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.
Spring Tour Grants Announced
In celebration of Phish’s current run on the West Coast (April 18 to 27), the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending unsolicited $2,000 Tour Grants to a music program in each of the four cities in which the band is performing:
- Aki Kurose Middle School Academy of Seattle, WA (near Climate Pledge Arena, April 18 and 19) for general supplies, literature, organization supplies, and a handful of instruments
- Jefferson High School of Portland, OR (near Moda Center, April 20) for formal performance attire
- Hunters Point Family of San Francisco, CA (near Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, April 22 and 23) for tickets to live music events, bus or van rentals, guest teaching, & supplies
- LAMusArt of Los Angeles, CA (near Hollywood Bowl, April 25, 26, and 27) for instructors who teach lessons, lead rehearsals, plan curriculum, and provide student assessment and mentorship
This makes a total of 226 Mockingbird Tour Grants, and the 31st instance of unsolicited Tour Grants, an effort that now totals $301,000, which is 11.5% 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 which have welcomed and hosted the Phish community for the band’s performances.
SET 1: Simple -> Punch You in the Eye > Gumbo > Reba, The Well > David Bowie, Character Zero
SET 2: Sample in a Jar > Tweezer > Lonely Trip, Crosseyed and Painless > Pillow Jets, You Enjoy Myself
ENCORE: Wading in the Velvet Sea, First Tube
Gumbo contained Manteca teases from Page and Tweezer teases from Trey. Trey teased Manteca in Tweezer.
SET 1: Buried Alive, Axilla (Part II) > Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, My Soul, Halley's Comet, Roggae > Maze, Split Open and Melt
SET 2: Carini, No Men In No Man's Land > Ruby Waves, Waste > What's the Use? > Down with Disease
ENCORE: Fluffhead
Trey teased Manteca during Mike's Song and Crosseyed and Painless in Ruby Waves.
Phans Fund The Last Repair Shop
The all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation has announced a $5,000 unsolicited grant to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) instrument repair shop, through the LAUSD Education Foundation. This incredible entity was featured in the short documentary The Last Repair Shop, which won an Oscar last year.
It’s a small shop with a tight group of repair techs who maintain over 80,000 instruments for students and music programs in the LA District. Despite the area wildfires, the shop was unaffected and has continued to function uninterrupted. However, they’re in the midst of personnel transitions and need to hire and train new staff to keep the shop running. This grant represents one fourth of their current $20K goal.
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).
SET 1: 46 Days, The Moma Dance > Cities -> Plasma, Bouncing Around the Room, Sigma Oasis, Run Like an Antelope > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
SET 2: A Wave of Hope > Twist > Scents and Subtle Sounds > Everything's Right -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Also Sprach Zarathustra > A Life Beyond The Dream > Harry Hood
ENCORE: Wilson > Slave to the Traffic Light
Trey teased Oye Como Va in Twist and If I Only Had a Brain in Harry Hood.
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!
SET 1: Free, Bathtub Gin, Evolve, Stash, Pebbles and Marbles, Farmhouse, Suzy Greenberg > Walls of the Cave
SET 2: Chalk Dust Torture > Light > Chalk Dust Torture > Fuego -> Monsters, Piper > Backwards Down the Number Line
ENCORE: Sleeping Monkey, My Friend, My Friend[1]
Trey teased San-Ho-Zay in Bathtub Gin and Free in Stash. Light contained a Dave's Energy Guide tease from Trey and a Tweezer tease from Page. My Friend, My Friend did not contain the "Myfe" ending.
SET 1: Sand, Kill Devil Falls, Theme From the Bottom > Back on the Train, If I Could, Tube, Mull, Wolfman's Brother
SET 2: Blaze On -> Golden Age -> What's Going Through Your Mind, I Always Wanted It This Way -> Ghost
Golden Age ended with a Split Open and Melt jam.
Mockingbird Announces New Finch Fund Grants
The all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation has announced a special series of grants to organizations that submitted inquiries for our 30th Round of competitive funding. We pulled all requests for $2K or less, ushered them through an expedited due diligence review, and are now announcing 13 grants totaling $17,800, in advance of Round 30 grants, which will be announced June 15th.
This is the third year Mockingbird has offered these Finch Funds, identifying an array of smaller requests that could make a big difference, and funding them quickly. These newest grants support programs at schools, community centers, and non-profit organizations in 12 states (including two in Georgia). The full list is on mbird.org.
With this announcement, Mockingbird has now made 729 grants nationwide. Before this summer is over, that number will reach 750 and the total will top $2.6M, thanks to the generous support of Phish fans. We hope that you will consider making a tax-deductible donation through the Foundation’s website at www.mbird.org so that we can continue to increase the percentage of applicants whom we are ultimately able to fund.
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 Golf To Benefit Fire Victims
The upcoming 10th Annual Runaway Open charity golf tournament will benefit Pasadena Rosebud Academy, a tuition-free, non-sectarian charter school serving Black and Hispanic K-8 students for 18 years, that burned down in January and is slowly rebuilding.
Recent wildfires in Southern California - principally the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire - completely destroyed a dozen schools. The Eaton Fire alone burned 9,000 buildings and 14,000 acres, killed 17 people, and destroyed three charter schools, each of which faces significant challenges. Some of those are receiving significant support, but Rosebud Academy is still struggling to meet it's initial GoFundMe request.
The Runaway Open's previous nine events have taken place in Nevada and Colorado. This year's event will be in the Burbank area, in conjunction with Phish's upcoming three performances at the Hollywood Bowl, and will take place at DeBell Golf Club, a lush and lovely escape from the city that's nonetheless only about 8 miles from the venue. We hope to see you there, and ask that you share the link (mbird.org/10RO) anywhere you can. We also invite interest from any businesses willing to donate any funds as a sponsor, or able to donate items for the gift bags or raffle.
The 10th Annual Runaway Open Is On!
This year's charity golf tournament by the Mockingbird Foundation will be April 27 at the woodsy DeBell Golf Club in Burbank, less than 9 miles from the Hollywood Bowl.
As always, we'll play a modified shamble, with coffee to start, a schwag bag at check-in, lunch and a drink ticket on the turn, and an on-going raffle throughout. This year, the outing will be straight tee times (7-10am) to accomodate player prefences from hitting at 7 to sleeping until 9.
Registration is now open, we hope to see many of you there, and we hope those who can't come might at least share the link with others: https://donate.mbird.org/event.jsp?event=30 (This shortcut works everywhere but Facebook: mbird.org/10RO) Early-bird registration pricing ends March 15th.
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.
Icymi: Phish Announces Summer Tour 2025
PHISH announced their summer tour earlier this week. They will be playing 23 dates beginning with three shows at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH, Friday, June 20 through Sunday, June 22, and concluding with three shows at SPAC on July 25-27. As you have undoubtedly heard by now, there will be no shows at Dick's over Labor Day weekend, but there will be three shows at Folsom Field in Boulder over the July 4 holiday weekend. The Phish ticket request period is open until this Monday at noon et. Public onsale begins Friday, February 28 at 10am et.
Summer Terr Dates
June 20, 21, 22 SNHU Arena, Manchester, NH
June 24 Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA
June 27 + 28 Moody Center, Austin, TX
July 3, 4, 5 Folsom Field, Boulder, CO
July 9 Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH
July 11, 12, 13 North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, SC
July 15 + 16 TD Pavilion at the Mann, Philadelphia, PA
July 18, 19, 20 United Center, Chicago, IL
July 22 + 23 Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Hills, NY
July 25, 26, 27 Broadview Stage at SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY
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.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation