33 Years Later & Still Evolving: Phish Proves Timeless At The Mann Finale

I love Philadelphia. I lived in Upstate New York until my late thirties and traveled to Philly often to see music and to visit close friends from tour for many years, and I also lived in the area for two summers while I worked at a camp at a nature center in Roxborough while Phish was broken up. It’s one of my favorite cities in the nation, and I’m always excited to return, and anytime Phish is in town, I’m sure to include those shows in my tour plans. When I got off the plane from Charleston, I was thrilled to be back in the City of Brotherly Love once again.

As for the venue, The Mann is one that gets mixed reviews from fans, but for the most part, it’s one that people tend to like. The first few times I attended shows there I wasn’t a huge fan of it, but it’s grown on me a little more on each return visit. Now, I like it quite a bit. It’s small but not too small, it’s aesthetically pleasant overall, and there are numerous areas with ample dance space from which to choose. The sound is quite good in most spots, security is relaxed and easy, and the lot there is always a good time. And, most importantly, Phish plays well at The Mann consistently — year after year. I’m always excited to see a pair of shows at The Mann.

On the down side, it’s a venue that’s notoriously hot. Phish always plays The Mann in the deep thickness of the summertime, and the humidity in the mid-Atlantic region can be intense. Due to the arrangement of the trees on Fishman’s side of the venue, plus the slope of the lawn and pavilion, there’s almost zero breeze or air flow once you get inside. The hot air just hangs over and around the tightly packed crowd everywhere — in the pit, the pav, the balcony, the terrace and the lawn — and its heaviness can really be a tough challenge to bear. It wasn’t all that bad last time we visited, so I’d somewhat forgotten about this flaw. But this year, it was very noticeable and very rough – even after the sun set both nights.

To try to manage this aspect of the experience, I posted up on the far Page lawn for this show, where there was at least a slight breeze, plus to have some breathing room away from the density of the crowd. I love the view of the skyline in that spot, and the sound is good there, too.

I had just arrived at my spot when they took the stage and opened up with “The Dogs” from Chilling Thrilling. It was a surprise and a fun opener; I’d last seen it at Deer Creek last year, but it’s not a tune I think of often, so I was glad to hear it. I liked Night One a whole lot, but thought this opener boded well for an even better Night Two. “Evolve” followed in the number two spot, and it was quickly evident that the band had a lot more energy than the crowd. They all seemed rested, enthusiastic and raring to go, but the audience was clearly struggling after two days in the Philadelphia heat and seemed rather subdued. Surely, no one was feeling unhappy or distracted, but it seemed many of us were just plain tired and worn out.

“Fluffhead’s” placement as the third song in the first set was unusual, but not unwelcome. The band was playing well and cohesively and with great energy and gusto right out of the gate. The “Gumbo” that followed it was my personal highlight of the set — the jam was fun and danceable, bassist Mike Gordon was really throwing down throughout, and much of the jam seemed to lightly suggest a possible “Manteca” that never came to fruition.

After “Gumbo,” the band seemed to read the room and slowed things down a bit with a solid “Pebbles and Marbles” and a pleasant and melodic “Roggae.” The crowd seemed thankful for the reprieve and opportunity to take it slow. I was watching the weather report and radar and saw that some rain was perhaps headed our way, but that it wouldn’t arrive for a while. The breeze started to pick up at this point though, which was helpful.

In recent years Phish has seemed to drop a lot of the bluegrass tunes they’d played in rotation for decades, but after last year’s Billy Strings sit-in in Grand Rapids, they’re coming back now and then again. I’ve never been a huge fan of Phish playing bluegrass, but I didn’t mind hearing “Ginseng Sullivan” next. I expected the “Julius” crowd pleaser that followed it to close the set, but then they dropped into “Split Open and Melt.” I liked the composed part of “Split,” but I’m not often a fan of its dark and discordant jams, even though I know lots of people absolutely love them. This one worked for me, though, and this “Split” ended up being my second favorite part of the first set after the “Gumbo.”

Setbreak was great; a lot of my friends came to sit by me in my spot and we got some good quality time in during the break. I know tons of people in Philly and although I didn’t get a chance to see them all during this run, I managed to connect with quite a few. These two shows were a surprisingly hard ticket, so we were all very grateful to be there and inside together. Normally, The Mann is kind of a tricky ticket due to the small size of the venue, but it always seems to shake out in the end. This year was different for some odd reason, and some of my crew struggled to get in, even right up to the last minute. I still don’t understand why this Tuesday and Wednesday pair were in so much higher demand than usual, especially with the other Northeast shows in Manchester, Forest Hills and SPAC in the mix, but even after all these years of experience with this band, ticket availability can still sometimes be unpredictable.

I was glad that I carry a sweat towel as the second set began; although the air had cooled down some by this point and the sun was long set, I continuously was still wiping sweat from my brow. Even though they played “The Curtain With” in Manchester a few weeks ago, I’d entirely forgot it existed by this night. Even if I hadn’t forgotten about it, I certainly wouldn’t have expected a second one this soon – but I was glad to hear it. This was the first time “The Curtain With” opened a second set since July 23, 1988; so that was a cool surprise and stat.

“Wave of Hope” followed and was strong as usual. I’m a big fan of it, but I’ve found most people could kind of take it or leave it. I love its general message of breaking free from the ties that bind you, taking flight, and soaring beyond whatever had previously held you back. The jams out of this one are pretty consistently good if you ask me, and this version was no exception. It got a little dark and deep at points, and it drove steadily forward throughout. Drummer Jon Fishman was crushing it, just as he always does, and the jam was quite danceable overall. Apparently, MIKE even played vacuum for a minute somewhere in this jam, but to be perfectly honest, I totally missed it somehow – a friend told me about it afterward.

At this point, lightning flashed in the distance and I checked the radar again – rain continued to head toward us, but it seemed somewhat likely that it might just pass by us, too. Fingers crossed …

“Wave of Hope” transitioned smoothly into “Mercy,” and this was another relaxing, mellow break for the hot and tired crowd. Guitarist Trey Anastasio sang it was great care and emotion as usual, and it really fit the vibe in that spot. I noticed more people were sitting during this set than the night before or during set one, so this slow song worked great in a spot in the second set that is more often focused on building up rather than slowing down.

“Simple” is a true Phish classic and is always welcome, if you ask me, and I think I speak for the community when I say that it is not only a welcome crowd pleaser in general, but that its lyrics serve as a reminder of how lucky we are to have this band in our lives. Its jams are always a lot of fun and this one was especially enjoyable and was one of the best of this two-night run – especially due to the inclusion of a full minute or more of very obvious teases of the “Macarena.” Trey missed a few notes in “Simple,” but it was no big deal – it happens, and was hardly noticeable. The jam overall had several different sections to enjoy – in parts, it was a bit grittier than usual, and in others, it was rhythmic, upbeat and cheerful.

“Ether Edge” emerged next and I was glad to hear it, too. I started to feel some raindrops at this point, which paired well with the “in the summer rain” line of the tune. I really dig this song and I hope it doesn’t drop out of rotation – but I’m afraid it might soon. For now, I enjoy every version I hear. This one was a bit more extended than others I’ve heard, and that was a bonus. Despite the mellowness from the crowd, the band seemed really locked in with each other and I liked the flowy and danceable exploration that followed the composed portion here.

I really liked the second set through this point – but then, for me, I felt like it kind of dropped off. The band continued to play well through the end, but I thought the song selection and flow got a bit weird after that. I’m not a fan of “Maze” in general, although the transition into it was solid – but this was surely an odd placement for it. The rain really started to pick up at this point, but fortunately for us, it remained a consistent light sprinkle for the remainder of the show, and it wasn’t too bad to endure. It certainly cooled us down and was therefore welcome. Trey went full rockstar during “Maze;” I love when he does his little jumps up and down and he was clearly really feeling it. And, keyboardist Page McConnell stood up – and that’s always a good sign.

“Twenty Years Later” was another odd drop where it landed, and is another song I don’t love, although the inclusion of the line “33 years later” had me looking up what happened 33 years ago on Phish.net right away. It turns out that Phish first played The Mann on July 18, 1992, during the tour they opened for Santana, and the anniversary of that show was just two days away. This was a fun nod, I thought, but in my opinion, it would have fit in better at another point during this run.

The “Run Like An Antelope” closer that followed was high energy and played well as usual. It’s a great closer, and another Phish classic like “Simple,” it’s just not one of my personal favorites. The band was clearly having a great time, though, and that’s what matters most. Trey was grinning from ear to ear, Kuroda was really killing it on the light rig, and Mike, Page, and Fish were really enthusiastic throughout it, too.

By now it was really raining. Even though the band was under cover in the pavilion, it was getting late and I was expecting an encore selection that was on the shorter side — but I was wrong. I was very surprised when the choice was “You Enjoy Myself,” but I was very pleased. I consider “YEM” to be the quintessential Phish song, and it’s been one of my favorites all along since I started seeing the band way back in 1994. It was the perfect encore to end my run of Folsom, Charleston and The Mann.

Although Trey encountered some technical problems at one point, this “YEM” was perfect otherwise. It was still raining at this point and the crowd seemed a bit revitalized and revived by its cooling effects. The fact that they included the second jam after the vocal jam in this verison was a great sendoff for all in attendance as we walked out, all of us quite happy with these two nights in Philadelphia, as we made our way back to our cars — satisfied and satiated by the best band in the world, PHISH, yet again.

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