Last summer we invited everyone to rack up some good karma by making conditional pledges to donate to Mockingbird when their chosen events on Summer Tour occurred.

The most popular choice was to donate an amount for each 20-minute jam, but some fans pledged to donate if a specific song was played at a specific show, or in the hope that a friend would hear a "YEM," or if Mike wore neon shoes. People donated for all sorts of different things/reasons/events, hoping their tour wish(es) would come true! Some were realistic, some not so much, but when the donations were counted, the fundraiser was more successful than any of us ever imagined it would be: over twenty-thousand ($20,000) dollars was raised for music education programs!!!

So this year we’re going to do it all again. The menu options are a little more limited this year, but we hope you’ll find something that will inspire you to donate to Mockingbird.

Thirty years ago today Phish performed a show in a hockey arena, Achilles Rink, on Page's birthday, that featured inarguably the sickest version of "Brother" e'er performed, as well as a magnificent jam-chart-worthy "Possum," and among the earliest known somewhat-exploratory "Harry Hood"z that may speak to your soul. Thanks to the good people behind relisten.net, you can listen to an aud recording of the show today, right now, at no cost to you, here. You can also read more about the show and listen to the sbd on LivePhish courtesy of band archivist Kevin Shapiro here. Happy birthday Page!

You put your head down. You look back up. An hour has passed.
You put your head down. You look back up. The clock has stopped.

You close your eyes. You open them. But your eyes are still shut.

Registration is now open for the Seventh Annual Runaway Open charity golf tournament for Phish fans, to be held in Denver 9/3/22 (the morning between the first 2 and second 2 shows of the upcoming Labor Day's run at Dick's.) We'll have to up 120 players this time, with a shotgun start at 8:30, coffee and a group photo to get you started, on-course contests, raffles at the clubhouse, lunch and gift bags included, and more TBA.

Every previous year has sold out, and built a waiting list that we couldn't satisfy, so please register early. To encourage that, we're honoring our past pricing of a $150 donation per player until Memorial Day. From May 30 to August 20, the donatoin request jumps a bit to $165; and for the final two weeks before the event, late registration will be $180.

We're also inviting a range of sponsorship opportunities, including item donations for the gift bags, sponsored team names, sponsored hole signs, sponsored foursomes, and if anyone knows a business interested in the visibility, event sponsorship ("Presented by..." on all collateral and future promo.)

Some fans showed up for the rescheduled YEMSG run with visions of a one-stop Island Tour Redux swimming in their heads. Others perhaps saw it as a late-pandemic milestone, a sign that the clouds are clearing and the time has returned when we can safely gather indoors with 20,000 of our closest friends without worrying about spread of the coronavirus. (Though science tells us that is not the case.)

Whatever expectations or mythology fans built into their perspectives, it’s clear a profound sense of gratitude informed the experience for so many people in the room and on the couch. Actual performances notwithstanding, the return of the ritual itself was deeply meaningful.

And yet, Phish did happen to deliver a musically terrific run. With a series “win” already secured in many fans’ eyes, the band still turned up Saturday as if it had something left to prove.

The show boasted an impeccably constructed, Phish-holiday card of a first set; a second set with lots of action; and a doorslammer of an encore. It felt like old times and new times all mixed together. It was another example of why we do this.

[Phish.net welcomes and thanks guest writer, Dr. Wook, for this recap. -Ed.]

Giving an ‘official’ recap of a Phish show these days can seem like a fool’s errand. What’s the use when by the time you leave the venue and get someplace, a little rectangle device resting in your hand will already deliver you the setlist with notable statistics, song times, and ability to immediately start relistening for the things you thought you heard hours ago. Dedicated fans, through this and other web sites, some in attendance, some viewing from home, often begin posting knowledgeable, insightful, and varied opinions covering all aspects of the performance before anyone even goes to sleep the night of a show. And as Phish heads through its 39^th year, playing the venue they have played the most times across their storied career (68 at MSG), everyone at least agrees there is simply no singular way that people enjoy Phish. Stone cold sober or spun on psychedelics, on the rail or on the concourse, shedding a tear during "Joy" or peeing during Joy, there are such wildly diverse ways people engage with the immense catalogue of music and the ever-evolving live experience, that a common point of view is hard to come by.