CHARLESTON3 RECAP: GAME, SET, MATCH AT THE QUEEN CITY
[We would like to thank Suzy (@suzydrano) and Kersten (@kerstenB) for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]
We’ve come to the end of the rainbow, folks. Thank you to our supportive partners who took care of our homes, loved ones, pets, and business while we - Suzy and Kersten - celebrated our 50th year with this run of shows.
After three fabulous nights in Charleston, it is time to say our farewells. We Phish fans - clad in t-shirts referencing obscure lyrics or edgy bands, or floridly bright or ironic outfits - descended upon a population notable for their decorum, wearing finely pressed cotton prints and linen, walking designer dogs on leashes bearing bow ties. We roamed among the genteel in the scorching sun as we readied ourselves for the shows to come each day. The band members roamed alongside us, enjoying the second Sunday festivities as we prepared for this last night. And what a last night it was.
The “Gentleman’s Final” for Wimbledon was today, and it was an epic match between two astonishingly talented players. Jannik Sinner, who went on to win, dropped the first set to Carlos Alcaraz, but then never looked back and just kept getting stronger, ultimately dominating the match and emerging the victor.
We were Jannik Sinner tonight. The first set had some gems, but it was the second set and encore that made the show. Let us explain.
CHARLESTON2 RECAP: INTERVIEW WITH THE PHAMPIRE
[We would like to thank Jonah (@LizardwithaZ), for transcribing the following interview after finding a mysterious cassette tape on the streets of Charleston. -Ed.]
Click.
Voice 1: So you want to tell me about tonight, yes? About what you witnessed? What you heard?
Voice 2: What do you want to know? Do you want to know everything? All of it? What it’s like to be…me? To be my kind?
Voice 1: Yes. I’ve been searching for you. I’ve heard tales. Tales of the vampire who–
Voice 2: Phampire.
Voice 1: Pardon?
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CHARLESTON1 RECAP: DEVOTION TO DISEASE
[We would like to thank Jeremy Levine (@Franklin) for recapping last night’s show. -Ed.]
Good morning from the Days Inn half a mile from the North Charleston Coliseum, where the air conditioners clank mercilessly, the pool is non-operational, the carpet is torn up, the coffee is strong enough to cause cardiac arrest in a wildebeest, and there are mysterious brown spots on the walls. While the premises is better suited to a remake of No Country for Old Men than it is to a slow morning rehashing the previous evening’s improvisational rock engagement, sometimes we have to persevere in the name of content. The sun is shining, the wooks are rising, and a musical odyssey has to be wrangled into narrative form. (I did wake up this morning and say “ooh, can’t wait to read the recap,” and then realized...)
We begin outside the auditorium, approximately twenty minutes before show time. The venue’s exterior was organized like my backpack in eighth grade, i.e. not at all. Entrances were unmarked, security was overwhelmed, corridors were narrow. While I recognize that the city of Charleston proper has urban planning challenges because of its complex history, the preposterous inefficiencies of this far-from-downtown venue seem more like an unforced error, like following “Reba” with “Devotion To A Dream.” Despite my (somewhat reasonable) arrival time, I failed to make it inside and purchase a bottle of water by the time the lights went down. Get there early if you’re going tonight.
OSU COLUMBUS RECAP: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER…I’M STILL UPSIDE DOWN
[We would like to thank Windi (@onthewindowsill) for recapping last night’s show. -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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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.
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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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.
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.
MANCHESTER NIGHT 1 RECAP: “KOA 1.5 & OLD/NEW STAGE ARRANGEMENT - ARE WE BACK AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME?”
[We would like to thank Jen Chadbourne (@Saw_ita_Jen) for recapping last night’s show. She currently lives in Burlington, Vermont, working at Nectar’s (hopefully) and freelancing event and production work. She is a longtime fan of Phish’s music; she tries to catch a few shows every year and has been seeing them for three decades so it adds up. Jen also promotes programming and organic networking wherever she is, she is building and connecting ‘community.’ -Ed.]
With Koa 1.5 + the OG 1.0 stage arrangement, are we conjuring ‘96 or what? I'm going to own my bias of 1996 in Phish openly here, I saw my 100th show that Fall at the Arco Arena show in Sacramento, CA. I was lucky enough to catch almost the whole fall tour stateside. So back to ‘96. Trey dropped the plug on his Insta story about the new Koa 1.5 guitar made out of the same wood from the same tree as his coveted Koa 1 aka '96 (with a recent wiring modification similar to Mar-Mar), so that planted the seed in my mind about the ‘96 era being on the front of the bands mind. Then earlier this afternoon Phish posted sound check photos showing that they have a ‘new’ stage set-up that is actually the “old stage” stage setup, more conjuring of ‘96 and really the whole pre-96 era of 1.0. Musically to me ‘96 stands out as it was the crystallization of the peak of raw Phish. ‘97 and ‘98 led to the funk fusion of their perfected sound. One thing to consider about ‘96 is the whole band used very few effects, sound modulation, loopers, pedals etc. The articulation of their abilities was jaw dropping, They just nailed it all without any need to have effects. ‘96 was the crystallization of the craft, the rest of 1.0 was the on to perfection and release.
GOOD KARMA PLEDGE DRIVE - EPISODE V: THE KARMA STRIKES BACK
It’s time for Mockingbird’s 5th Annual Good Karma Pledge Drive! Thanks to your collective generosity, we’ve raised over $50,000 (!!!) for music education over the past four years just by hoping for Phish to do cool things and then ponying up when they do.
If you haven’t participated before, the rules are simple: Pick the thing/s you want to happen on tour, and pledge an amount for each occurrence. For example, you could pledge $20 for each 20+ minute jam, $5 for every >100 bust out, or choose your own adventure. It’s a super fun way to help us out, while keeping your fingers crossed for the best parts of the tour!
Please click here for more details and the ways you can pledge. 
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation