My Way to Mondegreen: Part Two

I previously recounted the first two days of my experience at Mondegreen in part one, but my first Phish festival proved so fruitful that one piece couldn’t contain the whole story. The third night surely went down as one of the most memorable Phish shows of 4.0, and perhaps in all of Phishtory.

For this second dive into my time at Mondegreen, I bring the gonzo to Gonzo Jams as I recount my chemically enhanced experience during the festival’s epic third night. Magic was in the air, and by all accounts, the band delivered on the massive hype leading into the event. While the fourth and final day was unfortunately cut short due to weather, the entire festival added up to nothing short of greatness.

Join me for this recap that serves as part festival review and part trip report, where the stars aligned to cement my first live Phish experience as one of the most impactful music events of my life.

The Shadows in the Trees

Going into Mondegreen, I had the feeling that the Saturday show was going to be the one that really stuck out from the whole event. I planned accordingly with my one and only dose of the long weekend, a single tab of the legendary Dr. Suess, to be dropped an hour before showtime.

After a phone call to my wife to touch base with home and some loving reassurance, my brother and I made our way to the concert grounds. The long walk from the Bonus Track to the gate filled with anticipation for how the band was going to follow up on the mystic Woodlands Jam from the night before.

After a dead-center view for the first two nights, we elected to hang back by the section of trees, affectionately known as the Shadows in the Trees, where group yoga and meditation sessions had been taking place all weekend. While it was some distance from the stage, the well-placed speaker columns to our immediate right and adjacent to the left ensured quality sound all around. We also maintained a full view of the legendary light rig, and the robust tree behind us, adorned with big googly eyes in the leaves above, provided a nice cushion from any potential chompers or vibe killers and served as an easy landmark.

The magic was all around us. After three days of hot weather and two stellar nights of music so far, the crowd’s excited yet exhausted demeanor combined with the widespread use of psychedelics broke down the barriers of everyone in attendance. All systems were a go as we dropped our doses and punched our tickets for the ride ahead.

The band took the stage an hour later. By then, fellow phriends and a few families settled in under the other trees around us. This piece of the venue became an oasis of laid back phans fully tuned in to the music as we took refuge from some of the other more rocking parts of the crowd. From the onset, the vibes were unmatched.

Sharing in the Groove

Phish kicked things off with the enduring “Mike’s Song”, a telling sign of what was in store by leading off with the fan-favorite jam vehicle. I went into the show with a few predictions, a time honored tradition among phans to try and call what the band might bust out. One of mine was a classic combo of “Mike’s Groove” with “I Am Hydrogen” sandwiched in between. Sure enough, those dreamy notes of Hydrogen came floating out of Trey’s guitar ahead of the funky stylings of “Weekapaug Groove”, completing the trifecta and giving me my first prediction of the night right out of the gates. It was a short version overall, but nothing could’ve set the tone better.

The jams kept on coming with the following “Theme From the Bottom” taking its time to explore oceanic depths like a whale traversing the open water; gentle yet majestic. “Blaze On” then kept the goodness flowing with its life affirming lyrics and musings of positivity. A Phish classic through and through.

Their playing so far was on point, but it was at “Gotta Jibboo” where the valves really began to open, perfectly coinciding with the first true peak of our well-timed dose. As the jam reached the point of free form exploration, I suddenly felt like I was standing alone in a massive open space. I could feel the music moving through me and the energy of the people filling the extensive fields all around, but behind my closed eyes was an intimate warmth lifting me up into a state of bliss.

In the weeks leading up to this moment, I felt a significant amount of anxiety thinking about dosing in this environment. My normal set and setting involves the comfort of my own home, free from any environmental factors out of my control. However, I knew the opportunity to combine that experience with this particular night would be a major culmination of both my journeys with the music and with psychedelics. As I felt myself lift off into the unknown, all feelings of anxiety were a distant memory. I felt the full weight of the moment, loosened my grip, and let it all wash over me.

“46 Days” continued the open flow of jams and further built upon the spaces set out in Jibboo. This combo created a major highlight and proved that the inclinations of an epic night of music were well-founded. “Evolve” provided a perfectly timed breather from the exploration. Its poignant lyrics on the mysteries of life profoundly resonated in this moment of collective celebration among the many phans in attendance.

“Meatstick” added a moment of levity to the proceedings, along with its catchy groove and synchronized dance keeping everyone connected. This excellent first set then came to a close with my second call of the night, “David Bowie”, where the jams reached for the stars once again to bring the heavens down to Dover through its complex sections and intricate interplay between the band members. All executed to perfection.

During set break, the sudden reduction in sound waves and the setting sun were a bit jarring as the trip continued to peak, but the glow of the set we just witnessed radiated enough joy to put the discomfort on the back burner, and the mounting anticipation of wondering how they were going to follow an excellent first set took over.

Between the Layers and the Soil

By the time Phish returned to the stage, the sun had completely set. When the field lights cut out, the pop of the crowd covered my skin in goosebumps, or perhaps that was the Dr. Suess hitting its next peak?

Either way, I knew what was at hand as Fishman’s drum beat signaled the beginning of “2001”. The Space Odyssey-inspired jam turned on the ignition of our spaceship and shot us all into the stratosphere. Glow sticks flooded the air above the crowd while CK5’s light rig, the illuminated ferris wheel, and the lights along the dense trees surrounding the stage painted a neon landscape. Truly otherworldly.

The opening odyssey gave way to “Oblivion”. Another modern-day highlight, but perhaps not one most phans would call a favorite. Its placement here though was most appropriate. While “2001” conjured images of space and venturing into the unknown, “Oblivion” covers the ultimate unknown of death and what lies beyond our existence on this plane of reality.

The psychedelic experience shows us how these unknowns are merely doorways waiting for us to step through. What’s on the other side, between the layers and the soil? Oblivion awaits. The rest is a mystery, not to be solved until our time comes.

“Oblivion” provided a short but solid jam before wrapping up. Mike’s bass notes then swam their way into “Down with Disease”, their perennial 90’s anthem that gave the band their biggest taste of mainstream popularity at the time. Despite the popularity, the song features one of their most earnest takes on the idea of death, but in a much more upbeat way than in “Oblivion”. Reminding us that when we think it’s time to leave it all behind, it’s best to get down with the disease and join the barefoot children dancing on the lawn. The grass of The Woodlands certainly felt like a good place to let go that night. Not into death or disease, but into the overwhelming joy of living in the moment.

That moment took over as the band exited the structure of the song and made their way into a ferocious Type 2 jam. So full of life that it felt like everyone, band and crowd alike, had all dialed into a collective mind. The Woodlands became a singularity, and all of us were molecules floating through a grand musical design.

The wonder of that experience wasn’t over. In the lead up to this night, another one of my calls included a combo of two classic jam vehicles, often explored individually, but rarely together. As the “Disease” jam wound down after 20 minutes of excellence, some familiar notes began to bleed through the canvas, and “Tweezer” emerged.

The unlikely pairing of these two massive jams was my top prediction of the event. The so-called “Diseezer” and the unexpected prediction fulfillment cut right into my soul. My connection to the music felt like it came full circle at that moment. The years of diving deep into the Dead and doing the same with Phish, all led up to this epoch of Phish history. I was experiencing it all for the first time, and yet it felt like I had been here before. The energy of the band and everyone in The Woodlands reached an absolute peak, just as the peak in my mind hit its apex.

The band performed at the top of their game. The sound was so full of life, precision, power; everything you hope to hear on any given night, but rarely does it all gel quite like this. With the foundation of the song perfectly executed, the customary “Tweezer” jam began and found a neat little groove that included a call and return section of band and audience interplay in the vein of the famous Tahoe Tweezer.

As the band broke free, a soft melody began to take shape. Mike initiated a theme that Trey quickly picked up on. A blissful section of music unfolded over all of us. The four band members and the nearly 40,000 attendees became connected as one. This is what life is about. Pure experience with a collective mindset, bridging the gap of exhilarating fun and higher awareness. We stepped into the freezer together, and in moments like these we emerge from the cold and reenter the warm and welcoming arms of the musical community.

Slowly but majestically, the jam built up from its blissful beginning into a triumphant display of rocking energy that pushed the crowd into a fever pitch. The energy peaked with such ferocity that it felt like we had broken through the barriers of reality itself. Every time I go back and listen to this jam, I can feel it deep down in my bones. This moment deserves to go down in history as one of the biggest of 4.0. The epic music of 2024 culminated in this sequence, and in my psychedelic-infused mind, the sensation reverberated in every fiber of my being.

Colors in the Void

This epic jam gave way back into the main “Tweezer” theme briefly before gently turning into “Scents and Subtle Sounds”. There couldn’t have been a more appropriate follow up in this celebration of life. Those of us in attendance had the rare opportunity to stop and look at what brought us all there. What we have found, the colors in the void of existence, represented everything in these subtle moments.

It’s incredible how this band can create stories right before our eyes. In the span of this set, we’ve gone from ultimate unknowns of space and death, to the absolute celebrations of life and happiness. This is what we mean when we say Phish represents everything. The full circle of life on display right before the eyes of our physical forms.

The jam out of “Subtle Sounds” hit even more psychedelic heights through sections of spacey themes and meditative loops. For me, by this point in my trip the exhaustion was setting in. The preceding hour of music traveled the cosmos and all ends of the Earth, and I was reeling after so many peaks. So what more was there to do after such a display?

Like a message from above, Mike transitioned into “Boogie On Reggae Woman” and turned The Woodlands into a massive dance floor. The whole crowd let go and the groove took control. I’m usually a fairly reserved person even in show settings, but I’ve never danced harder than I did during this “Boogie On”. I felt like an antenna channeling the energies of everyone all around me, and I’m sure that feeling was mutual with everyone dialed in on this epic groove as we all danced as one.

The incredible second set ended with an exclamation point with a thundering rendition of “Carini”, yet another one of my calls for the night. What this song lacks in insightful lyrics, it more than makes up for that with its killer riffs and tonight’s high-energy delivery. One of the greatest sets in Phish history came to an end with rapturous applause from the unified crowd.

You Decide What it Contains

That left just one question, what would they do to follow that? The breather only lasted a moment before they came back on stage for more, and the lovely chords of “Backwards Down the Number Line” rang out.

This song catches quite a bit of flack from the old school Phish fandom. Some might say it was somewhat anticlimactic to follow such an epic set with this song, and I can understand that view point. The lyrics are on the cheesy side, and it typically doesn’t provide much of a jam. For me though, I’ve loved this song’s message since becoming a phan, and for them to play it at this moment hit me harder than anything else in the night.

There’s an old meme saying that goes, “You’re not the main character, you’re just on drugs at a jam band show.” But this one, in my journey from discovering the music just a year earlier and the path of reflection I’ve been on since coming on board, it really felt like this one was for me. I realize a statement like that could come off as self-centered, but it was a tremendous moment of justification for me.

Images of my entire life flashed before my eyes. The people I love, memories I’ve made, pain endured, overcome and put in the rear view; it all flooded through my mind’s eye. I was overcome with emotion, having never cried during a show as hard as I was during this song. So much came to a head for me at this moment. Even as I write these feelings out here, it doesn’t even begin to describe the gratitude I have for making it this far and experiencing this moment in person. Plus, I still have yet to hear a more rocking version of “Number Line”. Truly remarkable.

I was spent after such an incredible display, but the band wasn’t done delivering just yet. As I reeled back from the emotional overdrive, I said to my equally enthralled brother, “Now they’ll do YEM.” And like a premonition, the opening notes of “You Enjoy Myself” came forth. I fell to my knees in disbelief. When I rose up, a complete stranger reached out and hugged me. We all knew we were witnessing something special. For one last time in the evening, I let it all go and felt the music flow through me as one of the tightest YEM’s I’ve ever heard swept across the trees and through our collectively blown minds.

To wrap it all up, a pitch perfect “Tweeprise” followed suit. Even after such a powerful night of music, the band was still firing on all cylinders up until the final notes. With one more push, I mustered the last remaining energy I had on reserve to jump through the air and reach for the clear skies above as the riffs lifted me up into the heavens. On my final leap, just as the band hit their final crescendo, I fell to the ground as my knees buckled under me, somehow managing not to slam my head into the tree behind us. Another stranger then reached down to lift me up and brought me in for a heartfelt embrace. “That was it, man,” he said as he pulled me in.

The glow of that incredible show washed over us as we let the crowd thin out before making our way back to camp. My brother and I laid under the tree that served as our hitching post to bask in the incredible chain of events that unfolded before us and we knew right away we had just witnessed the greatest show of our lives. No matter what was in store for the fourth and final day, we were already incredibly grateful to be inducted into the glory that was Mondegreen.

How Long it Goes but this Remains

The usual restless night post-trip was filled with introspection and wonder. There was one more day of music to take in, and as confirmed earlier in the day, the show would go on much earlier than planned.

The final day drew some criticism from people in attendance. What had originally been announced as another full two-set performance instead became a day time single set, but the projected stormy weather held off long enough to allow the show to take place under perfectly sunny conditions.

While some people saw the final day as a let down, it can’t be denied that Phish did everything in their power to deliver the four days of music that were promised. This viewpoint also diminishes what was an objectively solid set of music. Especially for my brother and I who were still seeing all of the song choices for the first time.

The long set delivered plenty of classic songs and several very good jams. “Maze”, “AC/DC Bag”, “Sigma Oasis”, “Rift”, and many others were songs I was thrilled to check off my list. Plus, we heard some solid jam explorations in “Bathtub Gin”, “Golden Age”, and the “Fuego” encore to wrap everything up.

The forecasted storm ended up skimming right by the area, and all we experienced was a few strong winds and a minor drizzle of rain. The show could’ve likely gone on as originally planned, but you can’t fault the organizers for taking precaution. I for one could not have been happier with how it worked out. After the exhausting previous night, anything we received on Sunday was purely a bonus in our eyes, and we got to turn into camp early and catch up on some much needed sleep before heading home the next day completely transformed by the whole event.

As I look back on the experience of Mondegreen nearly a year later, it continues to put an uncontrollable grin on my face. Listening back to these shows fills me with just as much excitement as the thought of catching the next show does. After 40 years of creating memories, Phish is as capable as ever of proving why we continue to show up year after year to see what else they have up their sleeves.

2025 is off to a great start after several excellent shows in Mexico and on their West Coast Spring Tour. Summer is right around the corner with two separate stretches scheduled around the country. I plan on attending the two nights at The Mann in Philadelphia in July, and what I’m sure will be a triumphant return to the Hampton Coliseum for three nights in September.

So many wonderful memories behind us and certainly many more to come. Long may they run.

Featured Photo by Alive Coverage