Note: Starting this week, the MJM will provide more variety in terms of both the format and the difficulty of MJMs each week. Generally, every month will start with an easier MJM, and each MJM thereafter will increase in difficulty until the last MJM of each month. In other words, expect to see classic single-clip MJMs near the beginning of each month, and multi-clip + theme MJMs towards the end of each month, with other formats and levels of difficulty in between. Enjoy, and as always, constructive feedback is always welcome.

Answer: Congrats to first-time winner, @queenesther, who by identifying the 8/19/12 Light (-> Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley) by sight alone, takes home two LivePhish codes! Yes, @courvoisier was technically more accurate because @queenesther didn't mention the -> Sally, but ultimately I decided to award the code to the latter contestant because the video only features ~15 seconds of Sally, and @queenesther was 19 minutes quicker. Stay tuned on Monday, especially you MJM n00bs, when we'll have our first and easiest MJM of September.

If you’ve been a fan for a minute, you’ve heard of “festival Phish.”

It’s the mostly pejorative term for a set that’s preciously curated for non-fans who really rolled up to see Bruce Springsteen, Matt & Kim, or some craft yoga emo battalion with seven snare drummers, five fiddles, and three artisanal washboards—but decided to stick it out and finally, passively, see what Phish is all about. These dilute sets nearly always seem to include a “Moma Dance,” a “Down With Disease,” a “Joy,” and a generous helping of unapologetic ripcords.

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Hey Phish fans! It's me, The Book! Phish takes the stage at LOCKN' this weekend—with a free stream! Psyched? You bet I am! The kind folks who created me at The Mockingbird Foundation and phish.net ran a photo contest to celebrate my birth. Imagine, fans taking pictures of little ol' me! I'm only a little more than two months old, and already it feels like I've been everywhere!

What a summer it has been already! When you think summer—aside from Phish tour—you think the beach! My favorite beach visit this summer was to Morocco! Check out this shot of me from @YomeNetSan, who won third place in the contest! #ReadTheBook! It will save your life!

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Don't miss this wonderful article about Lars Fisk and his work in the New York Times, which includes some words from Trey about Mr. Fisk's work at Superball IX.

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And then there was one. Welcome to MJM Week 236, the tenth and final week of our Hall of Champions Series, Volume I. We welcome Emeritus Champion @schvice into the recording studio, where he has picked out this week's theme and tracks, all for your listening pleasure. @schvice recently gained Emeritus status, after winning his seventh MJM in Week 232, when he successfully navigated a challenging Gamehendge-based course set by @mcgrupp81. Where once he was the bane of the Blog, foiling themes and jams thought unsolvable, now @schvice has (thankfully) gone to the Dark Side, hoping that he can lead the Blog to that elusive victory number 17. Only one way to find out: let it rip.

To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of each of the three mystery jam clips, and answer what they share in common. Each person gets one attempt per day, with the second “day” starting after the Blog posts the hint -- each answer should contain three songs / dates, along with the commonality between them. No sharing or trading of answers is allowed. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. The winner will receive one MP3 code good for a free download of any show, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Good luck!

Hint:

Answer: It took a well-crafted triplet and a creative hint from the 10th and most recent MJM Emeritus @schvice, but for only the 17th time in 236 attempts, the Blog snags the W! As some users noted, the title of the video used for the hint is Mike Reed plays Groove Holmes' 1966 "Misty" up-tempo, on the Hammond Organ [emphasis mine]. The keen observer will note that the title is a play on "Mike's Groove," and the Mike in the video is certainly grooving along to the 50 year old tune; but even more fitting is the song played: "Misty." Fans well-versed in Phish's early material may recall that "I Am Hydrogen" has seldom-spoke lyrics that were used a half dozen times in the early days: "I walk awakening on the misty fields of forever." This week's "Mike's Groove" MJM consists of the 4/29/93 Weekapaug Groove, the 4/24/87 I Am Hydrogen, and the 7/12/96 Mike's Song. We'd like to once again thank @schvice and all of the MJM Emeriti for participating and crafting these awesome MJMs, and we hope to keep them involved and leverage their expertise in other ways in the future. Tune back in on Monday, when @ucpete takes over as your helping friendly host, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for some new tweaks in how the MJM is run. It has not escaped our notice that the multiclip format may be a turn-off to the unintiated, so expect a mix of classic single-clip MJMs, meta-puzzles, and other MJM shenanigans to take the sting out of Monday for everyone!

Special Thanks: I'd like to thank @ucpete for letting me be the Invisible Hand behind MJM for the past 10 weeks, helping each Emeritus Champion with crystalizing a theme, fine tuning the jam track samples, concocting the hint, and generally ensuring that the process runs smoothly. I had a blast getting to know each Emertitus Champion, and these guys, all ten, are not only great guys, but they really, really know their Phish. Thanks again @ucpete for handing the keys over and letting me take the cruise ship out for an extended journey. It was a great ride, but all good things must end, and with today's Emeritus/Blog victory (nice MJM @schvice!), I commend the MJM controls back to your good care. Enjoy what's left of summer everyone. DFB.

We are a year removed from the heart of Magnaball, and just over 20 years from the Clifford Ball. Similar to many of you, I'm sure, both of these events were transcendent weekends and times for me - so much more than just the incredible music and environment and people. Eye-opening, reaffiriming, and freeing. Intentionally or not, Phish created a model in Plattsburgh. And somehow they, and we, manage to keep improving on it.

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Welcome to week nine of the Hall of Champions Series, the 235th installment of Mystery Jam Monday. This week, our honorary guest host is seven-time winner @WayIFeel, who recently joined the ranks of the Emeritus Club after solving @PersnicketyJim's tricky theme involving songs written by each individual band member. Now it's @WayIFeel's turn to play the riddler, and here we go.

To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of each of the three mystery jam clips, and answer what they share in common. Each person gets one attempt per day, with the second “day” starting after the Blog posts the hint -- each answer should contain three songs / dates, along with the commonality between them. No sharing or trading of answers is allowed. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. The winner will receive one MP3 code good for a free download of any show, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Good luck!

Hint: No hint needed.

Answer: Congratulations to @andrewrose, who nailed his third MJM victory after correctly identifying the theme: cover songs; and the tracks: the 7/31/98 Cities, the 12/8/99 Ya Mar, and the 8/21/87 Skin It Back. Although he's won twice previously, @andrewrose has been on a MJM victory hiatus of sorts since 2012, so it's great to have him back in the winner's circle. Thanks again to @WayIFeel for hosting a very enjoyable round, the penultimate edition of the Summer 2016 Hall of Champions MJM Series. Please join us next week as our tenth and final Emeritus Champion, @schvice serves up the MJM 236 fare. And have your MJM skills finely honed, because @schvice has grown weary of watching the Blog get crushed week in and week out, and he's come up with a MJM worthy of his Emeritus Champion status.

Download link

Welcome to the 234th edition of Mystery Jam Monday. Continuing with our Hall of Fame Series this week, allow myself to introduce... myself -- the eighth of the ten seven-time MJM winners. I forced myself into retirement after a one week reunion tour during this very stretch of the MJM Emeritus Editions, and will crawl back into the shadows for a couple more weeks so the great and knowledgable @Dog_Faced_Boy can finish off his fantastic guest hosting stint of this now ten-week stretch of Hall of Fame MJM competitions.

To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of each of the three mystery jam clips, and answer what they share in common. Each person gets one attempt per day, with the second “day” starting after the Blog posts the hint -- each answer should contain three songs / dates, along with the commonality between them. No sharing or trading of answers is allowed. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. The winner will receive one MP3 code good for a free download of any show, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Good luck!

Hint:
Trying to make a contest that you lose
And the setlist doesn't mention vacuum

Answer: Congrats to @12_29_97_4eva who wins his second consecutive (and third overall) MJM by correctly identifying the 8/13/93 Bathtub Gin, the 12/10/94 Weekapaug Groove, and the 11/29/97 Runaway Jim, tied together by the fact they were all Weekapaug Jams. Tune back in on Monday at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET for the penultimate edition of the MJM Hall of Fame series, when @WayIFeel takes the reins and plays the game from this side of the fence for the first time.

Today is the 25th anniversary of Amy's Farm! Check out this article from JamBase, Looking Back At Phish’s Amy’s Farm Festival 25 Years Later featuring a reminiscence from our own David "ZZYZX" Steinberg!

Here is the original feature from The Phish Companion 3rd Edition. #ReadTheBook!

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Welcome to the 233rd edition of Mystery Jam Monday. Continuing with our Hall of Fame Series, this week we welcome Emeritus champion @yunkfunk, who is the seventh of our ten seven-time MJM winners. Forced into early retirement last December, we hope @yunkfunk has been enjoying Mondays, now that he has all that free time on his hands. For our delight, he has thoughtfully selected this week's tracks and theme. Here goes:

To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of each of the four mystery jam clips, and answer what they share in common. Each person gets one attempt per day, with the second “day” starting after the Blog posts the hint -- each answer should contain four songs / dates, along with the commonality between them. No sharing or trading of answers is allowed. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. The winner will receive one MP3 code good for a free download of any show, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Good luck, and thanks again to @yunkfunk for hosting this seventh week of the MJM Hall of Fame Series.

Hint: R.I.P. - 1947 - 2016 (p.s. - you might want to start with the jam chart).

Answer: Congratulations to @12_29_97_4eva, who scored his second MJM win this week by correctly identifying the theme, David Bowie, and the four tracks, the versions from 7/25/03, 10/5/95, 2/3/91, and 11/17/94, respectively. Perhaps I spoiled @yunkfunk's likely Emeritus victory, by throwing in a blatantly obvious hint, but given the lack of responses after Day 1, it seemed as though people were struggling with this week's tough selections. Anyway thanks again to @yunkfunk for hosting and for coming up with a great theme. And congratulations to rising star @12_29_97_4eva.

Join us next week for MJM 234, as the Hall of Champions Emeritus Series rolls on, hosted by Emeritus Champion number eight, our very own regular MJM Host, @ucpete. Just back from European holiday, Pete is sure to have had some down time to stitch together an unbeatable MJM, thereby assuring the Blog of finally winning that elusive victory number 17 (out of 234 tries). See you next week!

Hey, guys, happy summer! It’s me, The Book, writing from 14,420 feet above sea level.

My good friend and Mockingbird Foundation board member Elayne sherpa’d me up here in her backpack, and I can’t think of a better place to shout the news about phish.net’s exciting new contest...

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Don't miss Mike Greenhaus's interview on Jambands.com of Chris Kuroda, which discusses the ideas behind the use of video screens this summer, and Chris's other work.

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Welcome to the 232nd edition of Mystery Jam Monday! Continuing with our Hall of Fame Series, where we welcome one of our nine, seven-time MJM winners into the MJM recording studio, and let that Emeritus winner select the tracks for this week's competition. For week 6 of this Emeritus Series, we welcome @mcgrupp81, the sixth person forced into mandatory retirement after impressively earning seven victories between November 2012 and November 2015.

To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of each of the three mystery jam clips, and answer what they share in common. Each person gets one attempt per day, with the second “day” starting after the Blog posts the hint -- each answer should contain three songs / dates, along with the commonality between them. No sharing or trading of answers is allowed. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. The winner will receive one MP3 code good for a free download of any show, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Good luck, and thanks again to @mcgrupp81 for hosting this sixth week of the MJM Hall of Fame Series.

Hint: "I was asked to provide a hint, and I am only doing so because you guys are such a great, attentive audience."

Hint regarding the 2nd Track: Just as the faithful dog McGrupp likes to keep close to the heal of his master, Colonel Forbin, the song from which the 2nd track was selected is closely associated with and adjacent to another, larger song. It is this leading song, the master if you will, which relates specifically to this week's theme.

Answer: Congratulations to @Schvice, who not only takes down a doozy MJM and earns his seventh victory, but as a result, he is now forced into mandatory retirement, becomeing only the 10th person to join the Hall of Champions Emeritus Club. @Schvice accomplished this feat by correctly identifying the tracks: Wilson from 12/8/92, the Jam after McGrupp from 7/5/98, and AC/DC Bag from 2/14/03, as well as the theme: Gamehendge Songs. Special thanks to this week's Emeritus host, @mcgrupp81 who selected the tracks and theme.

In the last few weeks, we have witnessed the expansion of the Emeritus Club, as victories by @ucpete, @WayIFeel and now @Schvice have increased its membership from seven to ten. Will a new generation of MJM savants materialize, or will the Blog finally improve its dismal win-loss record? Only one way to find out: tune in next Monday for MJM Part 233, as the Emeritus Series continues with our guest host, @yunkfunk.

[Editor's Note: We'd like to welcome guest contributor Pete Hoherd (@FunkyCFunkyDo) for this recap.]

Palm fronds shrugged effortlessly at us on our final approach into the venue. Swaying peacefully, purposefully, their silent grace showed us more life lessons than a year’s worth of living – some years at least. Listen to the silent trees. The dry grass on the rolling hills knew what the trees knew – rhythmically dancing in the same breeze as if they knew no other way of life. The music hadn’t started yet, but the harmony had. It was all around us, on the wind and under water, a subtle, relaxed energy, softly speaking to us. All it took was a moment away from your phone, your beer, even your best friend, to look around and feel that mellow mood unifying. All it took was that moment to know that something special was on the wind this night.

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On Friday night, Phish rolled into The Forum in Inglewood, CA for the third consecutive year and the penultimate show of the 2016 summer tour. After an unusually sluggish opening two weeks of the campaign, starting with Great Woods Phish had returned to mid-season form, including most recently a successful run in San Francisco that featured entertaining jams and a bounty of bustouts. The tour has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but with an upward arc and two high-profile, webcasted, weekend gigs to wrap up, the hammer was theirs to pull out the come-from-behind tour championship. Let’s see how they did.

Photo © Derek Gregory

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