[We would like to thank Paul Jakus (@paulj) of the Dept. of Applied Economics at Utah State University for this summary of research presented at the 2024 Phish Studies Conference. -Ed.]

As many of you know, the coding/architecture of Phish.Net is currently undergoing a major overall. While the ability to rate shows has been restored, we continue to study the ratings database with the goal of improving the accuracy (and credibility) of show ratings. This is the first in a series of four blogposts about that effort.

This post will focus the raw ratings data.

All analysis is based on an anonymized database downloaded on October 26, 2023.

This date allows us to sidestep problems associated with possible ratings shenanigans in the aftermath of the NYE Gamehendge performance. Ratings for 592 dates that were soundchecks, TV appearances, side projects, false dates (on which no show was performed), and shows for which there is no surviving audiotape were deleted. The final data consist of 343,241 ratings from 16,452 users for 1,736 shows. The shows ranged from Phish’s first, December 2, 1983, through October 15, 2023.

Show ratings are tightly concentrated at high values.

A smoothed distribution for show ratings (the simple average of individual ratings) appears below. Ratings have a heavy concentration of shows packed in between 4.0 and 4.8, and a long tail of relatively fewer shows spread across the relatively low ratings (<4.0).

In celebration of Phish's 23-show summer tour, the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending an unsolicited $2,000 Tour Grant each to nine music education programs, one near each venue on the tour. This group of $18,000 grants includes the 700th grant by Mockingbird and is Mockingbird's 28th round of unsolicited Tour Grants, an effort that now totals $288,000, 11% of all disbursements made by the Foundation. These grants are part of a long-standing effort to help support music education in the local communities that Phish touches.

We appreciate your support that has made these grants possible - individual donations, auction bids, poster purchases, registration for our three upcoming golf events over the Dick's weekend, and so much more. As always, Mockingbird remains all-volunteer, with no office, no salaries, and no staff, and can only do what we do because other fans pitch in and participate. If you haven't recently, please consider donating today.

[We would like to thank Brad Strode (@c_wallob) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

My first Phish show was in December 2003. Subsequently, my first Phish festival was Coventry. I have a lot of great memories of Coventry, harrowing though it was. Being 21 at the time, I didn’t mind the long wait in traffic, the 14 mile walk we took to get to the grounds, or even the mud; those were shared experiences with my friends and fellow fans. I remember the kindness of those around us, sharing with our neighbors to pool limited supplies we could carry in, and even that “Melt” jam was pretty fire. Another core memory of that festival was the trek off the concert field after the last song, “The Curtain (With).” I have never seen tens of thousands of people that silent, save maybe a sob from a disheartened fan (truly believing it was over), or maybe the occasional disgruntled shout of, “What the fuck was that?!?!?” Over the past 160+ shows I’ve had the privilege to see, I have frequently thought of the despair that everyone felt leaving that concert field, and I reflect on how fortunate we are to have this band back in our lives.

[We would like to thank Alaina Stamatis (Farmhose on dot net and Fad Albert on Twitter) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

Terry Gross: You’re listening to Fresh Air. My guest today is the seminal improvisational rock band Phish, who formed 41 years ago and continue to innovate and excite across every living generation. They are in some ways torch bearers for what the Grateful Dead ignited, but in many ways they are a “Fuego” unto themselves. Last night they performed their Saturday night set at their 11th festival called Mondegreen, which has an estimated attendance of upwards of 40,000 strong. Gentlemen, welcome to the show.

Phish: Thank you for having us.

Terry Gross: So, tell me about Mondegreen.

[We would like to thank Cotter Smart (@Cotter_Smart) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

There seem to be special times in life we are given a third opportunity. Be it college, with our significant other, or an extra Phish set. I say this not knocking the first two sets of music we all heard in the woodlands last night, they were good. The band sounded very intentional, they came out and played with a purpose. Nothing was bad, but outside of a few amazing moments during a “Pillow Jets” into “Your Pet Cat” jam there was nothing got to the heights reached previously in the tour. The secret set felt like culmination of it all.

I tend to get the difficult tasks of writing reviews for out of the ordinary shows. I wrote the Gamehendge review, and prior to that put pen to paper when Trey got stuck. Those were not easy to do; this represents an entirely different challenge. Trying to accurately describe the intricacies of a 50-minute behemoth as someone who’s not musically well endowed. I’ll do my best.