HOLLYWOOD BOWL 3 RECAP: DIRTY WITH A TWIST
[We would like to thank John Montague (@mazegue) for writing this recap. -Ed.]
Assessing a show in less than 24 hours feels like an impossible task. I’ve attended its birth and, now, these sounds I’m hearing are less than a day old. Honestly, I won’t have a hard opinion on any of this until days of re-listening have passed. I’m reporting on fumes and a healthy dose of post-show listening. Here’s my initial take.
Phish gave the phans an absolute banger of a show. For a band that encompasses many genres, last night provided a heavy dose of old-school straight hard rock. That doesn’t mean they didn’t save plenty of space for solid exploratory type 2 jamming. There were definitely a handful of jams that are worth digesting and exploring. I thought the show had a 1.0 tinge to it, with the kind of messes that didn’t take anything away from the vibe, because the vibe was filthy. This show was downright dirty.
HOLLYWOOD BOWL 2 RECAP: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT
[We would like to thank Mark C. Lynch (@Mondo_Butts) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Fade in.
The sun dips in the west, behind the crowd at the Hollywood Bowl, like a child playing peekaboo with his uncle. The trees dance in unison on the horizon. The hills surround the amphitheater like a womb protecting its young. The air is thick. Not with smog or burning embers, but with excitement and anticipation. This is the town where magic happens. Where legends are made and hearts are broken. This is the golden hour, and Phish at the Hollywood Bowl is our feature presentation.
Welcome to Hollywood! What’s your dream? My Phish dream was fulfilled once again with another magnificent showing last night from the Vermont quartet, in one of the greatest venues in all the land.
HOLLYWOOD BOWL 1 RECAP: THE NET'S UNBREAKABLE
[We would like to thank Willie Orbison (@TwelveThousandMotherfker) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
There are a few things every .net recapper must have when attending a show: an open mind, a positive attitude, and a pen. And though I had two of the three as I made my way into one of the grandest venues in Phishdom last night, I spent the first half hour of my journey through the cosmos looking for something to write with.
When I asked a few of the kind people working behind cash registers – or, more accurately, chaperoning the robots we actually do business with – the looks on their faces betrayed a level of incredulity usually reserved for questionable dance moves or our attempts to communicate at setbreak.
“A pen?” I might as well have asked for magic beans. But I already had those in my pocket.
Anyway, a very stoned maitre’d at one of the restaurants on the concourse hooked me up, and I was officially ready to rad out with my pad out (that’s not a phrase) on a beautiful, if cool, evening in Los Angeles.
BGCA2 RECAP: ANOTHER BILL GRAHAM BANGER!
[We would like to thank Landon Schoenefeld (@nomidwestlove) aka Instagram @_colonel_mustard for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Hello fellow nerds! And thanks for joining me as I attempt to recap BGCA N2 in beautiful San Francisco. I moved to the city in the fall of 2018, mere months after their last stop at the famous Civic Center venue. For the year that my domicile was just three blocks from the Bill Graham, I prayed to the Phish gods for them to make a stop, so I could both walk to the show and sleep in my own bed afterwards, but alas it was not to be. However, I did sleep in my own bed last night (a relative rarity for me) after enduring about an hour-long drive back up to wine country post show.
There’s a lot of history contained within those walls. The building itself built in 1915. In 1992, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to rename the auditorium after the rock concert impresario, who had died the previous year in a helicopter crash. Until the first night, I hadn’t set foot inside that building since 2002, on my first ever trip to San Francisco.
And what is it about slightly worn-down and grimy old venues that seem to bring the best out of our favorite band from Vermont? I find BGCA to be a cousin of UIC Pavillion in Chicago. Both have similar set-ups and have placed a generous number of bangers underneath their belts throughout the years. The staff was chill and didn’t really see anyone being hassled about anything.
BGCA1: EVERYONE WAS SCREAMING WHEN THEY SAW THE PHISH
Last night marked Phish’s fifteenth show at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (“BGCA”) and first since 2018, having opted for Shoreline, Chase, and the Greek as the Bay Area stops between this week’s run and Phish’s last visit. For those unaware, there’s an odd gap in Bay Area venue capacities, with the Greek, Frost, and BGCA at around 8-8.5k, but the next level up – aside from Concord Sleep Train Pavilion (capacity 12,500), where I promise you no one wants to see a show – seats closer to 20k with venues like Chase Center, Oracle Arena, and Shoreline Amphitheatre. Rather than shutting out tons of fans in the 8k tier with weekend shows, or underselling the next tier up, Phish has played weekday shows the last four trips to BGCA (2014, 2016, 2018, and 2025). It was a beautiful, crisp spring day in San Francisco - I headed into work in the East Bay in the late morning and left before 4 pm for the city to drop off some birthday beers and give a ride to some friends who had gotten early entry. I crushed a burrito and headed back towards the venue before 6 pm, and found a parking spot three blocks from Civic Center Plaza and made my way towards the venue with those good pre-show jitters - or maybe it was the beans from my burrito? Hard to say.
PORTLAND RECAP: JAH PROVIDES
[FunkyCFunkyDo reminds you that in spite of the facts that his ensuing opinions are irrefutably accurate representations of the show, inarguably precise analysis of the show, and among the funniest things you’ve ever read (related and unrelated to the show), they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the all-volunteer staff at phish.net or The Mockingbird Foundation. This is because even though you/they all suck at Phish, no one sucks at Phish more than Funky.]
For your convenience and reference: phish.net’s song histories | setlists | jam charts.
The following is a comprehensive list of all the places I have slept after a Phish show: on the grass under my old 2007 Honda Civic, on the grass next to my old Honda Civic, inside my old Honda Civic; in a camping chair, in a tent with more rips than seams, under a tarp I made into a “tent” somehow/kind of/not really, in a real tent, in a fully-enclosed 10x10 EZ-Up “bedroom” I made with tapestries, bungee cords, duct tape, an air mattress, and reflective fabric to keep the sun out (#protour); on the floor of a very suspicious Las Vegas Motel 6, in an actual bed in a dingy Las Vegas hotel, in an actual bed in a mediocre Las Vegas hotel, in an actual bed in a pretty nice Las Vegas hotel; in various New York hotel rooms that were smaller than your phone; in assorted banal hotels/motels/Air BnBs; in a highly-suspect Air BnB that was most likely run by criminals, in a perfectly-beige Air BnB that was most likely run by Mormons, in a swanky-as-fuck Air BnB that was most likely run by swingers; on a friend’s floor, on a friend’s couch, at my aunt and uncle’s house, at my cousin’s condo, at my brother’s house, at the literal former McDonald’s CEO’s mansion on Lake Geneva (thanks Cactus Crew, #premiumprotour); at the airport (kind of), and, of course, like all good Phish fans, there have been quite a few nights where I have not slept at all (#eliteprotour.) Oh, and there was that one time after my very first Phish show (2.14.03) when I was 16 years old and my oldest brother (RIP Ryan) bought me a golfball-sized gooball from the nice gooball man in the parking lot, who clearly and deliberately instructed us to split it amongst friends, and my brother immediately overrode the nice gooball man and told me to eat it all – which I did – and details are fuzzy on where I slept that night. That’s where it all began, mom and dad. Sorry not sorry.
SEATTLE2 RECAP: HOME ON A TRAIN
[We would like to thank Brad Strode (@c_wallob) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
First of all, I would like to thank the inimitable @zzyzx for his excellent write-up of Night 1, and for all the work he’s done for stat nerds like me. My Seattle story is the opposite of Mr. Zzyzx. While he moved here 30 years ago, I grew up in the Seattle area (about 30 miles North in the little town of Snohomish) before moving to Boston and then to North Carolina, where I have lived for 20 years. My memories of the Seattle Center run deep; way back to the days of the Fun Forrest and the Seattle Coliseum (followed by Key Arena), and school field trips to the Pacific Science Center. Needless to say, it is quite an experience to return all these years later with my wife, our 2 dogs (Stormy and Stella Blue), and our Phish family to enjoy our favorite band.
Saturday continued the “fooler” weekend, offering phans comfortable temperatures and dry conditions to enjoy some time at the Seattle Center fountain and surrounding plazas before the show. The vibes on both Friday and Saturday were excellent. Apart from some issues with the size of bags being strictly enforced, everything about the Climate Pledge Arena experience was fairly easy and carefree. A friend who joined me on Friday night for her second Phish show ever noted, “It just seems like everyone is really happy to be here.” I couldn’t agree more. I love everything about this (and Happy Birthday TS).
SEATTLE1 RECAP: GET BACK ON THE TRAINS (THE LINK 1 LINE AND MONORAIL THAT IS!)
[We would like to thank David Steinberg aka @zzyzx for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
As someone who is a few weeks away from the 30th anniversary of living in Seattle (Q: What do you call someone who moved to Seattle 30 years ago? A: A transplant!), I have a name for days like we had for most of the week leading up to the Phish run. I call them "foolers."
Friday was a great example of such a thing. The sun was shining. The sky was blue with nary a cloud to see. It was about 70 degrees. Flowers and trees were blooming everywhere; on the right block you'd get ridiculously fragrant air. No matter which direction you turned, there were snowcapped mountains on the horizon. Even to the north, the rarely observed Mt. Baker - some 85 miles away from Seattle - was easily seen out on the horizon.
I had friends in town like many Phish fans. I shifted my work schedule up temporally and booked early to meet them. I took them to the Queen Anne Hill viewpoint where we got someone holding an SLR to take our photo with Rainier in the background. We offered to take hers in exchange but she was waiting for some mysterious group. A few minutes later, Lizzy shushed us and pointed to our left where a man suddenly got down on a knee and proposed. The no-longer girlfriend weepingly accepted, we applauded, our new friend was snapping away. It was that kind of day!
SURRENDER TO THE FLOW: SPRING TOUR ISSUE
[The following is courtesy of Christy Articola, thank you Christy! -Ed.]
Surrender to the Flow's Spring Tour 2025 issue is now ready and available! We think you're really going to love this issue!
The link to download it is: www.gum.co/sttf88.
PHISH TRIBUTE BAND REPRISE TO PLAY BROOKLYN BOWL SATURDAY MARCH 8
[Phish cover band Reprise is playing Brooklyn Bowl for the first time on Saturday, March 8, reprising 12/30/97, and I wanted to "interview" Reprise's co-manager, RJ Bee, for the first time as well. RJ not only volunteers to help run this blog, but also co-founded Osiris Media in 2018 with Tom Marshall and the Helping Friendly Podcast in 2013 with Brian Brinkman, Megan Glionna and Jonathan Hart. -Charlie]
CD: When was your first show?
RJ: The Palace, 10/28/95!
CD: Noob. No seriously when was your first show?
RJ: Hey man, I was born in the 70s! Doesn't that make me a vet? But seriously I was 16 and wish I had seen them earlier, so as not to have perma-noob status.
CD: When did you first hear about Reprise? Who are they and when did they begin playing? Is there a list online of what shows they've performed to date?
RJ: Tom and I asked Cal Kehoe (guitarist for Reprise) to bring together a group of musicians to create a set of Phish Fall '97 music for our Undermine Fall '97 live event. This was at Ardmore Music Hall, a few minutes from my house, and Cal brought Chris DeAngelis (bass), Adrian Tramontano (drums), and Kiran Edwards (keys) to play. Keyboardist Scott Chasolen, our vocalist / keys player now, sat in on that gig.
REMEMBERING HARRIS WITTELS
Legendary comedian, writer, producer, actor and Phish fan Harris Wittels died ten years ago today.
An In Memoriam piece about Harris written by Nathan Rabin was published on this blog ten years ago, and we encourage you to read it. Much love to Harris's friends and family members.
MEXICO4 RECAP: WHEN THE STARS ALIGN
[We would like to thank Matt Schrag aka @kipmat for recapping last night's show, and for doing so well in the Phish Trivia event at the lobby bar on Frday. -Ed.]
Backstory: on Wednesday, Charlie Dirksen sent an email to the recap mailing list, saying there was still a need for someone to volunteer to recap Saturday’s show for the phish.net blog. I responded to Charlie’s email the following afternoon, letting him know that I was in Mexico for the run, and would be available to write the recap for Saturday’s show. I carried on with our getaway vacation for two days; then I happened to check my email before I entered the venue for Saturday’s show, and saw a response from Charlie which essentially said, “You’re on, thank you!” And then midway through the first set, my lower legs and feet decided they’d had enough of dancing on sand that’s been pounded flat from three nights of raging. So there I was, at a Phish show, in a tropical paradise far away from home, and all I felt like doing is sitting down on the ground and typing into my phone. What a n00b.
That’s why I’m your late sub recapper for Mexico N4. Caveat emptor: please disregard anything in this recap that might sound less than enthusiastic. Believe me when I say that I’m happy and feel lucky to have been here for this show.
Phish took the stage shortly before sunset, and there are few songs that evoke the warmth of a daytime show like "Bathtub Gin." This version was patient and pleasant, not too adventurous, but a happy acknowledgment that we really were all here, together. The celebratory vibe continued with "Soul Shakedown Party," not played since the beach shows at Atlantic City in 2021, and a complete surprise to anyone who had not caught Tuesday’s soundcheck. This version managed to stretch into a nice jam, with Trey and Mike showing off their various effects, although not in a dub reggae style, just messing around.
MEXICO3 RECAP: WORST VACATION EVER: A VERMONT COLLEGE PARTY CULT TAKE OVER DURING MY TRIP TO CANCUN. 1/5 STARS - TRIPADVISOR.COM
[We would like to thank Tim Davis, Pinnacle Ventures - Room 2296 for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
I don’t ever do this- but my stay at the Moon Palace Resort this weekend was one of the WORST experiences of my life. My idea of a relaxing vacation does not include dreadlocks, drugs or 5000 dissociating hippies dancing outside of my hotel room until 4 in the morning. Here’s how the perfect week can be completely destroyed by a band from Vermont, and their cult-like followers.
MEXICO2 RECAP: WE CAN FEEL GOOD ABOUT RED WORMS
While last night might have been Phish’s first January 30th performance in their career, this is Phish’s 8th year playing Mexico and their 5th at the Moon Palace, playing here every year since 2020 other than the 2021 Covid break. Perhaps due to that repetition, this year’s attendance has felt lighter.
The Moon Palace is divided into 3 areas: Sunrise, Nizuc, and the more exclusive Grand that is walled off from the rest of the resort. While past years have had so much interest that Phish have had overflow attendees staying in the other local Palace resorts (Beach Palace, Sun Palace) and shuttled in, this year didn’t have that. Not only that, but there have been reports both anecdotal and via observation that people who had Nizuc reservations have been largely moved to Sunrise. Between my morning runs around the property where the balcony decorations drop off dramatically once you dip south of Sunrise, the massive increase of people without the Phish wristbands, and the direct report of at least one person to me that they’ve been moved, there does seem to be truth to this. The crowd does feels smaller this year and that has pros and cons.
MEXICO1 RECAP: GROOVE WITH A TWIST
[This recap is courtesy of user @KellyNicu, thank you Kelly! -Ed.]
Trey welcomed us to another beautiful first night in Mexico with a simple hello and a modest nod to the crowd before launching into the appropriately chosen “Sand," which was certainly as tight as ever. They continued with a couple more beachy songs, “Theme From the Bottom” and and “Free."
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation