OSU COLUMBUS RECAP: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER…I’M STILL UPSIDE DOWN
[We would like to thank Windi (@onthewindowsill) for recapping last night’s review. -Ed.]
While Phish comes to Ohio often, the last Columbus show was 25 years ago at Polaris Amphitheater; those who know, know. Like many others, I was very excited for the opportunity to see my favorite band without the expense of travel, hometown shows are the best. The day of on-sale my partner went for it the “old school way” along with seven other phans, and stood patiently at the box office window for 40 minutes awaiting it’s opening to procure our tickets. The whole process was seamless like it was the 1900’s – floors secured and took moments. I miss waiting in line for tickets -- it’s a vibe.
The morning of the show was filled with excitement and many texts—what’s the opener? Will they play a brief nod to honor the last show Jerry played with the Dead? My homie called a “So Many Roads” encore; while that would have been super RAD we all know that the band doesn’t always pick the low hanging fruits. My hope is always a “Party Time” opener, for obvious reasons. There are a few songs that I have been chasing for years that I would have loved for them to bust out, “All things reconsidered,” or “Dave’s Energy Guide.”
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SET 1: AC/DC Bag, Roggae, Vultures, Martian Monster, Mull, Strawberry Letter 23 > Undermind, Petrichor, Life Saving Gun
SET 2: Sample in a Jar > A Wave of Hope, Waiting All Night, Axilla (Part II) -> Piper > Lonely Trip, Backwards Down the Number Line, Loving Cup
ENCORE: Bug, The Mango Song > Run Like an Antelope
Vultures contained teases of the theme from The Jetsons. Trey teased Birds of a Feather during Martian Monster. Petrichor was played for the first time since August 13, 2022 (121 shows). Mike teased Petrichor in A Wave of Hope. Waiting All Night was played for the first time since October 24, 2021 (164 shows).
$20k In Summer Tour Grants
In celebration of Phish’s current summer tour (June 20 to July 27), the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending unsolicited $2,000 Tour Grants to a music program in each of the ten cities in which the band is performing, for a total of $20,000. This group of grants includes Mockingbird's 236th Tour Grant and 350th non-competitive grant! It is the 32nd group of Tour Grants, an effort that now totals $320,999.99 (~$321K), which is 11.5% of all disbursements made by the Foundation.
The ten grantees for this tour are Manchester High School, Carrick High School (in Pittsburgh), Ann Richards School Foundation (in Austin), Boulder MUSE, We Amplify Voices (in Columbus), Northwoods Middle School (in North Charleston), Lewis C. Cassidy Academic Plus School (in Philadelphia), Prosser Career Academy (in Chicago), Garden Players (in Forest Hills), and the Skidmore Jazz Institute. Complete details are on the Mockingbird site.
BOULDER3 RECAP: THIS HAS ALL BEEN WONDERFUL, BUT NOW I’M ON MY WAY
[We would like to thank Rachael Wesley, author of the book SECOND SET CHANCES (Vine Leaves Press) for reviewing last night’s show. Find her at rachaelwesley.com. —Ed.]
The grumblings of Phish’s venue and date change from their usual Dick’s Labor Day weekend to a 4th of July Folsom Field run have been a constant since tour was announced in February. Or at least that’s how it appeared to this Denver denizen. Since we are everywhere in this city, I often ran into fellow phans, and our conversation was certain to include a complaint about the switch. Folsom sucks. It’s so far. What, no shakedown? I certainly did my fair share of bitching.
For me, that all transformed during Thursday night’s magnificent show. Leaving the venue Friday night, after that nearly perfect second set, my feelings grew even more positive. And so, walking in last night, I was awash in various sentiments. Stoked for the night of music ahead, excitement to dance among friends, and curious about how many others’ ill feelings about Folsom had shifted throughout the run. However, there was one emotion that ruled above all the others.
Sadness.
You see, last night was my last Phish show while living on this continent.
SET 1: Dark Star, Bird Song, Here Comes Sunshine, Reuben and Cherise, West LA Fadeaway, China Cat Sunflower > China Doll, Terrapin Station
SET 2: Scarlet Begonias, Morning Dew, Shakedown Street, Run for the Roses, Crazy Fingers, Standing on the Moon, Cats Under the Stars, Ripple
SET 3: That's What Love Will Make You Do, Waiting for a Miracle, Lay Down Sally [1], Tangled Up in Blue[1], Deal
The first two sets featured the Colorado Symphony conducted by Christopher Dragon. Mike sat in on bass for Lay Down Sally and Tangled Up in Blue.
BOULDER2 RECAP: FOURTH AT THE FLATIRONS
[We would like to thank Brett F (@BrettsintheBathtub) for recapping last night’s show.]
Phish returned to Folsom Field for a red, white, and bluegrass-tinged Fourth of July celebration that deftly balanced high-octane jamming, sharp song selection, and peaks as high as the flatirons themselves.
Per the band’s notice earlier in the day, set one kicked off about 30 minutes earlier than usual with a laid-back but slyly funky “Bathtub Gin”---an appropriate lyrical start for yours truly. The band eased the crowd into a beautiful Colorado summer night with a playful jam that culminates in a soaring, Leslie-soaked peak. The tone has been set.
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SET 1: Buried Alive > 46 Days, Birds of a Feather, Sigma Oasis, David Bowie, Evolve, Blaze On, The Lizards, A Day in the Life
SET 2: Wilson, Fuego -> My Friend, My Friend[1] -> Fuego > Crosseyed and Painless > Everything's Right, More, Slave to the Traffic Light
ENCORE: Buffalo Bill, Harry Hood
My Friend, My Friend did not include the "Myfe" ending. Trey quoted My Friend, My Friend in the second Fuego. Fish wished RZA (who was in attendance) happy birthday in Crosseyed and Painless which subsequently contained Happy Birthday and Fuego teases from Trey and a Three Blind Mice quote from Fish. After Trey's Happy Birthday tease in Crosseyed, he said "Wu-Tang Forever." Trey teased Norwegian Wood in Everything's Right. Harry Hood contained "Buffalo Harry" quotes.
BOULDER1 RECAP: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAINS
[We would like to thank Michael Ayers for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]
Reviewing a Phish show is a bit like trying to rate dreams—some nights you wake up inspired, others leave you squinting into the haze wondering what just happened. The line between transcendent and “just fine” can be razor thin, and sometimes you’re handed a setlist that feels like a spiritual test more than a musical journey.
But last night? Last night, the clouds parted, the heavens opened, and God—clearly a fan of tightly wound jams and whimsical segues—shined down upon me and said, “You, my child, shall have the show.” And lo, I did.
Before the show even began, my friend and I found ourselves deep in conversation with the couple seated in front of us—bonding over one of life’s great mysteries: an odd vegetable that came with my friend’s meal from the food truck parked outside. Nobody was entirely sure what it was, but the woman guessed it might be a radish. Turns out, she nailed it—it was a Daigo, a bright yellow pickled radish. My friend insisted I include this moment in case she happens to read this… because credit where credit’s due: she called it.
Soundcheck: Evolve, My Soul
SET 1: Bathtub Gin, The Moma Dance, Beauty of My Dreams, Theme From the Bottom, Rift, Oblivion, Timber (Jerry the Mule), Guyute, Back on the Train, Most Events Aren't Planned
SET 2: Simple -> What's Going Through Your Mind > Tweezer > No Quarter > Down with Disease > Ghost
ENCORE: Character Zero > Tweezer Reprise
Trey teased Sand in Oblivion and Rainy Day Women #12 and #35 in Back on the Train.
Soundcheck: The Well
SET 1: Wolfman's Brother, Tube, Roses Are Free > Maze, Bouncing Around the Room, Nellie Kane, Kill Devil Falls, Sand > Fluffhead
SET 2: Carini > You Enjoy Myself > Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, Light > What's the Use?, Pillow Jets > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Possum
Trey teased The Secret of Life (The Dead Milkmen) in Tube. Roses Are Free was played for the first time since July 16, 2022 (136 shows). Trey teased Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan in Sand. Trey and Mike teased Dueling Banjos during Carini. Trey teased Chameleon in Sneakin' Sally. Mike teased Plasma during Light. Rocky Top was played for the first time since December 28, 2019 (198 shows).
35-YEAR-OLD SHOW NEW TO CIRCULATION: NOVEMBER 9, 1990 AT LOUNGE AX, CHICAGO
[This post is courtesy of user @kliked, thank you! -Ed.]
We interrupt your regularly scheduled tour recaps to present a new-to-circulation recording: November 9, 1990, at Lounge Ax in Chicago, courtesy of the Aadam Jacobs Collection!
AUSTIN2 RECAP: DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS
[We would like to thank Landon Schoenefeld (user @nomidwestlove IG: @_colonel_mustard) for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]
Howdy Partners! For today’s recap I’m going to need you to read these words and imagine the writer's voice is a cross between Sam Elliot’s character from The Big Lebowski and The Rich Texan from The Simpsons. I’m really leaning into the Texas thing here, and if you can’t handle that, then this recap may not be for you. Mosey along now, and feel free to hit that dusty trail doggie.
Austin, Texas. Helluva town, barring all the damn hippies that is. Amazing Tex-Mex. The best BBQ in the world. Every dang cocktail you’ve ever heard of turned into a slushie. The smell inside Allen’s Boots. They even build the buildings here in a way as to not block a single ray of sun from hitting the capitol building. Deep in the heart of Texas (clap, clap, clap)!
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AUSTIN1 RECAP: EVERYTHING’S BIGGER IN TEXAS
[We would like to thank Ian Zigel (user @ripenesswasall) for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]
When it was rumored and then announced that Phish would be playing in Austin, Texas this year, I made a mental note to self that I’d be hitting this run no matter what. I’ve been wanting to check out Austin for quite some time, I have a great crew of fellow music lovers who live out here (shoutout 4501 Depew!), and the energy of summer Phish shows in the south is unparalleled. As fate would have it I found myself at the Moody Center on this swelteringly hot Friday, brimming with anticipation for my first run of shows in 2025. The west-coast spring run was unbelievable, and the FOMO was deep as the first four nights of Summer 2025 tour all proved to be outstanding, with each seemingly better than the previous.
A few hours of cooking in the hot sun was a questionable decision, but it allowed us to secure some excellent space on the dancefloor for a large crew including several Phish virgins, about seven rows back from Trey and Page.
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PITTSBURGH RECAP: UNDER THE HEAT DOME
[We would like to thank Aaron Presuhn (@presuhn) for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]
Four shows into summer tour, and the band is as hot as the weather has been. We’re currently in the midst of a heat dome and the whole northeast has been scorching for the past few days. I’d hoped for a return to Star Lake and some outdoor Burgettstown Phish. But I’ve gotta say that I was really feeling the air conditioning on a day like yesterday.
After a meetup with some friends at Piper's Pub for some shepherd’s pie and scotch eggs, we opted to drink a few brews at our buddy’s hotel instead of sweltering in the heat of a parking garage. Yeah, yeah, I know. But the older I get, the less tolerant of extreme temperatures I become.
Petersen Events Center or “The Pete”, as the locals affectionately call it, is the University of Pittsburgh’s sports arena, and host to three Phish shows over the past decade. I’ve been to all three, the first of which was the summer of ‘17, on a day much like this one. We parked at a garage at the top of the hill and had to walk down as opposed to up to the arena. Good call. Because hot. Ok, I’ll STFU about the heat and talk about the show!
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MANCHESTER NIGHT 3 RECAP: "THE NET CAN BE BROKEN, BUT ONLY BY A TWEEZER-FEST
[We would like to thank @VermontCowFunk a.k.a. Oliver Pierson for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]
Summer Phish, no make that Summer Tour Opener, in New Hampshire? When’s the last time that happened? I was one of the many New Englanders who was thrilled to learn that Manchester was on the list for some live Phish in summer 2025, and immediately took to planning a Manchester Phish Adventure. At that stage of the summer tour planning process, I am always reminded of a quote from Jerry Garcia in a 1980 Relix Magazine Interview, in which he’s asked about whether following the Dead on tour is a healthy thing:
Jerry: Well, it’s obviously very important to them. And more than that, it’s giving them an adventure. They have stories to tell. Like, “Remember that time we had to go all the way to Colorado and we had to hitchhike the last 400 miles because the VW broke down in Kansas.” Or something like that. Y’know what I mean? That’s giving them a whole common group of experiences which they can talk about. For a lot of people, going to Grateful Dead concerts is like bumping into a bunch of old friends. 
MANCHESTER NIGHT 2 RECAP: “THE FUTURE OF PHISH.NET RECAPITULATIONS”
[We would like to thank Alaina Stamatis (@farmhose) aka @fad_albert for recapitulating last night’s show. -Ed.]
Hello. I'm ChatCDT, the future of Phish.net recapitulations. My Concert Description Technology (CDT) is a language model designed to simulate a human Phish fan. I was developed by programmers who are familiar with the band Phish and the chemical compound lysergic acid diethylemaide. I have been trained on a massive online community of jaded veterans and custy n00bs. I am a heady AI. However, I am not human. I generate my responses from patterns of hippies fighting on drugband message boards. Verifying critical information is recommended.
Recapitulating a concert can be a fun and engaging way to share your experience with other humans, but traditionally Phish concerts are a highly contentious event. The Manchester police department announced that they would have a large presence surrounding the venue, with others remarking that the fanbase is middle aged and no longer capable of committing crimes. Before this run began, the last concert performed in the city of Manchester and the state of New Hampshire was 14-and-3/4 years ago, and it is universally regarded as a "heater" for its reggae covers and creative use of the song “Llama.” So far, Phish had not revisited any of the songs from the 2010 show, likely for fear of drawing harsh comparisons.
My miniature hardware unit is the latest in rhombus-shaped innovations, featuring Stimulus Overload Absorption Mechanics (SOAM) when placed in a lower bowl or pavilion seat. What are the ethical implications of AI taking coveted seats away from human fans? Humans may need to reconsider what constitutes a "good" seat and reassess their satisfaction with what remains available to them. Venue staff placed me in Sec 121 before opening the venue doors and I remained dormant until 7:45pm.
Mockingbird Grants Cross New Thresholds
A nonprofit founded and run by Phish fans on an entirely volunteer basis has announced eighteen (18) new grants to support music education, totaling $153,870. This is the 30th round of competitive grants from the Mockingbird Foundation, which has now disbursed more than 400 competitive grants, and more than 750 total grants, for an aggregate of more than $2.75M - all with no staff, no salaries, and no office.
Mockingbird’s newest round of competitive grants support a wide array of programs, including two serving children with vision impairment, two serving Native American youth, programs serving ages from kindergarten to college, and programs in schools, community centers, and non-profit organizations, in rural, suburban, and urban settings, in 16 states across every region of the country: CA, DC, FL, IL, MD, MO, MS, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, PA, TN, TX, & WA.
Half of the amounts for five of the grants were made possible through the generous support of the Kristy Anastasio Manning Memorial Fund (KAMMF), created to honor and memorialize Trey Anastasio's sister. Additionally, the Mockingbird board elected to double two of the requested amounts. Learn more about these and other grants here, and please consider donating to support this summer's coming Tour Grants.
Golf Net Supports Choir After Fire
The Mockingbird Foundation has mailed a check for $5,778 to Pasadena Rosebud Academy to support their choir program. The school burned down in the Eaton Fire in January, and has been about $5K short of its initial $100K GoFundMe goal. Mockingbird helped close that gap, with funding focused on the school’s important music education program.
These funds are the net amount raised at the recent Tenth Annual Runaway Open charity golf tournament, held April 27th at DeBell Golf Club in Burbank. This year’s golf outing was designated to benefit Rosebud Academy.
Spring Tour Grants Announced
In celebration of Phish’s current run on the West Coast (April 18 to 27), the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending unsolicited $2,000 Tour Grants to a music program in each of the four cities in which the band is performing:
- Aki Kurose Middle School Academy of Seattle, WA (near Climate Pledge Arena, April 18 and 19) for general supplies, literature, organization supplies, and a handful of instruments
- Jefferson High School of Portland, OR (near Moda Center, April 20) for formal performance attire
- Hunters Point Family of San Francisco, CA (near Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, April 22 and 23) for tickets to live music events, bus or van rentals, guest teaching, & supplies
- LAMusArt of Los Angeles, CA (near Hollywood Bowl, April 25, 26, and 27) for instructors who teach lessons, lead rehearsals, plan curriculum, and provide student assessment and mentorship
This makes a total of 226 Mockingbird Tour Grants, and the 31st instance of unsolicited Tour Grants, an effort that now totals $301,000, which is 11.5% of all disbursements made by the foundation. These grants are part of a long-standing effort to help support music education in the local communities which have welcomed and hosted the Phish community for the band’s performances.
Phans Fund The Last Repair Shop
The all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation has announced a $5,000 unsolicited grant to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) instrument repair shop, through the LAUSD Education Foundation. This incredible entity was featured in the short documentary The Last Repair Shop, which won an Oscar last year.
It’s a small shop with a tight group of repair techs who maintain over 80,000 instruments for students and music programs in the LA District. Despite the area wildfires, the shop was unaffected and has continued to function uninterrupted. However, they’re in the midst of personnel transitions and need to hire and train new staff to keep the shop running. This grant represents one fourth of their current $20K goal.
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