Nine days ago, the all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation announced its 30th set of unsolicited Tour Grants.
Nine days from now, initial funding inquiries close for Mockingbird's 30th round of competitive grants.
Nine months from now, Mockingbird begins its 30th year, having started in October 1996 discussions.
And, if you round up, there were nine Phish jams in 2024 that were 30 minutes or longer. It's as if.. they knew!
[We would like to thank Megan Glionna (@meganglionna) aka @the_megan_dance (X/twitter) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Achievement means accomplishing something successfully using effort, skill or courage. Artistic achievement on a large scale for a long time requires so much, but more than anything it requires courage. The courage to try something new even when you have found what works. On the Helping Friendly Podcast this year we analyzed and ranked the Top 25 Phish Tours of all time and the recurring theme was the relentless pursuit of evolution, even in moments of wild, peaking success. This year’s New Year’s Eve gag was just that. Another push towards the future. Another courageous swing at-bat after a winning season. The pursuit of evolution is the defining feature of the Phish from Vermont. And why last night’s show was a triumph.
[We would like to thank @Jeremy8698 for writing this recap. -Ed.]
The 12/30 slot of a YEMSG run annually begs an interesting hypothesis: Will the band meet the exalted expectations of its demanding phans? The question is one asked at every show but, on this night, where the band has usually stretched its legs for jam-chartered versions of epic songs, odd bust-outs, and extra spicy playing, it takes on a heightened level of giddiness.
[We would like to thank Max Alter (@SplitOpenAndMalt) aka @MaltsandShakes for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Talk about a year, huh?
41 years into their history, this band continues to surprise by pushing their limits. To me, it certainly feels like their 35+ minute jams in consecutive nights in Mexico fell further than one year ago. Add in Phish’s debut at the state-of-the-art Sphere in April, multiple 40+ minute jams across their Summer Tour, their first successful festival since Magnaball, their illustrious return to MVP Arena in Albany, and that the boys covered quite some ground in this year of touring. Of course, the only proper way to top it off was (and is) cumulating the accrued energy into their annual New Years’ Eve run at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. After a night of mixed reviews, I think we can confidently say that the band stepped up to the plate.
[We would like to thank @slewfoot of The Mockingbird Foundation for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
It seems like many of us are in the midst of big anniversaries for Phish. The growth of the 1993 - 1995 era from theaters to arenas allowed a large number of us to begin our decades long journey around that time. As I ponder that, the Anchorman-inspired quote above both makes me chuckle, yet also feels relevant. Last night marked the 30th Anniversary of when I first saw our favorite band. Back in 1994, I wasn’t sure what to expect on that cold December night in Philadelphia. I was a sophomore in high school and was in the midst of getting deep into the rabbit hole known as The Grateful Dead. Since I arrived to Phish via the Dead world, I had one eyebrow raised in skepticism (because obviously I knew everything at that age). But deep down I was hoping I’d really like the show as an excuse to have another great band to start seeing live. I can’t say I fully “got it” that night but, a few shows later, I certainly did.
[This post is courtesy of Christy Articola, thank you, Christy! -Ed.]
Surrender to the Flow's NYE Run 2024-2025 issue is available for download now at this link right here. We think you're really going to love this issue!
[Thanks to Filip van der Pol aka Tora Tapes of KGLW.net for this guest blog post.]
Character Zero
I would have been just four years old when Phish played what was supposed to be their last concert in Europe in 1998. Like most Europeans, my parents had never heard of them. Phish wasn't big in Europe, nor was jam music as a genre. My dad did see the Grateful Dead play live in Germany once during a trip with friends, but calling him a "wook" would be a serious stretch.
Up until March of this year, I'd never even heard of Phish. In fact, my only exposure to the band was through the Ben & Jerry’s "Phish Food" flavour… which had already been discontinued in Europe by the time I learned of Phish. The name alone was a mystery to me. "Fish?" I thought. "No, it’s Phish. With a PH." Oh…
[13 years and one day ago, when the Phish.net Forum was still an upstart community on our corner of the internet, siteteam contributor @TheEmu made has become one of the most highly upvoted posts of all time on the forum to celebrate that very special time of year... when Phish returns to MSG.
Now that Version 6 of Phish.net is alive and well (thanks be to the Phish.net Techteam!!!), the impending MSG run is certainly all we can think about, with fingers crossed that Louis the tube-nosed bat keeps his gnashing teeth away from the wires, so it is only fitting that we recognize the holiday properly and celebrate with this true "From the Forum" classic. Thank you Tim for sharing! -- Ed.]
'Twas the week before New Year’s, when all through .net,
Every Phish Phan was stirring, both n00bie and vet.
The tickets acquired by trades foul and fair,
In hopes that St. Icculus soon would be there.
Thank you to the more than 100 golfers who came together on August 31st at Willis Case in Denver in support of music education for children, and to the sponsors who helped make it such a special event. We raised thousands of dollars, and have started planning for the 10th (!!) Annual. Meanwhile, it's time to report results and share photos from the 2024 outing.
All players received a gift bag with an event-branded umbrella and picnic blanket, an assortment of Phish.net items (koozies, patches, stickers, etc.), and other items donated by sponsors. In addition, there were 14 prize bags containing pro shop credit plus event schwag from previous years (hats, visors, and water bottles). Thirteen of those prize bags went to these golf winners:
[We would like to thank Ian Zigel (@ripenesswasall) aka @memehendge on Instagram for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]
Hockey Arena shows in the fall are a quintessential part of the Phish experience, particularly in the northeast where the band cut its teeth 4 decades ago and where the core of the fanbase resides. It’s no secret that Phish delivers the goods musically on fall tour; summer tours tend to be experimental and playful as the band searches for a new sound, slowly building up potential energy, which is actualized in the fall with shows that can be a bit more intense, ballsy, and spooky.
Everything about these autumnal happenings - huddling together on a chilly but sprawling shakedown street, sipping on hot chocolate or apple cider, visible traces of our spirit family’s presence in every imaginable corner of an unsuspecting little town, catching up with your tour friends from around the country, and gasp-inducing sets of music – make up the ineffable but unmistakable vibe of fall tour.
On October 27th 2024, we find ourselves returning to the storied “MVP Arena” in Albany, NY for the third and final night of a charity benefit run for The Divided Sky Foundation. Of course, this run also became a celebration of the life and legacy of Phil Lesh when the heavy news of his passing broke on Friday morning.
Night one’s poignant “Box of Rain” opener and bass-forward, dead-esque vibe was a cathartic and perfect eulogy. Saturday was very much a raging “Saturday special” for a full house that got delightfully evil and deranged throughout the second set.
For a new fan, a fall hockey arena run is a rite of passage, a phish-mitzvah if you will, and I felt that Friday and Saturday night’s shows would both be excellent first shows to introduce a newcomer to this expensive hobby. Dare I say I felt a bit nostalgic this weekend, reminiscing on my first run of fall shows in Providence, RI and Uniondale, NY 5 years ago, a weekend that changed my life for better or worse. My “Dick in a Blender” moment was the glorious, multi-pronged “Harry Hood” unleashed at the Dunkin Donuts Center on 11/30/19. Alas I am still waiting for the band to send me an autographed vitamix, but I’m sure it’s on their to do list *cough cough.*
Once upon a time some late October shows in upstate New York might have meant Fall Tour, or, maybe if you were lucky going back thirty years, a Halloween Run. There was plenty of precedent leading up to this single three-night run to inform what to expect, though maybe the most relevant is the more recent duo of benefit shows at SPAC last summer following the devastating floods in the region. In this case the ‘hometown’ shows were in support of the Divided Sky Foundation, the residential recovery center in Vermont founded by Trey to help support others struggling with addiction. And before I go any further, let me first encourage anyone reading this recap to make a donation to the foundation if you haven’t already. Maybe more importantly, if you or anyone you love is struggling with addiction, please know that help is out there. “All you have to do,” Trey offers, “is walk in the door.”
[We would like to thank Matthew Golia (@mgolia6) for recapping last night's show. Please support The Divided Sky Foundation. -Ed.]
(This recap is dedicated to my Dad and his best friend Mark)
Phish has graced Albany with its presence 18 times, starting in 1989 with a sketchily confirmed appearance at Pauly’s Hotel (setlist lost to the ether). After 3 jaunts at the Palace Theater between ‘92 and ‘93, the band finally arrived, Arena-style, in 1995 at The Knick.
[This post is courtesy of Christy Articola, thank you Christy! -Ed.]
Here is Surrender to the Flow's Albany 2024 issue! We think you're really going to love this issue!
Feeling grateful for Trey's sobriety and decades of generosity, including the Beacon Jams during a tremendously difficult time for the world four years ago?
Please consider celebrating Trey's life by donating in his honor in any amount that you can to the Divided Sky Foundation, the WaterWheel Foundation, or The Mockingbird Foundation, three charities that Trey cares greatly about and that he and Phish routinely support.
We love you, Trey!
Thanks to Jnan Blau (@thephunkydrb) for this exciting update!]
Greetings, phans and phellow phreaks! Your attention, please... Phish Studies 101 is now officially ready to go. A lecture series by and for Phish nerds across the Phishiverse. A webinar series that will absolutely scratch your itch to love and appreciate Phish even more, experience and understand the band, the experience, and the culture ever more deeply.
Phish Studies 101, the three-part webinar series that will probably change your life, is upcoming in October, is super exciting and thought-provoking, and is ready for you to register. For more information on Phish Studies 101, see this recent blog post from the recent past, as seen right here on our beloved Phish Dot Net. There, you will find a full write-up of what this wonderful Phish Studies 101 affair is all about, the backstory, what you stand to learn, how your life will change, etcetera.
Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by Phish fans and for Phish fans under the auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.
This project serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish and their music.
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The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.
And since we're entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we've distributed over $2 million to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.