Delaware Delight: Phish Goes Full Throttle With 3rd Mondegreen Performance

After a hugely successful second night of Mondegreen, Phish returned to the stage last night for a bangers-only Saturday show, putting together a strong first set with an all-killer, no-filler second frame bursting at the seams with excellent playing and improv.

With a spell of rain in the early morning, some in the campgrounds ended up a little wet – but the relief from the hot sun of the first two days was welcomed, allowing most fans to more freely spend time in the open field, instead of taking refuge in the shade.

The crowd may have been at its highest energy yet for the entire duration of the show, especially knowing that today’s sets had been moved to a matinee due to inclement weather – last night was our last dose of Phish after dark and with the full force of Chris Kuroda’s light rig.

Phish opened the show with a classic “Mike’s Song” into “I Am Hydrogen” into “Weekapaug Groove,” (complete with a ton of beach balls being tossed around the crowd) stretching out nicely on the grooves and getting us going with solid Type I play before moving into “Theme From the Bottom.” This song’s recent emergence into jam vehicle status has been more than welcomed, with several standout versions both on this tour and over the past couple of years.

Guitarist Trey Anastasio took some extra time on the intro vamp with some funky rhythm work, letting us know that this would not be a standard rendition. The jam quickly departed the airy groove into a minor key, Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell entwining themselves in repeated melodies while the guitarist looped some chirpy noises in the background.

Modulating into a major key, the band hit a strong peak before returning home, closing the 11-minute “Theme” on a strong note. “Blaze On” has filled a set-closing role several times as of late, so it was nice to hear it mid-set – a very solid rendition to lead into my highlight of the first set in “Gotta Jibboo.”

The breezy improv took flight atop McConnell’s bright piano work and Anastasio’s melodies for a few minutes before the band smoothly descended into a darker zone. Drummer Jon Fishman kept the steady groove going while McConnell moved to Rhodes and Anastasio looped some droning noises.

Existing inside a dense cloud of sound, the band coalesced for several minutes before a fake-out return to “Jibboo” proper led to another modulation and a minute of brighter jamming lifted by bassist Mike Gordon’s insistent playing before heading back home to close the standout version.

“46 Days” kept the jamming going with a vicious and percussive version, quickly heading into grimy and sparse territory with Anastasio’s synth-filter effect. McConnell hung back on Hammond B3 organ as the guitarist looped dissonance over everything, descending back into the choppy ring-mod territory that has popped up a number of times over the course of the weekend. Tension built for several minutes before the band emerged into a delay-filled peak and exploded back home into the ending nicely.

“Evolve” kept the flow and energy of the set going ahead of “Meatstick,” leading into an excellent set-closing rendition of “David Bowie,” sliding cleanly outside a standard Type I jam for a spell in a break from form of modern versions. Anastasio used a dreamy vibrato tone early on while Gordon’s eerie bent notes shone out around McConnell’s gentle Wurlitzer work.

Ending up in a beautiful major key for a couple of minutes, the band opted to keep it quick and blasted into the end of “Bowie,” Anastasio absolutely nailing the ending of the song to send us into set break, the crowd’s energy reaching a fever pitch with the flurries of guitar.

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

Want more Phish stats?

Visit JamBase’s The Skinny Hub

More Skinny

Opening a second set for the first time in just over a year, “Also Sprach Zarathustra” featured a humorous fake-out of the intro by Fish while Anastasio tuned his guitar, then jumping straight into an awesome dance party. The guitarist stuck to some old-school cow-funk vamping in the first jam, letting McConnell add color on Rhodes.

There was some serious glow stick action during the second set, beginning with the choruses of “2001,” a seemingly endless supply of them being thrown back and forth across the crowd that roared in excitement for the drop into the second jam. McConnell moved to Prophet synth as Anastasio stuck to lead work, infusing some heavy delay into his playing.

Moving into “Oblivion” next, another relatively short rendition covered a decent amount of ground in its 11 minutes, sticking to a snappy beat courtesy of Fish while the rest of the band explored a bright major key. Gordon’s deep synth work offered a counterpoint to the happier music as they drifted in a relaxed manner through a solid peak. It’s interesting to see how they seem to be focusing on shorter versions of this Evolve track this summer, rather than open it up in some bigger runtimes like in 2023.

“Down With Disease” was tapped next and immediately demonstrated that it was going big – every band member stepped into a leadership role at the same time as the jam began, creating a cacophonous initial section, especially due to Anastasio’s loops. McConnell laid down heavy piano as the band began to head into Type II territory, pushed steadily by Fish’s pocket. Guitar and piano linked up on an aggressive repeated riff, expanding on that chunkier section for a few minutes before Anastasio led the band into a major key.

Some “Eleanor Rigby” riffing between Anastasio and Gordon added a nice flavor to the improv as the peak continued to unfold over the next several minutes, bringing the energy higher and higher. Fish switched into a half-time beat akin to the “Time Loves A Hero” intro as Anastasio found a repeated riff that he’d come back to later, hitting the apex and then fading cleanly into “Tweezer.”

Exploring within the boundaries of the song initially, McConnell’s Rhodes and Anastasio’s punchy envelope filter work left lots of room for the rhythm section to stand out, Fish transforming the steady “Tweezer” beat into more of a shuffle. A brief dip into a darker direction was quickly changed to a major key as the band hit into a propulsive Allman Brothers zone. Anastasio brought back his riff from the end of the “Disease” jam just before the 13-minute mark before aggressively pushing the jam into some seriously rocking vamps.

The ensuing peak was brimming with confidence from all four band members, and the roar of the crowd as the energy reached its pinnacle is clearly audible on the soundboard, capturing the perfect vibes of the moment in an incredible way. Anastasio flexed his guitar god capabilities, alternating between lead work and crunchy rhythm, bringing the energy higher and higher with peak after peak, sustaining the energy for several minutes before descending back into the “Tweezer” riff as the song wrapped up just short of 20 minutes.

“Scents And Subtle Sounds” was tapped next, and after a brief hiccup on the intro the band was once again off to the races, building up a serious head of steam with accumulating energy. The last few minutes of this jam descended into controlled chaos, Anastasio’s bent dissonance linking up in tandem with Fish’s cymbal hits as the band brought the jam to a close.

“Boogie On Reggae Woman” gave us a dose of funk before a massively explosive “Carini” detonated the end of the set with the power of a hydrogen bomb, sending the huge crowd into a frenzy once more. The second set ended on a breathless note, all of us taking in the nonstop banger song selection and excellent flow throughout.

Returning for the encore, Anastasio led the band through an excellent rendition of “Backwards Down the Number Line,” eliciting some great singalong action from the audience before the old-school song selection continued with a very well-played “You Enjoy Myself,” complete with classic “Jean Pierre” teases from the guitarist. A lengthy vocal jam would not be the end of the show, however, as we were treated to “Tweezer Reprise” – one final time to take in the full power of Kuroda’s light rig and the massive glow stick wars.

In just a few hours, Phish takes the stage for a matinee show to close out the Mondegreen weekend and what has been an absolutely unforgettable event. Phish festivals are a truly unique and special occurrence and I truly hope that we don’t have to wait nine years for the next one.

Photos by Stu Kelly

---

Phish’s Mondegreen festival concludes today, Sunday, August 18 at The Woodlands of Dover International Speedway. Due expected inclement weather, there is a significantly earlier showtime for Phish’s final performance, with the first set now scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET. Livestreams for the entire Summer Tour 2024 are available via LivePhish.com.

---

Phish Photos & Video

Posters