My Way to Mondegreen: Part One
Phish continues to push limits and create new memories after an already storied career. In 2024, they treated phans to multiple special events, released a new album, and the music at just about every show was top notch. I previously covered the epic jams and performances that unfolded in my 2024 Year in Review, but I left out one major event from that retrospect: Mondegreen.
As fate would have it, the return of the Phish festival gave me my first chance to catch the band’s show in person. A unique perspective going into the biggest event of possibly the biggest year of 4.0 so far. A practical mecca for most phans, Phish festivals tend to bring out the most dedicated listeners to hear the band play in their most authentic and expressive live presentation.
Photo by Rene Huemer
As I recount the incredible experience that was Mondegreen, I look back at how Phish made their way into my listening habits, quickly becoming an obsession as powerful (or possibly even more so) than my love of the Dead, and the culmination of life that unfolded with my first Phish shows at Mondegreen.
A Crash Course in Phish
Previous readers know my devotion to the Dead, which began in 2019. By 2023, my journey with the Dead culminated with a three-show run catching Dead & Company on their Final Tour. Following the emotional catharsis of that incredible run, I found myself ready to venture out to explore other areas of the jam band world that the Dead helped create. The first on my list to give a chance was Phish. Two bands often associated, but in reality represent very different places in the musical world.
By the time my phandom really started taking shape, it was a bit too late to catch a show during Phish’s short Fall tour in 2023, having spent most of my concert budget on the D&C Final Tour and all of Phish’s Fall dates happening a significant distance from my homebase in Virginia.
However, I was fortunate enough to catch Trey with Classic TAB for their intimate show at The National in Richmond, which was announced within the exact same week that I began to dig into the Phish catalog. My first taste of the serendipitous wonders of this band. A fantastic show in its own right, but it only provided a taste of what else this music had in store.
Classic TAB at The National, 09/18/23; Photo by Alex Falls
Right around the time of the Classic TAB show, Phish then dropped the news of their next festival, their first since 2015’s Magnaball (and after the unfortunate cancellation of Curveball in 2018). The simple save-the-date only provided the dates, and the location of The Woodlands in Dover, DE. Just as my love of the band really began to take over, the biggest possible event they could have announced was confirmed to take place just a few short hours up the road from me. I instantly knew I had to be there.
After only a few months of becoming a phan, it was already incredible to witness how the events of the band correlated with my journey with the music, as if it was pulling me into an orbit of something greater that I did not yet understand. But my years with the Dead taught me many things, including to surrender to the flow. A lesson that many phans, of course, know by heart.
I might’ve been late to the party, but once I knew the path ahead, I dove head first into the world of Phish. They quickly became all I was listening to. My years of digging into the Dead served me well, as I already had the tools in place to navigate the decades of music I now felt obligated to catch up on before departing for the festival. No easy feat, but I read the book and listened through as much of the history as I could manage, and I got to whet my live Phish appetite with Trey’s incredible orchestral show at Wolf Trap National Park.
By the time Mondegreen was finally detailed, you could cut the anticipation with a knife. We were all riding high on the excellence of Gamehendge at NYE 2023 and the epic 4/20 run at The Sphere. As the Summer tour unfolded, you could tell the band was hitting new heights in 2024. The excitement for Mondegreen could be felt in every corner of Phish fandom. What would they have up their sleeves for this one?
Day One: Arrival and Opening Night
The long wait since the initial announcement a year earlier finally came to an end during one of the hottest summers on record, both for the band and the planet. Around 40,000 phans swarmed into The Woodlands next to Dover Motor Speedway for a long and hot weekend with our favorite band to celebrate the music we love and the community that’s grown from it.
Before the music even began, the festival grounds welcomed us with the band’s trademark quirkiness displayed in every corner. Fantastic and interactive art installations extended through the long walk from the gates to the concert grounds. People could visit the beer hall, play Phish-themed games or see stand-up at Leigh Fordham Hall, and taste from the long lines of food vendors covering almost every conceivable cuisine from around the world.
Photo by Alive Coverage
Relix Magazine offered their daily newspapers at newsstands, The Bunny kept everyone connected through the airwaves with curated music, the Bazaar offered long-time fans chances to connect with iconic Phish personalities, and so many more details along the way made this event an experience like I couldn’t have imagined. Perhaps this was all to be expected from the veterans, but I felt like I had stepped out into a new world and instantly felt right at home.
I encountered so many happy people throughout the extensive fairgrounds. Most regular concert goers know there’s usually a factor of people with negative vibes. Either from the bro crowd, people overindulging, or just downright lack of awareness. At no point did I sense any of that here. I’m sure there were pockets of negativity for some people, it’s only natural when you gather this many people in one place, but from my perspective, everyone was dialed into the vibes from beginning to end. It all felt so surreal.
Photo by Alive Coverage
The time finally came as we all gathered on the field for the first night of music. With speaker columns strategically placed throughout the grounds, no matter where you stood the sound was crystal clear as the opening notes of “The Moma Dance” shook the ground beneath our feet. Set one set the tone for everything that was to follow as the band plowed through several classics with plenty of jamming in between songs. “Wolfman’s Brother” sported long legs, and a one-two punch of jammed out versions of “A Wave of Hope” and “Sand” set a high mark right from the beginning.
“What’s Going Through Your Mind” had just been added into the rotation this year, and it opened the second set with the first major jam of the weekend with 25 minutes of playful sonic stylings. Its place in Phish lore would go on to be cemented at NYE later on in the year, but it was at Mondegreen where this one really found its footing as a 4.0 standout. The rest of set two couldn’t have been any better for someone’s first Phish show, but we were far from done for the long weekend.
Day Two: New Friends and Fresh Frontiers
One right of passage that comes with the Phish festival experience, is the merch line. Some of the longest lines I’ve seen were queued up during the first day, but I was determined to score the poster from Jim Pollock, one of the four up for grabs for the festival, but obviously the most sought after print. I made the long walk to the festival grounds as they opened at 9am with the intention of hitting up the farmer’s market and participating in one of the group yoga sessions before lining up, and to my surprise, there were already a few dozen people lined up for the merch stand scheduled to open at noon.
If I wanted that poster, I knew I had to start waiting right then. The idea of waiting three hours under the hot sun was certainly daunting, but I took my spot. To my delight, the people around me and line were some of the nicest I interacted with all weekend. A younger dude who drove all the way from Texas stood in front of me, an old school 1.0’er in front him, and another kind soul from Minnesota behind me.
Those three hours passed by no problem as we traded stories from shows, the road, and the crazy security checks from the days before. All this time later I can’t even remember their names, but I remember their welcoming attitudes and their excitement over the fact that these were my first shows. I might’ve missed yoga, but I gained some great memories, and I scored that Pollock print. The vibes never ceased.
Photo by Rene Huemer
Night two kicked off with an interesting choice of “Bouncin’ Around the Room”, which actually set the tone for the rest of the set very well. Absent were most of the free form jam picks, and instead the night focused largely on some of the band’s most intricate compositions like “Divided Sky” and “Reba” in the first set, and a pitch perfect “Fluffhead” in the second. While the monster double-decker sandwich of “No Men in No Man’s Land” and “Ruby Waves” brought plenty of jams and segues to the party, overall night two felt very grounded.
That is, until the so-called Secret Set. Typically, Phish likes to surprise everyone attending a festival by randomly popping out in the middle of the night for something more experimental, but Trey let the cat out of the bag early and told us not to head back to camp once the set was done. After a triumphant “Harry Hood” > “First Tube” for the encore, just about everyone stayed in place for what was to come.
Photo by Rene Huemer
I layed on the ground to conserve my energy as I stared at the stars and felt everyone continue to buzz around. I rose up at the first signs of music and saw the stage had been transformed into a giant screen of tassels. The tender music slowly started to emerge from behind the screen that projected abstract forms of nature. The music and the images progressively became more psychedelic. Grand illustrations unfolded with kaleidoscopic effects as the band played behind the screen with laser-focused intensity and powerful ambient explorations. It seemed obvious now why they let the cat out of the bag early: they didn’t want anyone to miss this.
The “Woodlands Jam” as it’s now become known, captivated the audience with stunned silence. Words cannot fully capture the feeling in the crowd during this nearly hour-long stretch of music. The more grounded approach of the main set made much more sense in hindsight. They were saving the big exploration of the night for this otherworldly display. Once again, Phish found a new frontier and pushed right through it to our extreme delight. An incredible moment in Phishtory, and we were only halfway through the entire festival!
Photo by Rene Huemer
As the sun rose on day three, the weather forecast for Sunday created some uncertainty for the fourth and final night. Most forecasters were calling for a potentially heavy storm of strong winds and significant rainfall. Shortly before it was time to make our way to the concert grounds for the Saturday show, the band sent out the official word that Sunday’s show would be rescheduled to the afternoon. A bit of a blow to the proceedings, but it created a sense that Saturday had suddenly become the main event of the festival.
I’ll be splitting the experience of the final two days into its own story to be published in the near future. The experience of night three was nothing short of magical, and I look forward to capturing the energy that sprung forth from the forests of Dover.
Please stay tuned in for part two of My Way to Mondegreen, and for more stories to come!
Featured photo by Alive Coverage
