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.

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Well, here we are, just over eight months into the hellscape that is America in 2020. Nearly every aspect of life has been changed for the worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The simple act of going out in public requires us to wear a mask (those of us who give a shit about other people, anyway). Social circles have often shrunk to immediate family and maybe the closest of friends. Many people are unable to visit parents and grandparents in nursing homes or who otherwise fall into high-risk groups for the virus. Millions more have lost their jobs and face financial uncertainty and the very real health risks, both physical and mental, associated with long-term unemployment. And that’s to say nothing of the nearly 200,000 Americans and 900,000 people worldwide, who have succumbed to the disease and countless others experiencing long-term side effects.

So in the grand scheme of things, being unable to go see live music is a pretty small sacrifice. And yet, for those of us who love live music, there is a void. Presumably for anyone reading this, the lack of Phish shows is a big part of that. It impacts everyone differently. Some fans were probably hit hardest when Phish officially postponed summer tour to (we hope) 2021. Others may have felt it most back in July when tour was scheduled to kick off in Eugene, OR. For me, the realization this week that I wouldn’t be getting on a flight to Colorado was that moment. Sure, I had known for months that Dick’s wouldn’t be happening this year. I just hadn’t counted on how much of a part of my year Dick’s had become. In addition to being Phish 3.0’s annual festival hiding in plain sight, it had earned its own spot on the calendar. August, Dick’s, September. Indeed, most years we managed to cram a month’s worth of memories and good times into those three days. Will summer even turn to fall without Dick’s? I guess we’ll find out.

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Another summer has passed, the ninth since the opening notes of "Fluffhead" kickstarted what has come to be called Phish 3.0. Phish has evolved significantly since then. They are more apt to play extended jams than in those early 3.0 days. They've also built up a significant catalog of original 3.0 material - about a third of the songs played in any given show can be expected to have made their debut since Barack Obama's inauguration (god, weren't those the days?). They've also created a new traditional run of shows: The Labor Day run in Colorado or, as Phish fans more simply call it: Dick's.

Last night concluded the seventh annual Dick's run. Most years it seems like the excitement and anticipation of Phish tour reaches a frothy peak at Dick's. This year was different. The Baker's Dozen was such an exciting event for so many obvious reasons that it seemed like it sucked a little air out of the Dick's balloon. (The same thing happened in 2015 after Magnaball.) There was no way Phish could top (or even equal) what they accomplished in 13 shows at MSG in a single three night run. Of course that made it all the more remarkable that on Friday night they threw down probably the best set of the year (at least in this recapper's opinion). Conventional wisdom was that Saturday was a significant step back from Friday. What would Sunday bring?

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Regular readers of this site may have noticed that the admins did not post a “Best of 2016” this year, as we did the last three years. Delicate flowers that we are, 2016 took a lot out of us. For starters, it wasn’t 2015. That may be an unfair comparison, with 2015 being the consensus best year of 3.0, but it’s also the nature of the space-time continuum. So, fine, point conceded: it may be unfair to be critical of any series of shows for not standing up to the band’s most recent high water mark. But Summer 2016 paled in comparison to 2012-14, too. In fact, many of us viewed it as the most lackluster tour since the band’s first post-breakup tour in June 2009.

Fortunately, as lackluster as the summer was, the Dick’s run proved to be a turning point (if you squint a little, you could see the seeds for the turning point start with the west coast run). In fact, a group of us began ranking the 2016 shows and two things jumped out. First, summer really was that underwhelming. There were 45 shows in 2016. Only one show from among the first 25 so much as threatened to make it into the top 10 (7/15/16). The other top 10 contenders came exclusively from the last 20 shows of the year. But -- there’s always a but -- here’s the thing: those 20 shows produce a damn respectable top 10 shows. As good as 2015? Um, no. But when you consider they came from a 20 show stretch, you realize that Phish actually ended the year in quite strong fashion.

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Uncomfortable truths are sometimes easier to acknowledge after the passage of time. This is especially true when there is a happy ending involved. So it goes with Phish's 2016 summer tour. Let's be clear: Heading into Dick’s, 2016 wasn’t just below average—it was among the most puzzling and disappointing stretches of the band's career.

Phish has always had highs and lows—many more of the former than the latter—but there was always an explanation for the lows. In retrospect, 1996 was about the band re-inventing itself after the peak of 1995. We all know the explanation for 2004, though the band still managed to scale massive peaks even during that time of trouble. In 2009, Phish was still getting their sea legs under them. But 2016 hadn’t provided an easy answer, at least not yet.

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Pretty much anyone who was in New York City on 2/12/06 remembers that day. The vast majority of NYC’s 8+ million inhabitants probably remember the record setting blizzard that dumped nearly 27 inches of snow in Central Park. For the 2,800 lucky souls who spent the evening a few blocks west at the Beacon Theater, the blizzard is only the second most memorable part of that day. More memorable is the outstanding Phil & Friends show with Trey sitting in for the entire show in place of Barry Sless.

I was lucky enough to be tipped off that morning that Trey would be sitting in. Somehow, great seats were still available on Ticketmaster. After pulling an Orchestra Row M, I set off to make the journey from the East Village to the Upper West Side.

Most folks in attendance were probably expecting a “snow” song to kick things off, but instead the band got right down to business with a nice run through of “Help” > “Slip” > “Franklin’s.” While this version doesn’t hold a candle to the Warfield ‘99 version with Page and Trey (the “Franklin’s,” in particular, is a bit ragged), it was still a great way to get things started. After an enjoyable version of The Band’s “Up on Cripple Creek,” we got the real meat of the first set. Typically, it’s a bad sign when the trio of “They Love Each Other” -> “Cold Rain & Snow” -> “Loose Lucy” form the highlights of a set. Not the case here, though. “TLEO” is downright hosey. Trey’s first solo veered into “I Know You Rider” territory, while the jam out of the final verse headed into a version of “Cold Rain & Snow” that simply did not need vocals.

After “Loose Lucy” we got one of the real treats of the set, a stunning version of “Buckets of Rain,” the last track from arguably Dylan’s greatest album, Blood on the Tracks, featuring Trey and Joan Osborne delivering tandem vocals and Larry Campbell on mandolin. A second consecutive Dylan cover in "All Along the Watchtower" closed the set.

Set II opens with a typically great version of "St. Stephen" (although check out the 6/30/06 version to hear Trey really launch this tune into the stratosphere). Next up is a Ryan Adams cover, "What Sin Replaces Love." At the time it seemed odd placement for this quiet song, but Phil knew what the rest of us didn't: the next hour was going to be straight psychedelic fire.

"Cryptical Envelopment" started up and the musical ideas flow like wine. At times Trey takes the lead, other times the jam is driven by Phil, still others Trey and Larry trade licks. Is that a "Cosmic Charley" jam? Over 22 minutes, the jam ebbs and flows but never bores, finally resolving into "Dark Star." Before long, "Dark Star" threatens to turn spacey when things take an unexpected turn as Larry Campbell picks up the violin -- during "DARK STAR." It completely works, though, and soon Trey is locked into Larry's violin. Phil steers the band into a unique version "The Other One" proper interspersed with fiery leads from Trey and Larry's continued fiddle work. The second verse of "Dark Star" is next and Larry finally returns to his guitar as he and Trey put the finishing touches on this 55-minute excursion.

No rest for the wicked, though, as "Eyes of the World" follows, one of the songs conspicuously absent from the '99 Phil & Phriends shows. "Eyes" is a fairly short version, sadly without the '73-'74 coda. Next up is "GDTRFB," a song that was hinted at during the preceding "Dark Star" / "Other One" madness. A perfunctory "Gimme Shelter" closed out the set. "Wolfman's Brother" appeared in the encore slot, the fourth (and, to date, final) time Phil has performed the song with a member of Phish. A bonus "In the Midnight Hour" sent everyone home happy.

The natural impulse, for Phish nerds anyway, is to compare this show to the other Phil & Friends shows with Trey. This is one case where I wouldn't make those comparisons. First off, those April '99 shows were magical. Most shows, including most Phish and Dead shows will pale in comparison. Second, this show was simply different. It doesn't have the same telepathic peaks that Kimock/Anastasio hit repeatedly over the Warfield run, nor does it have Page McConnell on piano. But what it does have is plenty: "Cold Rain & Snow" with Trey's guitar on lead vocals, a delicate "Buckets of Rain" and, of course, 55 minutes of Rolling Thunder with a fiddle.

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Three days ago on the Phish.net admin group chat:

“You should update your MSG blog post for 2013 and repost”

“Great idea. I don’t think I wrote an MSG history, though.”

It certainly seems like we should have a comprehensive history of the venue that Phish has played more than any other (in the "modern era," anyway). I certainly have been unabashed in my love for the venue. Even though the 2011-13 facelift has produced mixed results (superior amenities and a better experience for fans in the 100 sections and floor; a far worse experience for those consigned to the upper levels), it’s still hard to come up with a better arena sized venue to see Phish. Certainly back in the day of the bowl setup, there was no better venue. Some of my most vivid ‘90s Phish memories are of simply walking into the Garden.

Unfortunately, it’s December 29th, and I don’t have time to write a detailed history that will do justice to the World’s Most Famous Arena. But, in advance of shows 32-35, I can offer up a quick look at highlights from the first 31.

1. 12/30/94: They played a 23-minute “Tweezer” at this show that would be completely justified being the highlight at any number of shows (even if it’s probably, at best, the 4th best version from the Fall ‘94 tour). In fact, for anyone listening 21 years later, it almost certainly is the highlight. But for anyone in the round room that night, what they probably remember is 20,000 fans chanting “Wilson.”

12/30/94 “Wilson” New York, NY

2. 12/30/95: This show bears the burden of sitting between two legendary shows. It’s not a bad show. It’s just not a particularly good December ‘95 show. Great “Hood” though.

3. 12/31/95: Where to begin? This is probably the consensus best show that doesn’t feature a 7.5 hour set. The versions of “Reba,” “Forbin’s” > “Mockingbird,” “Drowned” (with an imaginary “FOTM” tease!), “Runaway Jim,” YEM” and “Mike’s” make nearly any of those songs’ top versions list. But it’s the “Auld Lang Syne” > “Weekapaug” > “Sea & Sand” trio that rises above the others.

12/31/95 Set III New York, NY

4. 10/21/96: Sadly, this is one of the least exciting Phish shows I’ve ever attended. I haven’t listened to it in years, but I remember the “Stash” being mildly interesting.

5. 10/22/96: The “Freakapaug.” You may notice a theme emerging here with great “Weekapaugs” at MSG.

10/22/96 “Mike’s” > “Swept Away” > “Steep” > “Weekapaug” New York, NY

6. 12/29/97: Another show with a multitude of highlights. I’d like to cheat and say “Set II,” but then I wouldn’t be earning my generous salary here at Phish.net. So I’ll give up the funk for the “Tube.”

7. 12/30/97: Another pantheon MSG Phish performance. As many highlights as the previous night, but here we have a clear winner: the mammoth “AC/DC Bag.” That said, I can’t let this show go by without also mentioning the legendary “Harpua.”

12/30/97 “AC/DC Bag” New York, NY

8. 12/31/97: This show never seems to get its due, despite having one of the best sets of 1997. The entire second set smokes, but it's the “Weekapaug” that again rises to the top.

9. 12/28/98: The “Carini” or the “Wolfman’s”? Hmmm… I’ll go with the spacey, ambient “Wolfman’s,” but ask me tomorrow and my answer may change.

10. 12/29/98: Another 12/29 show where “Set II’ would be an acceptable answer, but the winner is the looooong “2001” so many of us still long for.

11. 12/30/98: A somewhat odd show that took a while to get going. The “Disease” is probably the jam of the night, but if we’re grading on a curve, it’s the “Caspian.”

12. 12/31/98: It would be hard to come up with a better opening hour to a Phish show. “1999”!!! So many worthy candidates here, but the “Mike’s” takes it.

12/31/98 “Mike’s Song” New York, NY

13. 12/31/02: The Return! Taking both the music and the moment into account, the only possible answer here is the “Piper.” But let’s also give an honorable mention to one of the most beautiful midnight NYE moments ever: the blizzard in MSG with “Seven Below” as the soundtrack.

14. 12/2/09: These 2009 shows are (mostly deservedly) overlooked in 2015, but there were some great moments. Chief among them is this version of “Light,” one of the first to venture into the stratosphere.

15. 12/3/09: Anytime you play the same venue 31 times, there are bound to be a few forgettable shows. This is one of those. The “Disease” is quite good, though.

16. 12/4/09: Grading on the 2009 curve, this is a very good second set, culminating in the best “YEM” of the year. Is that enough backhanded compliments for you?

17. 12/30/10: The forgotten great “Tweezer” of 3.0. So much Plinko…

18. 12/31/10: The so-called “Holy Ghost.” Is this version a bit overrated? Probably. But I also know this: I’ve experienced few more intense moments at Phish shows. I may not have jumped quite as high as Michael Jordan during the many peaks of this “Ghost,” but I definitely out-jumped Patrick Ewing.

12/31/10 “Ghost” New York, NY

19. 1/1/11: Just a stunningly beautiful jam in this “Simple.”

20. 12/28/11: The “Carini” > “Tweezer” combo in the second set probably provided the most meat of this show, but the “Cities” that headed straight to bliss before grinding to a halt probably symbolizes this much maligned run as much as anything.

21. 12/29/11: Another show where you need a compass and a pack of bloodhounds to find the highlight, but there it is, buried deep in the second set. No, not the “Juan Pierre” tease in “Character Zero.” What the segue from “Chalk Dust” into “Hydrogen” lacks in execution it makes up for in surprise. It’s a small moment, but a nice one nonetheless.

22. 12/30/11: The “Piper” is the highlight of, not only this show, but the entire run. Which is good, since the rest of the show has little to offer.

23. 12/31/11: At every NYE show, you’re pretty much assured of a memorable midnight gag. So it was with this show. Best “Steam” ever, aided by dancers rappelling from the rafters. The rest of the show? Let’s just move on…

24. 12/28/12: This “Tweezer,” particularly the last five minutes, deserves so much more credit than it usually gets. Just pure hose.

25. 12/29/12: I guess the “Golden Age” is our highlight here. I guess. Maybe it can borrow the previous night’s “Little Drummer Boy”-infused “Wolfman’s”?

26. 12/30/12: The “Disease” or the “Carini”? We’ll ponder this question again shortly. For now, I go with the “Carini.”

27. 12/31/12: This is one of those shows where the execution of the theme makes up for the lack of a true musical highlight. Just a great time from start to finish (so much fun we couldn’t bear to recap it!). The runaway golf cart marathon “Tweezer Reprise” was tremendous… one of the reasons even the most jaded among put ourselves through the NYE ticket shitshow year after year.

12/31/12 Set III New York, NY

28. 12/28/13: Even looking at this second set now, it seems like it should be better than it was. The “Steam” is probably the highlight.

29. 12/29/13: The “Disease” or the “Carini”? This time I’m going with the “Disease.” As an aside, and given the events of today, I can’t help but look back and laugh at the fact that I spent parts of the second set watching the Eagles/Cowboys game with such hope. Good riddance, Chip, and my fault for not realizing it’s always better to cast my lot with Phish. At least as long as I root for Philadelphia teams.

30. 12/30/13: There’s only one right answer here, and that’s the “Chalk Dust.”

31. 12/31/13: There’s only one right answer here, and it may be a cop-out, but I’m taking it: “Set II.” It will be tough to top the flatbed truck this New Year’s, but I can’t wait to see them try.

12/31/13 Set II New York, NY

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Heading into last night's summer finale at Dick's, it's safe to say there was a sense of collective unease. The first two shows of the run were solid, but decidedly unspectacular. Phish is currently playing at a high level, so by no means were Friday and Saturday nights bad shows. They just felt a little... ordinary. The Friday spelling tradition was seemingly put to rest and there was little acknowledgment that we were at DICK'S. It was understandable. Magnaball was such a smashing success, that it was going to be nearly impossible for this run not to feel a little anti-climactic.

"The Landlady" – Photo © @tweeprise

Phish came out and played two sets that largely stuck to that script. It was going to be my job to shine a light on the high points, note some of the more questionable calls, and try not to let too much of my disappointment show through that this year's Dick's shows felt like just another three-night run. And there were some genuine high points, most obviously the sterling "Down with Disease."

Alas, in the first set, those high points were not always easy to come by. A languid "Landlady" opener crossed off a never-before-seen song on many fans' lists (though they had, of course, likely seen it many times inside of "PYITE"). The "Free," "Moma," "Seven Below" sequence that followed showcased a veritable murderer's row of anthemic Trey licks. It's more difficult to be charitable about the song selection from the rest of the first set. But why on earth should we dwell on that here? And, hey, that's just, like, my opinion, anyway. I'm sure there are some folks out there who thought each call from "Caspian" through "Halfway to the Moon" was better than the last.

"Frankenstein" – Photo © @tweeprise

Setbreak was longer than usual, and the clock watchers among us noted ominously that Phish had only given themselves about an hour and twenty minutes for the second set and encore. That wasn't necessarily ideal, but sometimes shorter sets tend to be more focused, delivering wall-to-wall meat. That wasn't necessarily the case last night. The aforementioned "Disease" certainly fit the bill, as they deconstructed the jam to a minimalist groove and then built it back up into major-key euphoria. The last minute of the "DWD" seemed to hint at "Tweezer" before downshifting into "Carini." At just nine minutes, the "Carini" is compact but featured an echoplex-fueled jam that was reminiscent of 12/29/13.

"Compact" would be the watchword of the set, as "Steam," "Piper," "2001," and "Tweezer" all fit that description. "Piper," in particular, squeezed a lot of action into its eight-and-a-half minutes. This was all high-quality, enjoyable Phish, and had it taken place mid-tour, I'm sure I'd be singing its praises. But when "Tweezer" gave way to "The Horse," it felt like we were going to leave Dick's without a true standout show. Oddly, they started up "Slave" at 11:48. ::Does math:: How on earth are they going to play "Slave" and fit in an encore by curfew?

"Down With Disease" – Photo © @tweeprise

When they came back on for the encore just after midnight and launched into "Tweeprise," the plot thickened. A "Tweeprise" stand-alone encore would be rare but perhaps it made sense with the show running past curfew.

The best Phish moments always seem to be unexpected. Truth be told, even if the show had ended right here, it would have capped off an amazing weekend in every respect. But it didn't. The band recognized the significance of Dick's all along, and had completely faked us out. In 2011 we got the 'S' show. In 2012 they spelled "Fuck Your Face." In 2013 they spelled backwards. Last year gave us the "Lushington" fake out. Each year a new twist. What was left to do? All the permutations had seemingly been exhausted. All but one: spell a message on the last night.

"Tweezer Reprise" – Photo © @tweeprise

"Oom pa pa oom pa pa oom pa pa oom pa paaaaaaa-ah!" Setlist antics were the farthest thing from anyone's mind when "Harpua" started up. Trey clued everyone in by letting us know that when you write your setlist to only include "Harpua" once, and to "keep that in the back of your mind." Of course, that went completely over my head. In this installment of the story, east coast Jimmy needed an oxygen tank to cope with the altitude in Colorado. On his turntable he played the appropriately timed "After Midnight." But it turns out he bought the oxygen tank at the Phish show and it was really "NO2" (played for the second time this tour). Somehow this led into the first "Keyboard Cavalry" since 1995, and the bells brought Jimmy back to consciousness whereupon he noticed "Your Pet Cat," Poster Nutbag.

Unfortunately, Mike accidentally ate Poster Nutbag, causing Jimmy to wax philosophical and ask himself "How did I get here?" Thus spawned the first "Once in a Lifetime" since the Remain in Light set in '96. Was it a little rough around the edges? Sure. Did that matter even a little? Not really. We truly were in "Once in a Lifetime" territory at this point. To finish up the message, Trey thanked us all for being a part of this unique community, wrapping up with the Brotherhood of Man song, "United We Stand."

Of course, we should really be the ones thanking Trey, Mike, Page and Fish for the amount of joy that they bring to all of our lives. The fact that they are still doing it after all these years and at such a high level is nothing short of amazing. Last night, after over 32 years of shows, Phish delivered the Best. Encore. Ever. No qualifier necessary. It will certainly go down as one of the most joyful moments I’ve ever experienced at a Phish show. The legend of Dick’s continues.

Phish Summer 2015 – Setlists & Recaps
07/21/15 Setlist – Recap – Bend 1
07/22/15 Setlist – Recap – Bend 2
07/24/15 Setlist – Recap, Recap2 – Shoreline
07/25/15 Setlist – Recap – LA Forum
07/28/15 Setlist – Recap – Austin
07/29/15 Setlist – Recap – Grand Prarie
07/31/15 Setlist – Recap – Atlanta 1
08/01/15 Setlist – Recap – Atlanta 2
08/02/15 Setlist – Recap – Tuscaloosa
08/04/15 Setlist – Recap – Nashville
08/05/15 Setlist – Recap – Kansas City
08/07/15 Setlist – Recap – Blossom
08/08/15 Setlist – Recap – Alpine 1
08/09/15 Setlist – Recap – Apline 2
08/11/15 Setlist – Recap – Mann 1
08/12/15 Setlist – Recap – Mann 2
08/14/15 Setlist – Recap – Raleigh
08/15/15 Setlist – Recap – Merriweather 1
08/16/15 Setlist – Recap – Merriweather 2
08/21/15 Setlist – Recap – Magnaball 1
08/22/15 Setlist – Recap – Magnaball 2
08/23/15 Setlist – Recap – Magnaball 3
09/04/15 Setlist – Recap – Dick's 1
09/05/15 Setlist – Recap – Dick's 2
09/06/15 Setlist – Recap – Dick's 3

Commerce City, CO posters by Rich Kelly. 12x24, Edition of 850 each night.

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Whenever the final Curtain falls on Phish, and fans debate the band's finest moments, Friday's Haunted House set will be a part of that discussion. So how do you follow up a show like that? Do you ride the momentum to even greater heights? Remember, 11/1/13 was possibly the best show of last year. Or are we doomed to Saturday Night Special meets The Hangover? Phish didn't have to play shows on 1/1/96 or 1/1/00. They would get no such reprieve on 11/1/14.

Photo by @hersch

A tight, compact "Fuego" starts us off. Like its other first set brethren, this "Fuego" sticks to the script, but if amount of Trey-face is a leading indicator, we can put away the Advil. He looks fresh as a daisy and Hangover-free. The blues of "My Soul" follows and gives way to the shuffle of "Back on the Train." After playing no Fuego songs on the one year anniversary of their debut, the funk of "555" delivers our second in four songs. The first "Dog Faced Boy" since 6/8/11 (144 shows) provides our first surprise of the night. Moving swiftly from such tenderness to facial copulation, We get the first "Fuck Your Face" since Phish Trucked our Face last NYE. The two-faced combo is followed by a quick "Horn" before we get another rarity in the form of "Frankie Says." The always welcome "My Friend My Friend" is next. So in the space of five songs, we've been dogged, fucked, blown, sucked and stabbed. What other band has that range, I ask you?

Photo by @languagestrange

At least they leave flowers for us, as "Roses Are Free" continues the string of relative bustouts. The Circus Circus is the place for us, as "Roggae" ushers us under the big top. In the past few years, when we think of the typical first set "jamming" songs, songs like "Gin," "Wolfman's," and "Stash." "Roggae" has quietly been at that level, though this would be a fairly tame version, even by first set standards. "Birds of a Feather" was next and featured a quick tease of "The Birds" from Friday's Haunted House set. "Birds" contained a "Birds" tease. Get it? A typically strong "Wingsuit" (love it in this position) closed the set.

Photo by @taopauly

Set two starts off with "Possum." Played a couple of times a tour, "Possum" is welcome pretty much anywhere in the setlist, even as a second set opener. This version would really serve as a table setter for what was to come. First, "Crosseyed and Painless" wastes little time breaking form. A tight little Trey-led groove becomes spacier, and Page's Rhodes hints at "No Quarter," but instead results in a slick segue into "Light." "Light," augmented by all manner of howling, builds to a serious peak reminiscent of "The Dogs" from 10/31, before quieting down into a serene space. For a minute, it seems like Fish is struggling to keep the jam alive, but then it resolves into a brief full band "Lengthwise."

Photo © Phish From the Road

For the second consecutive 11/1, we get a tease-infused version of "Twist." The 2014 vintage features some "Lengthwise" quoting from Fish before hitting on a more severe infusion of "Manteca" teases and good old fashioned, ferocious picking from Trey. "Twist" cools down until it's just Page steering things into "Wading in the Velvet Sea." After "Velvet Sea" does its thing, the alligator mouths continue into "Harry Hood."

This has been a revelatory year for "Harry" and it seemed tonight would not disappoint. There are all sorts of bells and whistles throughout this version (check out Trey at the end of the "Miner" segment and the plinko-y work from Page during the build). The stage was set for an all-time version when it was abruptly cut short in favor of "Golgi." Don’t quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that's a felony in some jurisdictions. "Number Line" takes the set fully off the rails, but at that point the damage had already been done. A classic Phish case of subtraction by addition. "Waiting All Night," "Sing Monica" and, for god only knows what reason, "The Star Spangled Banner" filled the encore slot. I could go on, but you probably don't want me to. I was feeling good – really good! – though the third quarter, but seven straight tequila shots have left me all sorts of hungover.

Photo © Phish From the Road

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Last night Phish closed their fourth consecutive Labor Day run at Dick's Sporting Goods Park outside of Denver. In that relatively short period of time, the band has done more than just play twelve mostly above average shows at the otherwise soulless soccer stadium; they've created a new tradition. New Years Eve and Halloween will likely always be the two most hallowed days on the Phish calendar, but pencil in the Dick's run right below those. Fans are on notice, if they weren't already, that this isn't just another three-show run. Miss these shows at your peril, because it's no longer coincidence that Phish delivers outstanding shows at Dick's.

After two great shows to open the run, we knew we were going to be pouring from the proverbial gravy boat all night. Even a run of the mill show couldn't really tarnish either the run or the Dick's legacy, but the band made it clear with a cleanly played "Curtain With" opener, that there would be no need to entertain those possibilities. It's always good times when the boys take the stage looking for fun and a playful "Wombat" declared those intentions. Straight forward versions of "Kill Devil Falls," "Bouncing" and "Poor Heart" continued to show the band in good form, even if they didn't offer groundbreaking improvisation. "ASIHTOS" (aka "Assy Toes") provided the first, albeit brief, glimpse of deep improv. "Lawn Boy" let everyone catch their breath before jumping right back into the deep end with a stellar "Wolfman's Brother." Rather than proceed directly to the swampy funk peak as many versions tend to do, this "Wolfman's" took its time, hitting several slinky grooves along the way. Don't miss this one.

Photo © Andrea Nusinov

The Fuego combo of "Waiting All Night" and "Winterqueen" followed at which point many probably figured "Funky Bitch" would close the set. Phish had other ideas, though, and threw a quick "Tube" at us before closing the set with "Possum." Cooked low and slow, this "Possum" had a little extra mustard in the sauce as it finished off the best first set of the run on a high note.

As the Dick's run becomes a Labor Day tradition, Phish continues to build several traditions within the tradition. The most obvious is, of course, the first night spelling sets. Less obvious, but more rewarding, is the annual running of the Dick's "Chalk Dust Torture." Phish played standout versions of the song in the second sets of both the 2012 and 2013 runs and would do so again in 2014 (for the third consecutive year, on 8/31). Unlike the prior two years, type-II renditions of "CDT" have become expected over the course of 2014. But that doesn't make them any less appreciated, and this was certainly a keeper. Fish drove the band to deep space and back in this version. As the band returned from the beyond into a soaring jam, it appeared we might be heading from the land of "very good" into "great." Alas, just as Mike seemed to be starting up the third phase of the jam, Trey opted for what turned out to be a fairly standard "Twist." "The Wedge" followed and, while it, too, stuck to the script, this was a hot version.

At this point, everyone knew we were due for the "Tweezer" and the band did not disappoint. "Tweezer" methodically built to a rock peak vaguely reminiscent of the Dick's "Light," before melting into a "Sand" that would serve as the high point of the evening. Trey took immediate control of "Sand. " At the show it sure seemed like he led everyone back into "Tweezer," but, on reflection, it was probably just a tease. Whether the rest of the jam is "Tweezer" or "Sand" may be up for debate, but what is not is that this was pure insanity -- a jam from another dimension and the reason so many of us continue to travel so far to see as many shows as we can. A brief but fiery "Piper" kept the energy up before "Joy" provided the sole breather of the set.

Any thoughts that Phish would be ending the Sunday festivities on the early side were thrown to the wind when they started up "Mike's" just before 11:30 local time. There are three things I will take away from the 2014 Dick's run. The first is the "Simple" from night one that is, in my estimation, the single best jam of 2014. The second is the "Tweezer" -> "Sand" segment I just described. But in terms of pure elation, I'm not sure either of those moments will top being reunited with an old friend. "Mike's Song" has come in for its share of criticism in the 3.0 era as being too by-the-numbers. Grass roots campaigns to bring back the fabled "second jam" have been brought to band members' attention on at least two occasions. Those pleas have gone unanswered and we didn't get the second jam last night either. But what we did get was a truly unique and inspired reading of "Mike's Song" for the first time in nearly fifteen years. Deep into the gravy boat at this point, the band launched into "Sneaking Sally" in the traditional "Hydrogen" spot (as "Hydrogen" still has yet to make an appearance in 2014). "Weekapaug" served as the exclamation point to the deceptively jammy ten-song second set.

"Loving Cup" (rather than "Lushington") and "Tweezer Reprise" closed the book on Dick's 2014, as the band made their presumed midnight curfew with mere seconds to spare. As the house lights came on to chants of "We love Dick's," what we should have been chanting was "FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!" See everyone next September 4th.

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Coming off the heels of a particularly strong three show stretch, the question coming into last night's show in Reading, was could Phish sustain the momentum, or were we in for a relative letdown, much like last week's Rochester show? Looking at what had been played over the last few shows, it looked like we were due for a "Disease," "Piper," and "Hood" centric second set (we went two for three), with the show-before-Halloween factor lurking as the wildcard. Would Reading deliver?

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Greetings sports fans and welcome to the final Phish.net recap of the 2013 Summer Tour. The tour has been a strong one, both in terms of strong jams (first and foremost the Tahoe "Tweezer" but also the PNC "Crosseyed," Hollywood "Hood" and Saturday's Dick's "Chalk Dust") and consistently well played sets (the second sets from Jones Beach, Gorge2 and SF3 particularly stand out). What's more, in 2011 and 2012, Phish saved arguably their best set of the Dick's run for last. Regardless of your view on the merits of comparing one Phish show to another, the band has played some undeniably strong shows at Dick's. Would Sunday night continue the tradition? Lets dive in...

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"The rain had let up and leveled out to its usual winter-long pace ... not so much a rain as a dreamy smear of blue-gray that wipes over the land instead of falling on it, making patient spectral shades of the tree trunks and a pathic, placid, and cordial sighing sound all along the broad river. A friendly sound, even. It was nothing fearful after all. The same old rain, and, if not welcomed, at least accepted — an old gray aunt who came to visit every winter and stayed till spring. You learn to live with her. You learn to reconcile yourself to the little inconveniences and not get annoyed. You remember she is seldom angry or vicious and nothing to get in a stew about, and if she is a bore and stays overlong you can train yourself not to notice her, or at least not to stew about her." – Ken Kesey, Sometimes a Great Notion

A common debate in the comments section of these recaps centers around who is better suited to offer a review, someone who attended the show or someone who has listened to the “tapes.” Proponents of reviews by attendees only will generally claim that the show is an experience that can’t be completely distilled to ones and zeros via the modern miracle of livephish.com. To authentically offer a review of a show, they will say, you have to have lived the full sensory experience.

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Ode to Dick's

When Phish’s summer 2013 tour dates were announced, many fans expressed dismay at the lack of a 30th anniversary festival. Ever since they reinvented the modern rock festival with the Clifford Ball in 1996, Phish's festival shows have been among the most anticipated and cherished concert experiences of many fans. Before the 2004 breakup, these shows almost always occurred at the end of the summer in out of the way locales. Plattsburgh. Limestone. Big Cypress. Coventry. The festivals almost always took place in the "corners" of this fair country.

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There are just 30 days left until the start of Summer Tour 2013. To kill time before the start of tour, @lawnmemo has started a project he calls 33 in 33, where 33 different writers write about a single jam (or run of songs) from each show of Phish's 2012 Summer Tour. The first two entries are already live (written by Phish.net contributors @ericwyman and @tmwsiy) and are well worth your time. Presumably the third will be posted shortly (covering Bonnaroo, but don't let that stop you). If this project is half as good as his The Daily Ghost reviews, we're all in for a treat. So bookmark his homepage or follow him on twitter for each day's post as we all countdown the days until Bangor. Just a month to go, folks.

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Welcome to the 138th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net and the last hosted by yours truly. After nearly three years of Mystery Jams, I've decided to call it a day. Worry not, though, I am leaving you in good hands. Starting next week, the MJ will be hosted by one of our distinguished faculty members, Brian Levine (aka @Bl002e). Brian, you have some big shoes to fill... it's not easy to lose 130 out of 137 weeks. Seriously, though, it's been my pleasure coming up with new jams for you all every week. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. And if you have enjoyed the Mystery Jam, a great way to show it is to make a donation to the Mockingbird Foundation and support music education for kids. Or at least buy the fucking Book. ::Hops off soapbox::

As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Thursday Answer: Congrats to becker_ross for coming in late with the 7/21/03 "46 Days." For a second there, I thought I was going to end on a high note. Thanks for all of the kind words in the comments. Even if it won't be me, the Blog will be back on Monday with yet another Mystery Jam...

˙˙˙ʞɔnl pooƃ ˙ʎɐpsəupəʍ uo pəʇsod əq llıʍ ɹəʍsuɐ əɥʇ puɐ (ʎɹɐssəɔəu ɟı) ʎɐpsənʇ uo pəʇsod əq llıʍ ʇuıɥ ɐ ˙(ʇuıɥ əɥʇ ʇsod ı ɹəʇɟɐ ƃuıʇɹɐʇs ”ʎɐp“ puoɔəs əɥʇ ɥʇıʍ) ʎɐp ɹəd uosɹəd ɹəd ssənƃ əuo ˙sʇuəɯɯoɔ əɥʇ uı ssənƃ ɹnoʎ ʇsod ˙uıʍ oʇ əʇɐp əɥʇ puɐ ƃuos əɥʇ ʎɟıʇuəpı ʎlʇɔəɹɹoɔ oʇ pəəu noʎ :pəƃuɐɥɔ ʇ,uəʌɐɥ səlnɹ əɥʇ ˙ʇəu˙sƃnu / ɯoɔ˙ɥsıɥdəʌıl ʇɐ spuəıɹɟ ɹno ɟo ʎsəʇɹnoɔ 'pɐoluʍop 3dɯ uɐ ɹoɟ ƃuıʎɐld əq llıʍ əʍ lɐnsn sɐ ˙ʇəu˙ɥsıɥd ʇɐ əɹəɥ ʎɐpuoɯ ɯɐɾ ʎɹəʇsʎɯ ɟo ʇuəɯllɐʇsuı ɥʇ731 əɥʇ oʇ əɯoɔləʍ

Wednesday Answer: Seriously? a half-second mystery jam and someone gets it in 14 minutes? I give up. Anyway, congrats to ahh_boy for nailing probably the most difficult MJ thus far. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam for your listening pleasure.

(Note: Mockingbird Foundation volunteers often participate in Type II Cast Phish podcasts. For this series of episodes, we thought we would cross-post it to the Phish.net audience to allow them to chime in and play along. Special thanks to Steve Olker for producing Type II Cast. As always, if you enjoy the content here, please donate to The Mockingbird Foundation. Plus, don't forget to preorder The Phish Companion, 3rd Edition.)

If this is the first you’re hearing about the Ultimate Phish Nerdgasm^TM, stop now and go read (and listen to) Part 1 before going any further.

Last week we unveiled the bracket for what we’ve termed the Ultimate Phish Nerdgasm, a March Madness-style tournament where Chris Glushko, Steve Olker and I perform a public service and tell all of you what the best Phish jam of all-time is because, as Chris eloquently put it, “Nobody votes on Type II Cast. We tell you what's better." Of course we say that tongue planted firmly in cheek, but we do hope you appreciate our attempt to rank the unrankable. If you haven’t yet listened to the podcast and would like to do so spoiler-free, I recommend heading over to typeiicast.com and streaming the podcast. If you have already listened, a recap follows after the jump...

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Welcome to the 136th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to PhreePhish for being quick on the draw with the 6/29/00 "Drowned." The Blog will return on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

For the 135th time, the Blog welcomes you to Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Thursday Answer: Move over, Rabeldy, Pauly and Bl002e, there's a new addition to the MJ Faculty. After correctly identifying the 2/23/97 "Mike's Song," ghostboogie has notched his seventh win. Ghostboogie will be leading courses in late '90s cow funk with six of his seven wins covering the '97-99 era. Congrats! The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam.

Welcome to the 134th running of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Thursday Answer: Congrats to ghostboogie for scoring his sixth MJ win with the 12/15/99 "Free." The Blog will be back on Monday with another MJ...

Welcome to the 133rd Mystery Jam here at Phish.net... we're one-third of the way to MJ500 MJ400! As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to docgonzo for being the first to ID the 7/22/03 "Melt." The Blog will be back on Monday with yet another Mystery Jam...

After a week off, the Mystery Jam returnes, tanned, rested and ready to notch its eigth victory... in just 132 tries. Sigh. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to NickSalv for being the first to get the 6/19/97 "Caspian." The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the 131st running of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Conrats to davarama for being the first to call the 6/24/95 "Bowie." The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam for your listening pleasure.

Since we here at Phish.net dropped the ball in pulling together a NYE recap, I thought I’d make up for it (just one month later) by giving you one fan’s opinion on the best moments of 2012. These are not the opinions of Phish.net, just my own thoughts. If you agree or disagree, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Best Jam: 9/1/12 "Light." The last seven or so minutes of this jam aren't just best-of-2012 good, they rank among Phish's finest improvisational passages. To those who would criticize the first few minutes of this jam I'd point out that not every note of even the 12/29/94 "Bowie" is pure gold either and, more importantly, ask how you even remember that by the time this is over. You'd think a show with the best jam of the year, an "Antelope" opener, a first set "Tweezer," a 13-minute "Golden Age," a jammed out "Caspian" and a set closing "Mike's" > "No Quarter" > "Weekapaug" sequence would be a contender for best show of 2012, but it turns out it's not even the best show of the Dick's '12 run. In fact, it's not even close...

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It’s Super Bowl Sunday, which, as a football fan, is exciting and, as an Eagles fan, mildly depressing. Football, so they say, is a game of inches. A broken tackle, errant pass or missed field goal often is the difference between winning and losing a game. If Eli Manning doesn’t make two of the greatest/luckiest plays in Super Bowl history, Tom Brady has five Lombardi trophies. The flip side of that is that if Adam Vinatieri was never a Patriot maybe Mr. Bündchen has none.

So, what does this all have to do with Phish? Well, not terribly much, if I’m honest. But I was thinking this morning how most sports fans view football teams by how many championships they’ve won... who came through the most often in the big game. What if we viewed Phish songs that way?

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Welcome to the 130th installment of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to docgonzo for being the "first" to get the 12/28/12 "Tweezer" with his first guess. It may be winning on a technicality, but it's winning just the same. The Blog will be back on Monday with another (most difficult) Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the MLK MJ here at Phish.net, another prime time edition. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Night Answer: Congrats to slaphappy for being the first to call the 9/18/00 "Halley's." See you all next week with MJ130.

Welcome to the 128th running of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Friday Answer: Friday already? Things kind of got away from the Blog this week. In any event, congrats to McGrupp81 for being the first to ID the 8/26/93 "Melt." The Blog will be back on Monday with a new Mystery Jam...

Happy New Year from Mystery Jam HQ here at Phish.net. For the 127th installment of the MJ, we've selected a jam that will delight and confound... or just be solved by 12:45. It really could go either way. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to conradjohansen for being the first to identify the 12/28/03 "Frankie Says." The Blog will return on Monday with MJMCXXVIII.

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 126 here at Phish.net. This jam was hand picked by @bl002e, the third professor to receive tenure here at Mystery Jam University. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to MomaDan for correctly ID'ing the 7/20/99 "Misty Mountain Hop," and kudos to bl002e for a nice MJ selection. That said, it just goes to show how hard it is to stump the users. And with that, the Blog is going to call it a year. Mystery Jam Mondays will return in 2013...

For the 125th time, welcome to Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint:

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to donatello for being the first to guess the 5/8/94 "Antelope" from The Day After the Bomb (Factory). That said, the win was hint-aided, so the Blog will count that as a moral victory. The Blog will be back on Monday with yet another Mystery Jam for your listening pleasure.

Welcome to MONDAY NIGHT MYSTERY JAMS here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Thursday Answer: Congrats to WayIFeel for quickly identifying the 8/5/11 "Roggae." The Blog will be back on Monday with MJMCXXV.

Welcome to the 123rd installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Thursday Answer: Congrats to jmponder for quickly identifying the 8/9/04 "Chalk Dust" that I didn't quite mask. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 122 here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to McGrupp81 for being the first to get the 5/26/89 "YEM"... obviously a fairly atypical version. The Blog will return on Monday with another Mystery Jam. Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 121 here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to @frankzappasmustache2012 for being the first to identify the 11/12/94 "Down With Disease," which, as was noted in the comments, turned eighteen on Monday. And, yes, the Blog acknowledges making this MJ easier than it could have been but, in my defense, I listened to the clip three different times and just didn't have the heart to cut it off before the return to the "DWD"-esque theme. It was just too glorious. The Blog will return on Monday with another Mystery Jam.

Welcome... Power's back and so is the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Before we go, I hope you'll indulge the Blog in a small plea for charitable donations. As most of you know, Phish.net is an all-volunteer project of the Mockingbird Foundation. While donations to Mockingbird are always welcome, if you enjoy the Mystery Jam (or Phish.net, in general) and can afford to, please consider making a donation to the Red Cross or one of the many other worthwhile charitable organizations helping families recover from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

Thursday Answer: Congrats to jmponder for being the first to ID the 7/29/98 "Buried Alive." Really makes you wonder why they never tried to jam that song out again. The Blog will return on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the Mystery Jam Monday Part 119 (Frankenstorm Edition!) here at Phish.net. The Blog was going to take another week off, but then it realized that it's times like this that we most need the Mystery Jam. So, assuming you have power, enjoy your 45 seconds of Mystery Jammy goodness. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Saturday Answer: Looks like ucpete is our winner with the 11/14/85 "Hurricane." After five days without power at Mystery Jam HQ, that joke doesn't seem quite as funny anymore. Nevertheless, the sweet nectar of electricity is back and that means the Blog will return with MJM120 on Monday...

Welcome to the Mystery Jam Monday Part 118 (Happy Hour Edition!) here at Phish.net. Pour yourself a cold beverage, sit back and soak in fifty seconds of Mystery Jammy goodness. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to cerqs for being the first to ID the 11/8/96 "Simple," one of many must-hear versions of "Simple" from Fall '96. The Blog will return on Monday with MJM119.

Welcome to the Columbus Day edition of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Looks like we have a third member joining Rabeldy and Pauly in the faculty lounge. Congrats to Bl002e for being first with the Columbus 7/15/00 "Disease." What could be more appropriate this week than Columbus and Disease? In any event, the Blog will be hosting a Bl002e-curated Mystery Jam sometime soon. See everyone on Monday...

It's time for the 116th running of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. Because the Blog was victorious two weeks ago (have we mentioned that lately? The Blog WON!!), we will be playing for TWO MP3 downloads, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to bl002e for quickly nailing the 7/5/94 "Bathtub Gin." You are now the proud owner of two livephish.com download codes. We'll be back on Monday for a Very Special Columbus Day Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the 115th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. In case you missed it, the Blog was victorious last week, which would ordinarily mean we play for two downloads this week. However, The Blog has decided to put off the double MJ until next week for reasons that will likely be obvious to many of you. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Answer: No reason to let this one sit out there any longer. Ghostboogie wins it with the 12/6/97 "Izabella." Hopefully he has the good sense to use his prize to grab the new livephish release. See everyone on Monday for MJM 116.

Welcome to the 114th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Holy shit, the users need a hint! ::does victory lap:: That hasn't happened for a while. Ok, your hint is: It's not from Europe.

Wednesday Answer: That's right... it's 12:01 a.m. EDT, so it's Wednesday. The Blog is not above being a stickler for the rules, having not won an MJ in like a year. In any event, this week's mystery jam -- which, of course, perplexed every single one of you -- was the 2/22/93 "Tweezer." Looks like we'll be playing for two livephish.com downloads next time. Better luck next time, n00bs....

Welcome back to Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. After a one week hiatus, the Blog returns with the 113th Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: WE LOVE DICKS! WE LOVE DICKS! WE LOVE DICKS! Oh, yes, and congratulations to @conradjohansen for being the first to get the 9/1/12 "Prince Caspian," one of many highlights of the recent Dicks run. If for some reason you haven't yet heard these shows, they are well worth purchasing over at livephish.com (and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Mockingbird Foundation). We will all be listening to them for years to come. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the 112th installment of Mystery Jam Monday Here at Phish.net! As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to WayIFeel for being the first to get the 8/15/98 Lemonwheel "Bowie." Monday is Labor Day and the Blog is taking the day off, so we'll be back on the 10th with MJM113.

It's time for the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net... Pauly Edition! This MJ was hand picked by one of the members of the Mystery Jam Faculty and seven-time winner, @pauly7917. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: congratulations to Kipmat for nailing down the 5/23/88 "Light Up or Leave Me Alone." For a minute there I thought Pauly was going to strike gold on his first MJ but, as the Blog has experienced many times before, it only takes one person to solve even the hardest Mystery Jam. See you all on Monday...

What does today have in common with 109 other Mondays? It's time for the Mystery Jam... #110! As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to ucpete on his first win, correctly ID'ing the 12/31/02 "Piper." The Blog will be back on Monday with MJM111 but, for now, it's off to Long Beach!

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 109 here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Nice work by Bl002e for nailing the 4/29/94 "Mike's Song" and yet again sending the Blog home a loser. There's always next week... See everyone then!

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 108 here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Thursday Answer: Looks like we have another first-time winner... Congrats to Beenjammin84 for nailing the 6/12/09 "Kill Devil Falls," a 3.0 jam that seemed to fool quite a few people. The Blog will be back on Monday with the 109th Mystery Jam.

It's time for Mystery Jam Monday Part 107 here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to hotdogg for being quick on the draw with the 7/23/97 "Ghost" (Happy 15th Anniversary!). The Blog will return on Monday with MJ108...

Hope everyone is ready for the 106th running of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Thursday Answer: Congrats todavarama for being first in with the often forgotten 8/7/98 "Drowned." The Blog will be back on Mon. with yet another Mystery Jam.

Welcome back from tour, everyone, and welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 105 here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to bl002e for being first with the 7/1/95 "Split Open and Melt." Enjoy your TWO mp3 downloads. See you all on Monday...

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 104 here at Phish.net, back after a one-week hiatus. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Answer: Well, may as well end this thing now. It was the "Jam" that concluded the 6/30/11 Super Ball IX soundcheck. @benhatley is our nominal winner, but I will roll over the prize until next week, as he requested. @phriendlyghost, if you were half as smart as you seem to think you are, you would have just waited for the hint and guessed first thing today.

When Phish announced their 2012 summer tour, the weekend trifecta in (approximately) Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Cleveland jumped out for a couple of reasons. For one, it was the only three night run of the tour in different cities. Probably more obvious – to football fans anyway – was the fact that the three cities are inextricably linked by their (sadly one-sided) rivalry in the AFC North division. And thus it was settled: AFC North tour was on.

First up was Cincy's Riverbend Music Center, a throwback venue right down to the AstroTurf "lawn" that recalls the multi-purpose stadiums of the ‘70s and '80s. "Wolfman's Brother" kicked off the festivities, but the ensuing, and well played, "Peaches" would establish the theme of this set: bustouts. Six songs would make their 2012 debuts in this set, and none was more surprising than the first "Shaggy Dog" since 10/29/95, or 574 shows. "Runaway Jim" marched in next and gave way to the next bustout, a fairly short but fiery "Light Up or Leave Me Alone."

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Welcome to the Mystery Jam Monday Part the 103rd here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Nice job by @andrewrose with his second win in a month with the 7/13/99 "Wolfman's Brother." The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the 102nd running of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Prof. Pauly9717, Emeritus for nailing the 12/4/96 "Mike's Song." Yes, with his 7th win, Pauly will be joining Rabeldy in the faculty lounge looking down on the rest of you for your extreme Phish noobtardery. Look for a Pauly-curated MJ in the coming weeks.

Welcome to the second century of Mystery Jam Mondays at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Pauly7917 was the first one in withthe12/14/95 "NICU." Congrats, Pauly. This was an easy one, of course, and for that reason, I'm half tempted to declare Rabeldy the winner for getting all meta on us and noticing the reason behind picking this particular MJ for 101... we're starting the second 100 the same way we did the first. See you all next Monday, where the MJ will not be from 2/16/03.

Welcome to the 100th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual... Sorry, scratch that. There's nothing "usual" about this week's Mystery Jam. We will (as usual) be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. But we're also going to throw in $25 worth of merch from the Phish.net Online Store. As for the MJ itself, much like the Hampton/Winston-Salem MJ, this is a multiple MJ. Therefore, we won't be using the comments to guess this week. Instead, send your SINGLE guess to phish.net.mjm100@gmail.com If you have any questions, you can post those in the comments section. The first person to correctly identify the song and the date of each jam will be the winner. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. In the event no one guesses all of the Mystery Jams, the winner will be selected by the Blog at its sole discretion.

Before I go, I'd just like to say how much fun I've had hosting the Mystery Jam for the last 100 weeks. Hopefully all of you have enjoyed playing. If you have, one great way to show it is by clicking on the "Make a Donation" button in the upper right-hand corner of your screen and making a (tax-deductible) donation to the Mockingbird Foundation. Just like Phish.net, the Mockingbird Foundation has an all-volunteer staff, so virtually your entire donation will go towards music education for children. Every donation is appreciated, regardless of size. And this will conclude the pledge-drive portion of the Mystery Jam. Feel free to brag about your donation in the comments, though. Good Luck...

Tuesday Update: We're going to change things up and give everyone an extra day to submit their guesses. Hint tomorrow, answer on Thurs.

Wednesday Hint: No one has solved it yet, though two of you are very close. Here's your hint: In no particular order, the MJs are from '93, '94, '95, '98, '00 and '11. Good luck.

Thursday Answer: Congrats to @bl002e, who managed to come up with all six Mystery Jams. It was hint-aided, but still pretty damn impressive to get all six. In order, they are: (1) 4/2/98 "Stash," (2) 5/28/94 "It's Ice," (3) 11/30/95 "Tweezer," (4) 5/28/11 "Halley's," (5) 4/23/93 "Weekapaug," and (6) 7/1/00 "Ghost." See you all on Monday For MJM Part CI...

Coming soon to a Phish website near you, the summer's biggest blockbuster: Mystery Jam Monday 100. On Memorial Day, Phish.net will be unveiling a Mystery Jam like no other (well, maybe one other). You'll laugh. You'll cry. You may even do the "Meatstick."

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Welcome to the 99th Mystery Jam Monday at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congratulations to long time listener first time caller @andrewrose on his big win with the 7/15/99 post-"Kung" jam. As far as that particular style of '99 jamming goes, it doesn't get much better. See you all next week when we celebreate the 100th edition of Mystery Jam Monday.

Welcome to the 98th installment of Mystery Jam Monday at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to maddyb4me on his first MJ win, correctly guessing the 7/20/98 "Halley's." Few jams pack such a punch in barely 10 minutes. The Blog will return on Monday with its 99th Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the 97th installment of Mystery Jam Monday at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Halfway to victory!!! Looks like the users need a hint, so here's a big one: it's not a Phish original. DON'T YOU RUIN THIS FOR ME, RABELDY!!!!

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to pauly7917 on his fifth victory with a tough one: the overlooked 2/26/03 "Loving Cup." Nevertheless, the Blog will consider this a moral victory. So you'll just have to live with that, Pauly. See you all on Monday...

Welcome to the 96th installment of the Mystery Jam Monday at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to docgonzo1972 for quickly nailing the 7/4/00 Jibboo. These last few weeks have indeed been on the easier side, but every now and then the Blog likes to give someone other than the diehards a chance. Worry not, though, next week should be more challenging. See you all on Monday...

Welcome back to Mystery Jam Monday at Phish.net where we're continuing the push towards the 100th Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to FunkyCFunkyDo for being first in with the 8/7/09 "Sally." And congrats to Rabeldy who would have been the first had he not been playing nice. See you all on Monday...

Welcome to Mystery Jam Tuesday here at Phish.net. Apologies for the delay, but we're making it up to you with four meaty minutes of Mystery Jam goodness. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Friday Answer: Congrats to docgonzo1972 for correctly guessing the 6/20/04 "Twist." The Mystery Jam hopes to return to a more regular schedule on Monday...

The Mystery Jam will be taking the day off and will appear on Tuesday.

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Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 93 here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Brother for nailing the 10/29/94 "Makisupa." The Blog really thought this was a potential winner and, sadly, it didn't even make it through the afternoon. See you all on Monday...

1993 was a period of significant change for the band. They had started headlining amphitheatres for the first time during the Summer Tour. There was no Fall tour in ‘93, as Phish was ensconced in L.A. recording Hoist!, so the New Year’s Run marked their first time playing several of the arenas that they continue to book today. It also seemed like every tour Kuroda would have a few new lighting toys to play with. Check out, for example, the spinning wheels during “Contact.” They're almost charmingly primitive in 2012, but were remarkable in 1993. The lights that spin around the arena were another new 1993 development (and would be used to great effect in the following night's "Slave").

Additionally, the 29th has a nice looking setlist, yet it was probably the least exciting show of the run. That said, one of the highlights of this show comes from a decidedly unlikely place. During the part of “BBFCFM” where they usually launch into a chaotic, thrash-metal jam, they immediately drop into an almost reggae jam that smoothy resolves into the then-rare “Walk Away” (unfortunately, partially cut on this vid).

The rarities would continue with the always amusing “If I Only Had a Brain,” where Fish tells the crowd about his new haircut. Other highlights from the show include “Antelope,” “Fluffhead” and a strange “Stash.” And, by all means, if you haven’t ever heard either of the following two nights, make like Mike vis-a-vis the Creature From Mars and RUN over to @hoydog23’s Spreadsheet and grab them both.

Welcome to the last Mystery Jam of March here at Phish.net. Why might that be significant? Well, as you may or may not know, March is International Vacuum Month (ok, fine, those buzzkills at the Vacuum Dealers Trade Association have changed it to "International Spring Cleaning Month," but they kinda suck). Purists among us know March is the month of the vacuum. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Sigh. No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congratulations to NickSalv for -- god only knows how -- getting the 3/31/92 "Love You." The Blog will be back next week with another Mystery Jam.

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 91 at Phish.net. This week we will be playing for TWO MP3 downloads, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net (and @RabeldyNugs). The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to morgentown for being the first to name the 11/16/91 "YEM," an oldie but a goodie if ever there was one. Enjoy your two livephish shows! The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Hard to believe we've been at this for 90 weeks, but welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 90 at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: THE USERS NEED A HINT!! It's a pretty exciting day at Blog HQ. The correct song has been named.

Wednesday Answer: Welcome back, Rabeldy and nice call on the 6/10/00 "Piper," which (as Rabeldy notes) is not even the jamming highlight of that show. Nevertheless, the Blog will call this one a moral victory and comply with his request make next week an double MJ.

Welcome to Mystery Jam Monday Part 89 at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to FunkyCFunkyDo for being first in line with the 8/10/11 "Runaway Jim." Mystery Jam #90 coming next week...

It's time for the 88th installment of the Mystery Jam Monday series here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week...

Wednesday Answer: Pauly7917 gets his fifth win with the 11/14/94 "Bowie." Congrats. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam.

Welcome to the Late Edition of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to TheDeputy for nailing down the 7/13/03 "Seven Below," a/k/a pure awesomeness. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Welcome to the 86th Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Squalie takes it this week with the 8/16/93 "Weekapaug." To the extent anyone out there hasn't heard this whole show, by all means, do so immediately. And then work in both directions until you've experienced the full majesty of August '93 from Tampa to Berkeley. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam.

Welcome to the Mystery Jam Monday LXXXV here at Phish.net. Let's hope this doesn't suck as much as watching the Giants win the Super Bowl. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck... unless you're a Giants fan.

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Phish and Giants fan ghostboogie for guessing the 4/8/94 "It's Ice" (specifically, the "Digital Delay Loop Jam"). Gloat all you want but, any way you slice it, Eli Manning is still 0-for-85 at the Mystery Jam. See you all next Monday...

Welcome to the 84th running of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to @FarginBastage (love the username, BTW) for (pretty much) ID'ing the 6/23/04 "Nothing." And thanks to everyone else for not trying to screw him out of it on a technicality. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam for your listening pleasure...

Welcome to the Mystery Jam Monday: Rabeldy Edition. This week we are featuring a Mystery Jam hand picked by 8-time defending champ @RabeldyNugs (who, for the record, nobody complained about). As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to forbin1 for nailing the 10/11/95 "Gin" and nice work by Rabeldy for picking a jam that stood up for nearly four hours. The Blog will be back on Monday with another MJ for your listening pleasure.

Happy MLK Day, everyone. Welcome to the 82nd installment of Mystery Jam Monday. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Don't need a hint this week...

Thursday Answer: Congrats to Pauly7917 for correctly identifying the 11/18/98 "Wolfman's Brother," a truly underrated version. The Blog will be back on Monday with a very special MJM83.

Another Monday, another Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). A hint will be posted on Tuesday (if necessary) and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Alas, no hint necessary this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to cerqs for nailing the 6/8/95 "Tweezer" in near-record time. The blog will be back on Manday with MJM82...

Happy New Year and welcome to the 80th installment of the Mystery Jam Monday series here at Phish.net. Hope everyone had a great time at the shows and/or on #couchtour. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Phshrman for correctly ID'ing the 7/30/03 "Scents and Subtle Sounds." If you haven't heard this version, or the whole show really, you should absolutely seek it out. It's a scorcher, "Secret Smile" encore and all. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam.

Anticipation grows with each passing night of Phish’s annual new year’s run. Each night also carries with it the weight of past glories. December 30th holds a special place in Phishstory. On 12/30/93 the band played one of the greatest shows of their career to that point and a show that still holds up eighteen years later. A year later, Phish made their Madison Square Garden debut. The highlights of 12/30/97 are almost too numerous to mention: among them a mesmerizing “AC/DC Bag,” an epic “Harpua,” and two bustouts of “Sneaking Sally.” It’s possible the fog still hasn’t cleared from the 12/30/99 Big Cypress “Mike’s Song” and, more recently, 12/30/09 is one of the finest shows of the band’s 3.0 era. So expectations always run high on December 30th. Sometimes those expectations are met, and other times... not so much.

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Welcome to the MJM79 here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for a free MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Hint and Answer: The Hint is that if RabeldyNugs takes a guess, that's probably the right answer. It certainly was this week, with the 7/1/98 "Disease." Congrats, once again, Rabeldy. The Mystery Jam will be taking Xmas off, so see you all in 2012...

Welcome to the 78th Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. After the Blog's triumph last week, we will be playing for TWO MP3 downloads this week, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week...

Thursday Answer: According to our setlists, it is the "Jam" out of the 12/12/97 "Caspian." So, we have two "correct" answers, each given within 7 minutes of the other. What to do, what to do? Well, as luck would have it, we have two downloads to award this week, so the Blog is unilaterally declaring the first Mystery Jam Monday Co-Champs... Congrats, ghostboogie and Blackeyedsloth. See you all on Monday.

...Aaaaaaaand we're back! Welcome to the 77th running of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Two hints for the price of one -- It's not "Bowie" and it's not from '94. Oh, one more thing...WHERE'S RABELDY?!?!?

Wednesday Answer: It's Paaaaarrrrrrrrtttttttyyyyyy Time at Phish.net HQ!!! The Blog wins the Mystery Jam! The Blog wins the Mystery Jam! The Blog wins the Mystery Jam!!! The correct answer, n00bs, is the 10/15/98 "Reba." I should also point out that this particular MJ was hand selected by @Icculus to "punish the users and make them come to dread the MJ." Of course, this is not the first MJ he's suggested, so make of that what you will. Either way, we'll be back on Monday playing for two livephish.com downloads.

As the Five-part Mystery Jam contest remains open until Thursday December 1st, your regularly scheduled mystery jam will be taking another breather this week. We'll be back on Monday December 5th.

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Welcome to the 76th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Uhhh... guess we didn't need a hint.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to jerrytimber for calling the 11/13/96 "Suzy." See you all on Monday...

Welcome to the 75th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Again, no hint needed this week...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Phurk for correctly ID'ing a tough Mystery Jam: the 8/17/93 "YEM." The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam for your listening pleasure.

Just as we've done for the last 73 weeks, the Blog is proud to bring you another Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to RabeldyNugs on his league leading seventh win with the 6/9/00 "Tweezer." MJ75 coming up Monday...

For the 73rd consecutive week, the Blog is proud to bring you another Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: It's the 7/30/97 "Bowie" -> "Cities" -> "Bowie," specifically the segue into "Cities." So bl002e is our winner for the second time in four weeks. The Blog will be back on Mon. with another Mystery Jam.

Welcome to the 72nd installment of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Sigh. No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: It was the 11/16/94 "Simple." Nice work by cerqs being the first to get it. See you all next week with MJ73.

Welcome to the 71st installment of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Blackeyedsloth for correctly ID'ing the 12/7/99 "Gin." The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com.

Welcome to the 70th installment of the Mystery Jam here at Phish.net. Thanks to TAB week, we will be playing for TWO MP3 downloads this week, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

(Late) Tuesday hint: No hint needed this week.

Thursday Answer: Congrats to bl002e for quickly nailing the 2/17/97 "Carini" and winning two LP downloads in the process. See you all Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com.

It's the Mystery Jam you've all been waiting for. 69, DUDES!! As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Ok, most of you seem to have realized it's not Phish. But no one has guessed the song yet, let alone the version.

Wednesday Answer: For the first time in over six months, the Blog is a winner!! Ok, admittedly, it took a TAB MJ to do it, but I can live with that. The jam in question came from the 10/23/06 "Night Speaks" (a show that is absolutely worth checking out in full, FWIW). Your regularly scheduled MJ will return on Monday, when we will be playing for TWO LivePhish downloads.

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com.

Greetings and welcome to TAB week here at Phish.net. As you most likely know, Trey will be kicking off his Fall Tour on Saturday at Higher Ground with an additional Vermont Flood Recovery Benefit show. What you may not know is that, as we hinted a mere seven months ago, the Sideshows section of Phish.net is becoming more fully developed with each passing day. Just in time for TAB tour, we’ve reached a pretty significant milestone. Every known TAB setlist has now been entered into the site (note: offer does not apply to G.R.A.B., Trey’s orchestral shows or other solo Trey performances, though they will be coming just around the corner). TAB setlists have been thoroughly vetted and verified by the team of @lumpblockclod, @pzerbo and @bizarro_jerry. But wait, you may be asking, is there more? Hell and Yes! TAB song histories will soon be coming to a non-profit, fan-run Phish website near you. In fact, what’s that down there? Well, that was quick.

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For the 68th week in a row, the Blog has a Mystery Jam on tap. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week...

Wednesday Thursday Answer: It was the 5/26/11 "Waves" from the Bethel tech rehearsal. Congrats to jerrytimber for being the first to guess it. MJ69 coming Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com.

It's Monday, and, as usual, the Blog has cooked up a Mystery Jam (all while taking in ten straight hours of NFL action; lesser men might have folded under the pressure, but I managed to pack it all in). As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Alas, no hint needed this week...

Wednesday Answer: 8/12/98 "Ramble On." Congrats to ghostboogie on the win. See everyone on Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com.

Welcome to the Very Special^TM Labor Day Mystery Jam. What's so special about it? Listen and find out. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: There's nothing special about this Mystery Jam.

Wednesday Answer: Ok, I lied. The 12/5/95 "Gin" is pretty special by just about any measure. Congrats to zasdertultun for being the first to guess it. The Blog will be back on Monday with a Very Special^TM 67th Mystery Jam. Aren't they all special, though? Except maybe that "Star Spangled Banner" one. That one kinda sucked.

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Welcome to the 65th installment of the Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to dclose for going against the "Piper" group-think and correctly ID'ing the 4/16/04 "Twist," easily the best thing to come out of the infamous Vegas '04 run. The Blog will return on Monday with a Very Special^TM Labor Day Edition of the Mystery Jam.

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Welcome to the 64th installment of the Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: It is the 7/2/98 "Ghost." Congrats to Fluffyfluffyhead on the win. See everyone on Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Perhaps inspired by the nearby ‘L’ train, Phish opened the first of three nights at the relatively intimate UIC Pavilion with a solid version of “Back on the Train.” A standard version of “Rift” followed. Keeping with recent custom, the song-oriented first set continued with a jaunty “Guelah Papyrus” and the more infrequently played “Scent of a Mule.” “Jesus Just Left Chicago” arrived as expected to satisfy the local crowd and as usual Page brought his best Texas hillbilly. Up to this point, the set mostly comes off as workman-like: solid and fun, driving straight down the middle of the fairway.

Read more...

If it's Monday, it must be time for another Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Oops.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to RebeldyNugs for ID'ing the 8/15/93 "Stash." I believe that is Rebeldy's League leading 6th MJ victory. The Blog bows in awe. See everyone Monday with #64...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Greetings from Stateline, Nevada. Phish just finished up a show in what really amounts to Phish Fantasy Camp. Fans not fortunate enough to be in Tahoe likely listened to the show via the livephish.com webcast. So, most people interested in reading this have likely experienced the show in one fashion or another. For the rest of you, there's the ten cent version (SPOILER ALERT): The first set will have little to offer you; the second set is must-hear Phish.

Don't get me wrong, the first set was an enjoyable set of Phish, made immeasurably better by the fact that it took place in one of the more beautiful stretches of land this country has to offer, hosted by a truly laid back staff. But that can't and won't be captured on the recordings. An apropos "Party Time" kicked off the festivities, followed by an "Oh Kee Pa" > "Bag." The set remained song oriented with "Mellow Mood," a tasty "PYITE" > "Meat" combo and the first real, if you'll excuse the pun, "meat" of the set in "Bowie." "Bowie" was similar to other recent versions in that it was well-played, particularly compared with earlier 3.0 versions, but never quite made it into the stratosphere. Several songs later, "46 Days" provided the highlight of the set.

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It's Monday and even though the Blog has more important things to do today (Hollywood Bowl!!), it still found time to bring you a Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Fun show at the Bowl last night. Sure had been awhile since they last played the LA area...

Wednesday Answer: Congratulations to Rutherford_The_Brave for nailing the 2/14/03 "Walls of the Cave" from Phish's last trip to the L.A. area. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam.

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Last Mystery Jam before the second leg of Summer Tour! Get it while it's hot!! As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Apologies for the lack of a hint. The Blog is on vacation this week. I guess my name is mud around here...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Pauly7917 for guessing the 6/14/95 Mud Island "Tweezer." The MJ will be back on Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Welcome to the 60th installment of the Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Well, then. Looks like the Blog struck a nerve this week. That said, I should note that this is emphatically not the same clip as MJ15.

Wednesday Answer: It will come as no surprise that it is the 7/3/97 "Ghost." Congrats to frantic0blivion for being the first to ID it. And remember, when it comes to the Mystery Jam, the only rule is that there are no rules. Well, other than the rules up there. But no other rules. See you next Monday with (most likely) a brand new Mystery Jam...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

If it's Monday, it must be tme for another Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Phish has played 53 cities since their return to the stage on 3/6/09. This jam occurred in one of them.

Tuesday Hint #2: (For @benhatley). It's not "Theme."

Wednesday Answer: BLOG FTW!!!!!! Wait? Someone got it?!?! Damn it all to hell. This game sucks. In all seriousness, congratulations to @mainegabe for doggedly sniffing out the 9/24/99 "Wolfman's Brother." Nevertheless, the Blog will chalk this one up as a moral victory. See you all on Monday for the big Six-Oh...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Time for the Mystery Jam, bury the Mystery Jam, take out the Mystery Jam time... As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to RebeldyNugs on his fifth win with the 7/22/03 "Gumbo." See you all next Monday....

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Welcome to a very special Independence Day edition of the Mystery Jam. Ward off your SBIX hangover and enjoy a little MJ57 with your Heinz 57! As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck and God Bless the Mystery Jam...

Tuesday Hint: Well done! Most everyone seems to be on the right track with this one.

Wednesday Answer: 7/25/03 "Star Spangled Banner." Congrats to Aitrus719 for winning the Phish.net Fourth of July Lottery! I suppose a hint wasn't really necessary this week, but the Blog was just enjoying watching everyone come up with random versions of the Star Spangled Banner and didn't want it to end. See you all next Monday for the next installment. (Early hint: it won't be a cappella.)

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Note: This review was co-authored by @lumpblockclod and @jwelsh8. So, if you don't like it, it was the other guy's fault.

Heading into the final night of SBIX, expectations, as they tend to do for Phish festivals, were running high. The previous three nights had produced some outstanding highlights along with some stretches of relatively uninspired setlist calls and, in the opinion of some, timid execution. The highs were undeniably high: an outstanding soundcheck capped by a jam that would have been the highlight of nearly any other show from the first leg of summer tour and a wildly experimental “secret” fourth set on Saturday. The lows were punctuated by two song-oriented sets on Saturday that failed to deliver much in the way of adventurous improvisation. Nevertheless, Phish has always been a band that can turn on a dime and a strong show on Sunday would likely win over even the most jaded among us.

“Soul Shakedown Party” opened the show, continuing the parade of covers this weekend. Only the sixth since its debut in Amsterdam 14 years ago, and the second of 3.0, Phish wanted to make sure we all felt welcome at their Holiday celebration. "This is my invitation / I've got the special vacation." “Soul Shakedown” is usually a harbinger of good things to come and so it would be tonight. “Bag” followed with a rough beginning, but energetic ending, after which we got the first “With”-less “Curtain” since 2000. So “Scents” has its intro back, but “The Curtain” has lost its “With.” Trey giveth and Trey taketh away. "Curtain" was played quite well, with the whole band in synch and hitting all of the cues.

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Monday? Time for the Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Choda is probably closest.

Wednesday Answer: In a bit of near-Instant Karma, Pauly7917 is our winner, correctly identifying the 9/20/00 "It's Ice." Nice work, Pauly! Be honest though, how long many times did you check your entry before hitting "submit"? The Blog should point out, however, that while it may be a bit misleading to call this a hint-aided victory (since there wasn't much of a hint), the MJ did stand tall for over 24 hours which seems like the Blog's best showing in months. See you all next Monday.

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

For the 55th consecutive week, it's Mystery Jam Monday. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week either. Blog carnage continues...

Wednesday Answer: After long and often bitter deliberations, the judges have come down on the side of the rule of Roolz are Roolz: benhatley is thus our winner with the 12/29/98 "LxL" > "2001" transition. However, because we're not completely heartless, we do have a consolation prize for pauly7917. That's right, a private Phish listening party with @Icculus!! Complete with all the top shelf booze you can drink. Oh and he also mentioned something about a gimp suit. Weird. Anyway, if you manage to return safely, please let us know how it went! See you all (except for maybe pauly7917) on Monday....

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

It's Monday, so it must be time for the Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. This is a fairly unusual one for reasons that will be obvious once you play it, but what the hell, let's have some fun this week. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week...

Wednesday Answer: 8/17/92 "Mike's Song." Congrats to djcampfirepants for getting there first. See you all on Monday!

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Anticipation could not have been higher heading into Phish's 6/4/11 show at the Blossom Music Center. The night before in Clarkston they had raised the bar for the tour (and, arguably, 3.0) with one of their strongest start-to-finish sets in recent memory. Was that going to be the new "normal" or just a fortunate aberration?

After the first set, the jury was still out. The set included a little bit of everything: well played versions of composed numbers like "Guyute" and Foam," energetic versions of rockers "Kill Devil Falls" and "Antelope," a return to the Little Feat catalog with "Rocket In My Pocket," and even the aural monstrosity that is "Fuck Your Face." Still, while everything was played well, they never really left the confines of any single song.

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While Phish is busy destroying America, the Blog is back to kick off the second year of Mystery Jams with #53 (see here for our humble beginnings). As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Fun Mystery Jam Fact -- This week's MJ was published at precisely 11:06:03 a.m. Not that we need a hint, but...

Wednesday Answer: Squalie got their first with the 6/3/11 "DWD." Way to keep up with your weekend homework, Squalie! The Blog will return on Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

It's Monday, so it must be time for the Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Wednesday Answer:First off, apologies for the lack of a Tursday hint, but we really didn't need one this week. RebeldyNugs joins the four-timer club by nailing the 6/20/04 "Waves." We'll be back on Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

NOTE: This is hopefully the beginning of a regular Phish.Net feature where one of our esteemed bloggers will post a short paragraph or two containing their take on the previous night's show. We encourage further discussion and interaction in the comments section.

If Bethel2’s first set was a welcome departure from the 3.0 norm, Bethel3 was more of the same. The set wasn’t offensive or bad in any way; it was just unremarkable save for relative rarities like “Timber” and “Curtis Loew.” One minor outlier was the “OKP” > “Suzy,” which was especially feisty for a non-jammed out version. Unfortunately, the second set followed suit. The highlight was the “Simple” that went outside the box for a bit but did not match the beauty of the 1/1/11 version (never mind 8/6/10). The “Slave” closer was quite enjoyable – as “Slave” closers usually are – but was not enough to make up for the largely lackluster show. 3.0/10.

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NOTE: This is hopefully the beginning of a regular Phish.Net feature where one of our esteemed bloggers will post a short paragraph or two containing their take on the previous night's show. We encourage further discussion and interaction in the comments section.

Those who thought the strong opening night at Bethel boded well for rest of tour were (initially anyway) proven right during Night 2. The first set contained a number of highlights punctuated by the no-doubt-about-it best “Halley’s” of 3.0 (the 6/16/09 Fox version may have been a touch longer, but last night was far more interesting) and a “Gin” & “Manteca” cocktail. "Runaway Jim" and "Cities" were also considerably more interesting than the vast majority of their 3.0 counterparts. Set II brought a “Disease” that descended into space, a fun “Makisupa” and a “BDTNL” that was well above average, but didn’t quite rise to the level of 8/11/09, 8/16/09, 6/12/10 or 8/17/10. Really, the second set didn’t live up to the expectations set by the first set (which was one of the best first sets of 3.0), but it, nevertheless, seems like we're off to a good start... a solid 6.5/10.

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The Blog is back with the 51st installment of the Mystery Jam Monday Series. Just like we have for the past 25 weeks, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No need for a hint this week.

Wednesday Answer: Ladies and Gentlemen... a well-deserved congratulations to our first four-time winner, @Choda for ID'ing the 10/29/98 "Reba." Yet another tough loss, but the Blog will, nonetheless, be back next week with another Mystery Jam.

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Fifty. Hard to believe, we've been doing this for nearly a year but here we are. And, for those of you keeping score, the Blog has won a grand total of four times. 4 for 49... those are Jorge Posada numbers! Where's my $13m? Sadly, even Posada is doing better than the Blog (if you don't count hints... we should count hints; factor those in and it's the Mystery Jam equivalent of OBP). Now that I've bored the hell out of all the non-baseball fans out there, let's get on with Mystery Jam Monday L. Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Five meaty minutes of Mystery Jam goodness and you noobs still need a hint?!?!? Ok, this should help... the show is from Vermont.

Wednesday Answer: 7/23/88 "Curtain With" -> "Dave's Energy Guide" -> "Curtain With." Congrats to possum17 on his (HINT AIDED!) victory. We'll be back on Monday for MJ51...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

The Blog is back with Mystery Jam 49. Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: I think @Icculus has taken care of this week's hint. Careful... it's subtle.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Choda (another three-time winner!) for correctly naming the 5/6/93 "Tweezer." See you all on Monday -- Mystery Jam 50 awaits...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

The Blog is back with Mystery Jam 48. Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Don't know if this will help, but I booked my flight for Tahoe yesterday and couldn't be more excited...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to ghostboogie for correctly guessing the 12/28/97 "Runaway Jim." See you all next week...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Looks like it's time for Mystery Jam Monday Part the 47th. As we do every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Another week, another unnecessary hint...

Wednesday Answer: Ladies and Gentlemen, we officially have our first three-time winner. Congrats to RebeldyNugs for nailing the 9/11/00 "Piper." The Blog will return next week with yet another Mystery Jam...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

The Blog returns for its weekly self-flagellation... a/k/a Mystery Jam Monday. Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: What number Mystery Jam is it?

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Flansolo for being the first to get the 8/15/09 "46 Days." See you all Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Time for the 45th installment of the Mystery Jam Monday^TM series. Hopefully this week will go better than the last eight Mondays, which have seen the Blog get its ass kicked all over Gamehendge. Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck....

(Very Late) Tuesday Hint: Once again, no hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to thesloth23 with the quick pick of 7/25/99 "My Left Toe." Though bruised and battered, the Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam. Until then...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

Monday? Mystery Jam! Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck....

Tuesday Hint: Guess we don't really need a hint for this utterly fantastic jam. (See what I did there?)

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to stevemott for nailing the 12/31/97 "Emotional Rescue." We'll be back on Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

As it has for the past 42 weeks, the Blog returns with another Mystery Jam to confound and confuse. Maybe. Possibly. Who can say? It's a rare occurrence that the Blog emerges victorious, but just like VCU-Kansas, that's why they play the games. Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck....

Tuesday Hint: There's a pretty good hint in the comments.

Wednesday Answer: 12/7/95 "Mike's." As others have said in the comments, lisen to the whole thing -- the whole show, actually -- if you've never heard it before. Congrats to FauxPaxFauxReal for being the first to get it. Until Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

The Blog returns with the 42nd installment of the Mystery Jam series. Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck....

Tuesday Hint: If you're attempting to guess the MJ, it's a virtual certainty that you've heard this show.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Choda for being the first to get the 11/2/98 "Tube" (technically listed as Tube Jam in our setlists, but the judges are going to accept "Tube"). See you all on Monday for the next MJ...

If the Blog were being honest, it would admit that it was a bit displeased with last week's result. Well, the Blog is being honest. There just aren't that many reletively obscure 1994 type-II jams lying around and so, for RabeldyNugs to jump in and ruin it for everyone (and by everyone, I mean me) by guessing it was, frankly, a bit disrespetful. Also, I might add, (s)he's making the other 300 of you listening look like a bunch of n00bs. So stand up for yourselves!!! Otherwise, by next week, this space could be 'Name That Sample Monday.' The future is in your hands...

Oh, right, rules... just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. As always, you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck....

Tuesday Hint: Alas, another week where we don't really need a hint.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to docgonzo for being the first to guess the 8/2/09 "Boogie On." We'll be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

The Blog returns with the what we like to not-at-all-dramatically call Mystery Jam XL! Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. As always, you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck....

Tuesday Hint: It is not "Mike's Song."

Wednesday Answer: RabeldyNugs takes it for the second straight week by correctly identifying the 12/8/94 "Simple." Now excuse me while I go disable your account. Serously, nice work, I think this definitely qualified as a tough one. See you all next Monday...

The Blog returns with the 39th installment of the Mystery Jam series.  Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck....

Late Tuesday Hint:  Another week where we really don't need a hint.  Sigh.  

Wednesday Answer: 8/10/04 "Birds of a Feather." For any of you who may have thought that Phish couldn't bring it in 2.0, the defense rests.  Congrats to RabeldyNugs for nailing it within 10 minutes of it being posted.  Quite impressive.  The Blog will be back on Monday with MJXL.

The Blog returns with a President's Day Mystery Jam.  Just like every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. 

One programming note: in an effort to make the Mystery Jam more west coast friendly, we will be posting the MJ later in the day on Monday. The trade off is... well, there shouldn't really be any trade off, but there is a possibility that if something goes wrong in posting, I won't be able to fix it until later in the day.  Thanks to President's Day, that wo't be an issue today. Good luck and, for those who have the day off from work, enjoy the holiday...

Tuesday Hint: For the second straight week, it does't look like we need a hint.

Wednesday Answer: Yes, it was the glorious 8/10/97 "Cities." Yunkfunk was the first to guess it and for that a shiny LivePhish.com MP3 download code will soon be coming his way.  See you all next Monday.

In a feature that has been a long time coming, the Phish.net site team is very excited to bring you the first installment of Side Project Setlists. We invite you to go ahead and poke around – because we know you will anyway – but we really can't stress enough that this content is very much in development. If you see something that is incomplete or doesn’t quite work as you may have thought, for now know that it is a work-in-progress and that we’ll provide updates when major sections are complete. That said, we hope you'll agree that, once we finish (and we really can't stress enough that it could take us a while), Phish.net will be the definitive site for all Phish-related setlists.  

The roll-out is going to start with Trey's side projects.  All of our setlists will be vetted by our setlist team (to the extent they circulate) and documented to the same standards as Mockingbird's Phish setlists – lovingly detailed and comprehensively. Like our Phish setlists, this is a collaborative process in which we invite the entire community to participate; if you notice anything incorrect or missing, please follow the links on the setlists to submit a correction.  

We also have plans to start creating Song Histories for all TAB songs.  If you have any interest in assisting with that process, feel free to send a private message to @lumpblockclod or @pzerbo.

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Mystery Jam Monday Part 37

The Blog is back with another Monday Mystery Jam. Fresh off a rare Blog victory last week, we will be playing for TWO MP3 downloads courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.net. The rules are simple: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck.

Tuesday Hint: Looks like there's no need for a hint this week.  And, west-coasters, we hear you.  The Blog tries hard to avoid east coast bias both in MJ selection and otherwise.  We'll try to come up with something.

Wednesday Answer: It was, in fact, the 6/28/00 "Bathtub Gin," making Control_For_Smilers our big winner.  Congrats, C_F_S!  Starting next week, the Blog will schedule posts of the Mystery Jam for later in the day on Monday, to accommodate the west coasters.  You guys may not get many shows, but you at least deserve a fair shot at the Mystery Jam! 

Mystery Jam Monday Part 36

The Blog is back with another Monday Mystery Jam. This week and every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.net. The rules are simple: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck.

Tuesday Hint:

The MJ is from a venue Phish has only played once.

Wednesday Answer:

First off, our apologies for the technical difficulties with the Mystery Jam these last couple weeks.  We'll work on getting these minor hiccups fixed.  So, having said that.......Blog FTW!!!  The MJ was the 8/25/93 "YEM." Definitely a version worth seeking out if you've never heard it. So, since no one got the Mystery Jam this week, we will be paying for two LivePhish.com downloads next week.  Until then, thank you for your continued support of the Mystery Jam series.

The Blog returns with your Monday Mystery Jam. This week and every week, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.net. The rules are simple: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. 1...2...3...Go!

Tuesday Hint:

If you listen carefully to the beginning of it, you'll probably figure it out.

Wednesday Answer:

Congrats to Jay (Choda) for correctly guessing the 8/2/03 Ya Mar. The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam...

Due to tumblr issues, the Blog was unable to post the Mystery Jam before departing MJHQ for the day. Thus, we will have yet another Mystery Jam Tuesday. See you all tomorrow

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Amid a scandal that has shaken the Mockingbird Foundation to its very core, the charitable foundation announced today that that it has severed all ties with its now former Executive Director, Ellis Godard. The controversy began in the late evening hours of October 24, 2010. The second set of Phish’s show at the Mullins Center in Amhearst, MA was winding down and literally tens of users were glued to the setlist on phish.net. Godard was on setlist duty when the Phish world appeared to come to a standstill. Either that or the band launched into a 30 minute “Free.” And just when it appeared Godard had simply abandoned his responsibilities to the Phish community things got worse. With one simple keystroke, Godard claimed that Phish had played “You Enjoy Myself.” The error was mockingly tweeted across the internets and even memorialized on awesomescreenshot.com. With that unparalleled combination of negligence and malfeasance, Godard tore Mockingbird’s credibility to smithereens.

The truth is that Godard’s dismissal is yet another in a series of drastic changes to the Mockingbird’s Phish.Net platform. Scarcely a year ago, setlists were being transmitted to Phish.net through a loose affiliation of unemployed fanboys jotting down notes at the shows and the occasional carrier pigeon. Setlists would appear on the site anywhere from twelve hours to twelve days after the show. Enter technology guru Adam Scheinberg. “I was working on a script to send hourly emails to Trey requesting he play ‘Camel Walk’ at every show on the ’09 Summer Tour, when I realized my skills could be put to better use,” recalled Scheinberg. Scheinberg continued, “Ellis was running a pretty ragtag operation, but it did manage to pull together over $500,000 in directed grants to music education for children. So it was clear he wasn’t a complete shit-for-brains.”

Scheinberg transformed Phish.Net into a ruthlessly efficient operation. He would create a database documenting every time each song in the Phish catalog was played. Song histories were added to the site for every song Phish has played. And setlists were posted to the site in real-time. Sometimes before the band even knew what they were playing. In discussing the changes, Scheinberg explained that he made the setlist entry system “so simple, even a trained monkey could use it.”

But none of that helped Godard last night. Reporters from Hidden Track and Jambands.com were waiting for Godard outside his home this morning shoving assorted Schoeps and Sennheiser microphones in his face and demanding an answer. But answers didn’t come. Longtime fan David “Zzyzx” Steinberg reports that Godard simply hemmed and hawed about it being some sort of sociological experiment before muttering “Wanton in a key I live and me for horse rent.” At that point, Godard fled the scene. According to Steinberg, “the whole thing went on for precisely sixteen minutes and forty-three seconds, which is longer than roughly 97.6% of Phish 3.0 jams.”

Count Charlie Dirksen among Godard’s disappointed colleagues. “I’ve known Ellis for over fifteen years,” Dirksen said, “and I really thought he knew something about the Phish from Vermont. But I was wrong. Even more wrong than I was about that ‘Fire on the Mountain’ tease on 12/31/95. But at least I’m admitting it this time.”

This gaffe was simply the last straw in the odd descent of this once respected uber-phan. In recent days, Godard was reported to have claimed that he wouldn’t recognize the song “Alaska,” even “if Trey sang it to me on my lap.” However, those reports could not be substantiated. The Mockingbird Foundation will appoint a new executive director in the coming days. Scheinberg is said to be writing a script that will not only choose the new leader, but actually cause a white plume of smoke to be emitted from Nectar’s.

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In observance of my own neglect, the Monday Mystery Jam will again be postponed until Tuesday this week.

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Mystery Jam Monday will be pushed back to Tuesday. Thank you for your continued support of the Mystery Jam Series.

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