GORGE1 RECAP: JUST AS LONG AS THE GUITAR PLAYS
[Phish.net welcomes back guest recapper Suzy Barros for writing this recap. -Ed.]
First things first---everyone needs to come see a show at the Gorge, full stop. If you have access to a private jet or can find a reasonably inexpensive airfare, come tonight. It’s always been lurking there on the tour dates page, staring at me and silently judging me for bypassing it for all these other reasonably fine venues (but are they the GORGE). Its untrammeled nature at its finest and even though seeing Phish at the Gorge doesn’t change the fact that we are living on planet earth in 2021, it makes it a hell of a lot more tolerable.
AUGUSTUS TWEEZER
[We would like to thank user imdano Dan Dudensing for this guest blog post. Dan's first show was 11/29/98, he resides in Burlington, and he hosts a radio show on local Burlington VT radio every Monday at 5:00 pm, which streams on https://bigheavyworld.com/stream. Dan's views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of the volunteers on this website. -Ed.]
When you consider Phish’s career of 34 years—I understand that 2021 minus 1983 is 38, however, I think we must subtract four years from the career total to capture the 2004-2009 breakup—you realize more and more how difficult and likely pointless it has become to argue for “greatest this” and “greatest that.” There are so many shows, containing so much music, and totaling so much time, that I don’t think it’s possible any longer to have a full grasp of everything they’ve done, which would be essential in order to declare superlatives.
I am sure we can all call to mind a jam that took our breath away, and yet receives few or no shoutouts when the all-time great [insert jam-vehicle song name here]) dialogue is underway. There is just so much music to listen to at this point. Yes, there are some objective high-water marks, but even those might be hard to find consensus on; I like to identify New Years ’95, Clifford Ball, and Big Cypress as the real mountaintops, however a younger fan than I (no disrespect intended) may argue Baker’s Dozen. At this point we should all just stand back, give thanks, and perhaps acknowledge that with such an immense amount of music and time to consider, we may continue to find it harder and harder to agree on superlatives.
.jfif)
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 475
Welcome to the 475th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the first of August - shout out to @Zands for the clips! The winner will receive an MP3 download code courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and dates of both mystery jams. Each person gets one guess to start – if no one answers correctly in the first 24 hours, I'll post a hint. After the hint, everyone gets one more guess before Wednesday at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Stay safe!
AC3 RECAP: ALL MY FRIENDS
“You’re going to Atlantic City again? To see that same band you saw two nights ago?” It’s a fair point, and without getting into hours of philosophical lectures with this person, as a fan, sometimes you have to ask yourself that same question. Why do I have to go see this band again?
But then you get to the venue, you see the people you intended to see, and some you didn’t, and the collective energy ripples through the entire crowd, and to the empty stage, and back again. By the time the lights go down, maybe you are seeing the show with a new friend. This happened to me on Friday night, I met two new people who I spent the whole show with. And they were back on Sunday, same spot, same donut-themed fan to keep everyone cool, same enthusiasm and energy. And I got to introduce them to my wife and other friends. Here we are, again.
ATLANTIC CITY 2 RECAP: SATAN ON THE BEACH
[Phish.net welcomes back guest recapper Alaina Stamatis (@farmhose; Twitter: @fad_albert) for writing this recap. -Ed.]
A Phish fan purchased a cheesesteak and a small container of fries and then looked for where she had left her friends and loved ones on the beach. But she was being watched. Without warning, a seagull that was hovering above landed feet first onto the hand holding the fries, obliterating their container and her desire to eat them, and while she mourned her side dish, a colony of seagulls (the collective noun for seagulls is 'a colony') swarmed on her long sandwich, colonizing it as their property. We truly became one with the ecosystem of Atlantic City.
ATLANTIC CITY 1 RECAP: MEET ME DOWN IN ATLANTIC CITY
[Phish.net welcomes back guest recapper Jeremy Willinger (@Jeremy8698) for writing this recap. - Ed.]
Ah Atlantic City...immortalized on screen (Boardwalk Empire), in childhood (who wants to play Monopoly?), in song (Springsteen), and cemented in popular consciousness (as in, "Will I step on a hypodermic needle if I go barefoot on the beach?"). For phans, however, AC has been an armpit of a pit stop as tour chugs along, convening many of us in the early 2010s for standout shows at Boardwalk Hall (the Led Zepp show immediately comes to mind) and the 2012 weekend at Bader Field. Now, after a year of waiting, Phish returns to this seaside hamlet of gambling, history, and urban decay, becoming the only artist aside from P!nk to play on the sand parallel to the Boardwalk.
HERSHEY2 RECAP: YOU SEXY WOMBAT
Me, two months ago: “Hell yeah I’ll do the Hershey 2 recap, I’ll be there. Boom!”
Narrator: “He would not be attending Hershey.”
Due to a looming work deadline and some family obligations, I had to bail on the shows, but I was excited to be able to do the recap based on couch touring. I also got to spend the evening with my wife, celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary. Maybe I should have prioritized that in the first place? All’s well that ends well.
HERSHEY1 RECAP: HERSHEY SPECIAL DARK
[We would like to thank Andrew Sinclair for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
On this balmy Tuesday in August, a bunch of friends from all walks of life cruised the open roads towards Central Pennsylvania and the self-proclaimed “Sweetest Place on Earth” for the first of two shows in downtown Hershey. This Chocolate Town has been around a long time, and over the generations it has become a pretty enjoyable family spot for a summer getaway. It was in the building next door to our venue, Hersheypark Arena, that Wilt Chamberlain famously dropped 100 points in one game, and also the site of Kobe Bryant’s (RIP) Pennsylvania State Championship, before he made the leap to the NBA. It was also where Phish took "Mike’s Groove" into the heavens, back on 12/1/1995.
For this phan, it was also a homecoming as I grew up in nearby Allentown, Pennsylvania. I figured this would be an enjoyable midweek getaway and the first day adventures did not disappoint. Let’s get to the action.
.jpg)
DEER CREEK 3 RECAP: MOST EVENTS AREN'T PLANNED---SILLY PHISH IS HAPPY PHISH
[Thank you Dianna Hank for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Going into this weekend, I had a crew of four, maybe five, folks from my immediate Phish group making the pilgrimage to the infamous Deer Creek for Sunday night’s (hopeful) scorcher of a show. Seeing as I live in Las Vegas now, you might be wondering why I was only going to be attending the last of the three night run in the middle of Indiana, so far from home. And the answer to that question is that I was lucky enough to be invited to my dear friends Lauren Amster & Angus Abrams’ wedding in Chicago this past Saturday night! Conveniently enough, Chicago is a mere three hour drive (+ the 1 hour time zone change) from Ruoff, so once tour was announced and some of us realized we’d be “in the area” during this run, we decided to try to make it work. The best part of all of this is the fact that I met the bride though Phish friends many years ago, so a good chunk of our Phish-going crew was going to be in attendance for this event. Like I said earlier, going into the weekend, we only had four, maybe five confirmed for the show. Yet slowly but surely, people kept giving in to temptation, changing flights, booking hotels, securing tickets and suddenly, our meager crew was starting to take some solid shape! We even had three additions at the morning-after brunch on Sunday AM! So after saying our goodbyes to the bride and groom, we hit the road and gunned it to the land of the corn.
.jfif)
DEER CREEK 2 RECAP
[Phish.net welcomes back and thanks volunteer recapper Michael Ayers (@yhgtbfkm) for writing this recap. -Ed.]
Greetings from Deer Creek Music Center Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Klipsch Music Center Ruoff Music Center! About 20 miles north of downtown Indianapolis, Deer Creek has been a relative staple in Phish’s touring repertoire, having played there 24 times starting back in 1995, the site of several notable shows including Live Phish Vol. 12 and The Phish from Vermont. With plenty of seating and an absolutely mammoth lawn with no bad sightlines, Deer Creek is one of those venues that should be on everyone’s list to check out, as there’s rarely a bad show there.
DEER CREEK 1 RECAP: NOT DUCKING AROUND
[Phish.net welcomes back and thanks volunteer recapper Nick Williams (@TwiceBitten) for writing this recap. -Ed.]
Late news breaking! This just in! Here's the scoop! Last night Phish abducted 25,000 people from
a cornfield and probed their every last hole. Thats well upwards of 150,000 holes, not counting
the pee hole, or the possibility of them popping out your eyes! If you've seen the print for this run
all I can say is: they warned us. Such abductions were once thought to be commonplace in this
area but their frequency has diminished over the years to the point in which many stopped
believing...
RECAP: A TALE OF TWO NASHVILLES
If you just look at the Phish.net rankings for the two nights of Nashville (3.168 for Tuesday, 4.3 for Wednesday), you’ll see the community’s different perspective on these shows.
When Phish rolls into town for a multi-night run, it’s a losing person’s game to try and guess which show will be better. Historically, the conventional wisdom has been that the second (or last) show of a run will be the strongest. But in recent years, we’ve seen some night ones be the best of a run—for example, Rosemont, IL, 10/26/18. Going into Tuesday night’s show, given the strength of the past several shows, expectations were sky high.
IRON HILL FUNDRAISER, 8/11
Iron Hill Brewery in Hershey, spitting distance from the stadium where Phish will perform August 11th, will hold a Mockingbird Foundation fundraiser on that date. They'll be donating $1 per pint of Jim's Sedan, a West Coast IPA, as well as $1 per entree from their "Chef's Table," which will have pizza, grilled cheese, and noodle bowls. The location just opened two years ago, and, well, you already know how the pandemic has affected restaurants (and music education).
We encourage you to head over, get your fill of carbs, and help rebuild the arts and the local economy. We'll be announcing a Tour Grant in the area soon, and appreciate your support - at Iron Hill, and generally - in helping "complete the circle" (Trey's words) by bringing the fruits of our collective celebration of music back into communities that are working to train tomorrow's musicians and thereby seed new celebrations.
ALPHARETTA 2 RECAP: YEAH!
[We would like to thank user @Jmart, Josh Martin, for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Greetings, everyone, and glad tidings from Alpharetta, where Phish played their fourth show of this summer tour. It’s been a long time, and I’m glad to get to discuss our favorite band with you again.
But before we get to that, a little housekeeping: As some of you know, we had a first song back pool going on the .net forum. Thanks to all who participated and congratulations to @bonzo6980 for picking “I’ve Never Needed You Like This Before.” If any of you are sour that they played three of your picks (sigh), maybe it’ll help to know this fine gentleman donated his $127 pot to the WaterWheel Foundation. They were very appreciative and it was a humbling moment to make the donation in person. (See beneath the recap, below, for a photo of the folks at the WW table after receiving the handoff!)
Onto the music.
.jpg)
ALPHARETTA 1 RECAP
[Phish.net thanks volunteer recapper @LizardwithaZ for writing this recap. PhishNet depends on volunteers to recap shows, and opinions offered herein do not necessarily reflect those of PhishNet and our volunteer community. -Ed.]
How do we sustain ourselves in life? Sustaining ourselves through a global pandemic was a near impossibility, as we lost so much, day after day.
Yet here we are again, as we find ourselves back in Alpharetta, almost exactly three years after “Ghost,” “Carini,” “Soul Planet,” “You Sexy Thing,” and that incredible 2018 run.
This time, we’re looking for sustenance. For something to sustain us. And perhaps Phish is looking for something to sustain them, too.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation