Summer Tour, following shows in Chicago, Dayton, and Pittsburgh.
Each night of the residency was themed around a different variety of doughnut – and this played into the band's song selection for that night. Examples include their performance of Junior Senior's "Shake Your Coconuts" on the opening "coconut" night and covering The Velvet Underground (with "Sunday Morning") on the "red velvet" night, both of which were debuts.
Each show also featured a special doughnut served each night to the audience by Federal Donuts of Philadelphia.
Arguably the most well-received night of the run was July 25, the "jam-filled" night, which had extended improvisation on songs that typically did not feature them, the most infamous of which being a 30-minute version of "Lawn Boy", a track which usually does not exceed four minutes. During the "Boston Cream" night on August 5, the band performed a medley of songs by the bands Boston and Cream.
The Complete Baker's Dozen
A box set of all thirteen shows was released as The Complete Baker's Dozen as a limited release on November 30, 2018.
Track listing
July 21 – Coconut
Disc one
Set I: "Shake Your Coconuts" (Jesper Mortensen) – 3:54 "Martian Monster" (Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell) – 6:02 → "Timber" (Josh White, Sam Gary) – 8:25 → "555" (Gordon, Scott Murawski) – 6:36 "Pigtail" (Anastasio, Tom Marshall) – 8:37 "Halfway to the Moon" (McConnell) – 9:06 "Reba" (Anastasio) – 12:53 "Moonage Daydream" (David Bowie) – 6:07 "Walls of the Cave" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 11:47
Disc two
Set II: "Tweezer" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) – 16:01 → "Seven Below" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 13:14 → "Billy Breathes" (Anastasio) – 5:24 "Sparkle" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 4:09 "Everything's Right" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 11:41 → "Slave to the Traffic Light" (Anastasio, Dave Abrahamas, Steve Pollak) – 9:24 → "Suzy Greenberg" (Anastasio, Pollak) – 8:06 "Coconut" (Harry Nilsson) – 2:50
Disc threeEncore: "The Mango Song" (Anastasio) – 8:11
"Good Times Bad Times" (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Robert Plant) – 5:49
July 22 – Strawberry
Disc fourSet I: "Strawberry Fields Forever" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:55
"Halley's Comet" (Richard Wright) – 6:23 →
"The Moma Dance" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell, Marshall) – 17:30 →
"Breath and Burning" (Anastasio) – 10:07 →
"Funky Bitch" (Son Seals) – 7:09
"Mound" (Gordon) – 6:12
"Foam" (Anastasio) – 8:49
"Roggae" (Anastasio, Foshman, Gordon, McConnell, Marshall) – 10:39
Disc fiveSet I, continued: "The Squirming Coil" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 11:14Set II:'' "Down with Disease" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 19:02 → "Strawberry Letter 23" (Shuggie Otis) – 5:21 → "Birds of a Feather" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell, Marshall) – 6:29 "I Always Wanted it This Way" (McConnell) – 10:01 → "All of These Dreams" (Anastasio, Marshall, Herman) – 4:08 "Split Open and Melt" (Anastasio) – 11:18 → "Down with Disease" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 7:04 → "Shine a Light" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 5:03
Disc six
Encore: "Peaches en Regalia" (Frank Zappa) – 3:33 "Cities" (David Byrne) – 4:45 "My Sweet One" (Fishman) – 3:53