[We would like to thank Mark C. Lynch (@Mondo_Butts) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

Fade in.

The sun dips in the west, behind the crowd at the Hollywood Bowl, like a child playing peekaboo with his uncle. The trees dance in unison on the horizon. The hills surround the amphitheater like a womb protecting its young. The air is thick. Not with smog or burning embers, but with excitement and anticipation. This is the town where magic happens. Where legends are made and hearts are broken. This is the golden hour, and Phish at the Hollywood Bowl is our feature presentation.

Welcome to Hollywood! What’s your dream? My Phish dream was fulfilled once again with another magnificent showing last night from the Vermont quartet, in one of the greatest venues in all the land.

This summer will mark my 30th anniversary of seeing live Phish. At the same time, this will mark my 20th year anniversary of working in the entertainment industry in LA. I’ve officially lived in LA longer than my hometown of Richmond VA. Hampton Coliseum is no longer my hometown venue, it’s now the Hollywood Bowl… Not a bad exchange.

So for today’s recap, as a tribute to a few of my favorite things: Phish, LA, and movies, I plan to zag a bit and pair the song notes with some classic Hollywood films. Long live cinema! And long live Phish.

The band took the stage last night at 7:34pm. I was excited to experience the show with some friends that flew into town to join me for the experience. As everyone knows by now, Phish pairs even better with good friends. And I’m so lucky to have some damn good friends. With a simple glance around the venue, I could see a lot more of those damn good friends. With the Hollywood Hills as a backdrop, the night begins with a bang. Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close up. Lights! Camera! Action!

The show kicked off with an Old Yeller fan favorite, “Runaway Jim.” Great opening to the night. From my vantage point in Garden Box 7, deep Page side, things were looking good. I like being Page side because Trey faces his guitar towards Page side viewers. If Trey was left handed, I would rather be on Mike’s side. Being so far to the side, I was a little concerned about the sound, since I was walled out on the left, but surprisingly felt the same audio power as I felt from my seats that were dead center Friday night.

“Runaway Jim” was a joy. One of the greats, and my favorite of openers behind “Buried Alive” and “Punch You In The Eye.” They used to stretch "Jim" long. However, this particular version wrapped up at 7:37.

“Blaze On” arrives in the number two spot. Lebowski, nice shades and all, keeps things moving. I can take or leave this song to be honest, but it has a catchy hook and is the first “fire-themed" song of the run. We are almost four months removed from the LA fires. Too soon? Nah, too short. This song ended at 7:45.

Speaking of short. Our trip was short. Page hits the key for the opening narration of “Martian Monster.” One of the big winners of the Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House performance. This song makes me think of Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck teaming up to save the world in Armageddon. This "Martian Monster" ended at 7:50.

“Birds of a Feather” takes the cleanup spot. Tippi Hedren and Hitchcock teamed together in 1963 for a little horror classic called The Birds, but this "BOAF" has less murder, and gets the party going. Welcome to the party, pal! Great tempo here, lots of dancing bodies wiggling. For the first time, I turned to notice the audience behind me. Beautiful faces cascading toward the heavens. The sunlight began to taper off, it is officially dark. "BOAF" ends at 8:00. A tight, danceable nine minutes.

“555” comes up fifth. That is a lot of 5’s. Love this Mike Gordon tune. But nothing really new here. The "5:55" train ends at 8:09, plenty of time left to Throw Momma from the Train.

We delve deeper into night and darkness until we find light. Into the “Divided Sky.” A song that is about energy and feel. It does not deviate in structure musically, but it is a song you can feel when it deviates in emotion. A personal favorite, and the first song I ever heard Phish play live. Saturday night’s version hit all the feels. Oh what dreams may come. "Divided Sky" ends at about 8:23.

Soon “Ether Edge” was penetrating the "Divided Sky" like a dagger. A song I have never really liked too much. Just okay for me. However, this particular version took some big strides and was, by far, the best I have seen, and the best jam of not only the set but possibly the show. A jam worth relistening to. Clocking in at some 18 minutes long, this "Ether Edge" keeps lurching on, materializing into a very climactic third act. Bass bombs late in the jam, red lights penetrating the night, the "Ether Edge" jam rules. “The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge.” "Ether Edge" ends at about 8:44.

Closing the first set, “Squirming Coil.” The same song that ended their set two Saturday night in 2023. For the record, 4/22/2023 was a superior show. Possibly their best in LA, period. Chula Vista and Ventura do not count. Needless to say, this "Coil" did the job. I love when the band leaves Page solo on stage to finish out the song. I always think when Page finishes and gets backstage, Trey tells him he’s too late, they ate all the guac and the toilet’s clogged. Set one ends at 8:52.

Intermission. Let’s all go to the lobby! To get ourselves a treat. We had about a half hour to kill some time, meet some neighbors, and converse.

Set two starts at about 9:20. “AC/DC Bag” opens set two, launching a trio of songs worth relistening to. Besides "Ether Edge" from set one, this opening "Bag," “Life Saving Gun,” and “The Howling” trio makes the show. Exploratory moments in each of them. Definitely worth a listen.

With "AC/DC Bag," I think of Tyler Durden and Fight Club. A David Fincher masterpiece. Put em in a field and, let' em fight it out! This version of "AC/DC" has some spice toward the end of it. It ends at 9:33pm. Lots of good stuff here, and they keep the energy going into my favorite new song in the last couple years, "Life Saving Gun." A director who knows a thing or two about guns, Francis Ford Coppola, was receiving his lifetime achievement award just 200 yards away from the Bowl, down at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, "Life Saving Gun."

A song I am always excited to see these days, this "Life Saving Gun" did not disappoint. Couple interstellar moments in this jam make this a possible career best "Gun." A Young Gun proving itself. Billy the Kid would be proud. "Life Saving Gun" ends at about 9:43.

“The Howling” caps off this superb opening trio with pure crowd chaos. Howls erupted everywhere, none of them in time, but the mayhem only fueled the Dances with Wolves energy. The crowd is really locked in here. The band can tell. Trey and his grin taunts the crowd. A great end to this one, two, three punch at the end of set two. "The Howling" ends at 9:51pm.

I like to think of myself as an oil man. Now this work that we do is very much a phamily enterprise. I thought “Oblivion” was gonna get some attention last night. I even ran to grab a bottle of water thinking I would get back for the action, only to be surprised with a transition into “Run Like an Antelope” only six minutes later. The transition to "Antelope" from "Oblivion" occurred at about 9:57, and was one of the cleaner transitions of the night after relistening this morning.

"Antelope" had great energy, and locked in on the familiar purples and greens and the familiar climactic escalation. It was a really great version clocking in at 11 minutes, ending at about 10:08pm. My notes from the night have Mike Gordon changing his jacket into something warmer at about 10:06. I remember thinking Oh, they are heating up. Mike is taking off his jacket. But alas, he was actually changing his jacket, adding more warmth. He was getting cold. The air was brisk at the Hollywood Bowl last night. Low 50’s by the end of the show.

At this point, I figured if we were not moving into a Saturday night "2001" I would eat my hat. But instead the air was taken out of the Bowl when the band started up their sleepy ballad “Beneath the Sea of Stars Pt1.” I do not hate the song. I was just looking for something better here. It is always a treat when Phish cuts the lights completely on stage, letting the music and the night sky carry the moment. In the darkness, we are given a chance to look up at the stars and realize just how small we really are. I think my friend next to me fell asleep standing up during this song. Impressive. Shout out Ron! (Personal note: Captain Ron was my first date movie. I was like 12, and my friend’s mom dropped us all off after school.) "Sea of Stars" wrapped up at 10:15.

Final song of the second set was “Everything’s Right.” This version explodes at 10:28 and promptly ends a few minutes later. But let the refrain echo through the hills. It is gonna be alright. It certainly is LA. It is gonna be alright.

In a way, "Everything’s Right" became our Everything Everywhere All at Once. And "Everything’s Right" ends at 10:30. The band says their initial goodbyes. My section decides the night ended a little early. We should get at least a two song encore. Pleasantly surprised, we got three songs for the encore.

The band came out for the encore at about 10:34 and started into "Taste." "Taste" is fantastic. This is a nice surprise. This is a real nice surprise Clark. I can remember a time in the 90’s when "Taste" was called "The Fog that Surrounds." The Mist, I mean "Taste," was the song that destroyed all visuals at the Sphere. If you have not watched the YouTube Sphere version of "Taste," do yourself a favor and check it out. Arguably the best visuals of the Sphere run. We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams. Last night’s "Taste" was touching, but nothing to write home about. "Taste" wrapped up in about six minutes, moving aside for “About to Run.”

A great Hendrix homage. Trey’s guitar chops on this song, and in particular this version, are ruthless. "ATR" is a song that showcases my favorite kinda Trey. Truly passionate guitar work. This song is all Trey obviously. And he does not disappoint, shredding through an eight minute version. "About to Run" ended at 10:47. And I just felt like running, but wait, time for one more encore!

“Slave to the Traffic Light” does not have the impact it had for me many moons ago. It is just missing some of the sauce from the early years. I think it was tonight’s version. I do not know if they were clocking time or what, but it just did not have that umph. Oh well. Can’t win them all. "Slave" is a quintessential LA song obviously. A song the band would play right before the audience is ushered out the Bowl and thrown fast and furiously into the LA traffic. "Slave" ended at 10:58. We deserve two more minutes. I want my money back.

But seriously, not too shabby. Another fun Saturday night at the Bowl. Relistens for me were "Ether Edge," "AC/DC Bag," and "Life Saving Gun." Saturday night had a running theme woven throughout. That running theme was literal running. Perhaps running from something, or even chasing something. I need to think about it further, but maybe running toward and away from youth. Trying to recapture it, while understanding growth and time.

“Remember kid, there’s heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” That goes for cinema. And that definitely goes for Phish. The greatest band in the universe. And so the crowd dispersed from the Bowl with not a whimper, but a roar. The stars began to peek through the clouds, as if applauding from the heavens, curious about the love infiltrating this lucid, loveless city. Fans march forth into the Hollywood night, dreaming of tomorrow. When the greatest show on earth would take to the Bowl for one last score.

Fade out.

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