Phish's Mondegreen Festival in Dover, Delaware 8.15.24 - 8.18.24

It was my fourth Phish festival.

Last year's Mondegreen festival, in Dover, Delaware, was Phish's 10th festival, and my fourth. I’m batting .400, you might say. I had some idea of what to expect at the event, having experienced the joy and heartache that can accompany traveling across the country to see one's favorite band play a few shows in a completely new, made up, and temporary universe that was created for our enjoyment only to be stuck in traffic delays for several hours or longer within or just outside the grounds.

The most legendary phestival to date, of course, was Big Cypress. Held over the dawn of the new millennium on the Seminole Reservation in the Florida Everglades, it was a truly epic adventure - a twenty four plus hour drive from the depths of Duluth, Minnesota's frigid winter, along with 3 buddies in a two person pick up truck, that concluded with a 20 hour traffic jam on the highway known as Alligator Alley along with thousands of other frustrated but determined fans. We eventually made it to what was one of the biggest gatherings in the world that new years, with about 70-80,000 people in attendance. The festival culminated with an eight hour set from Phish starting at Midnight of Jan 1, 2000 and continuing until sunrise, when The Beatles' “Here Comes The Sun” marked our collective passage into the new millennium and heralded the fact that we'd survived Y2K.

After the festival, rather than sticking with our original and not very well developed plan of snowboarding along the north Atlantic coast, we instead went south to Miami Beach and ultimately to the southernmost point of the Continental US, Key West. We were only there for one night but I remember it being quite the scene, a blocks long party that seemed to go the length of the key. We started the trek northward that night until we could drive no more, and took a rest along the road next to a chicken farm. Roosters woke us up at sunrise and we were suddenly on the road again.. I recall a Cracker Barrel waitress being absolutely baffled by the dreadlocks adorning my friend Ben's head, telling us us she’d never seen anything like it. We’d see other Phans all over Florida in the first few days of this brand new century and greet each other with a hearty “Cheesecake!” (google phish cheesecake)

In 2004, I traversed the country with 7 other serious Phans in an RV from Minneapolis to Coventry, Vermont. That was my first and only time visiting Phish's home state, and man is that a green and lovely state. We all made it into the festival by the grace of a local farmer, but our RV did not. Recent rains had flooded the festival grounds, and they stopped allowing vehicle traffic in at some point, forcing us to leave our RV and whatever we could not carry on this kind Vermonter's land. We walked at least a couple miles to get to the festival and while that was a memorable weekend, it was not a comfortable one. Thousands of people were completely shut out of what were at the time billed at Phish's final shows. The mud made the entire festival site a disaster, and Trey was in a really bad place with his mental health, breaking down on stage on more than one occasion. Still, I’m so glad I did that.

In 2015, I packed a tent and some clothes into a suitcase and flew out to New York, where a friend and I rented a car and drove to the Finger Lakes region of upstate NY for the Superball festival. That was the first and only time aside from Mondegreen that I have ever flown somewhere to camp (not necessarily recommended!). That was, by contrast, smooth sailing and was the site of the memorable 'Storage Jam', where the four band members played a late night secret set in a storage shed, with only the silhouettes of the band members visible.

All of which is to say that Phish festivals can be and have a solid history of being quite challenging logistically on a number of fronts. (Luckily I didn't attempt to go to Curveball, that was perhaps the most hard luck festival of all.) But once you get there it's pure magic. These events have always been guided by the sentiment 'Our only intent is for your pure delight'. Phish more or less invented, or at least were pioneers of hosting festivals in the modern era. They're unique in that there is just one band playing over several days, massive and elaborate art installations, and more of a sense of community and cohesiveness than most music related gatherings.

Attendance at one or more of these events is worthy of being mentioned on one's tombstone, or perhaps just one's resume. Over 25 years later, I still feel a unique camaraderie when I learn someone I know was also present at Big Cypress, Coventry, or even Superball. I'm certain that Mondegreen attendees will be telling tales of this weekend for years or even decades to come.

Mondegreen had around 45,000 attendees, according to the most reputable of sources I've seen. My good friend AG and I treated ourselves to the Glen Close camping area, closer to the concert venue and replete with showers and air conditioned restrooms. With a lot of help from Brandon and Nic, who’d flown out from Minneapolis and Milwaukee, respectively, we made our way to the very front of our designated area, so we had maybe a ten minute walk from our camp to the stage.

I found set 2 of N3 to be among my favorite sets of music ever. The song selection, segues between songs and lighting that made use of the tree lines on either side of the stage were sublime. Lights danced on the ferris wheel, the Heliograph (an octagonal shaped tower that around 200 fans at a time could ascend on metal stairs to a platform maybe 30 feet off the ground for a fantastic view of the proceedings), and on the trees in the back of the concert venue, all intricately connected and coordinated by lighting director Chris Koruda, aka CK5.

Night 4's show was pushed up to 1pm in advance of severe weather in the area, but the band made sure to show their appreciation for the fans' flexibility with a two hour plus set. Trey had his nice shades on and a smile throughout.

There was a 'City Hall' constructed solely of cardboard and packing tape in the middle of the festival grounds, a most impressive construction of French artist Olivier Grossellete. It was supposed to be torn down Sunday but had to be pulled down Saturday instead due to becoming structurally unsound after rain and wind Friday night.

There was a healthy contingent of Minnesota Phish Phans about two or three dozen strong!

8.15 Phish at Mondegreen Festival, Dover Speedway - Day One

We were greeted by this rock monster guy upon entry: People for scale, and that’s a real, full size car.

Ok. Alright.

The infamous Ferris Wheel:

Phish’s festival radio station, The Bunny, that broadcasts important traffic and weather updates and a wide array of music all weekend. They also have a weekly show on Phish’s Sirius XM channel (Channel 29!) hosted by Tad Cautious.

Working piano in the air conditioned Farmhaus food area

Sharon in the Grove was a nice shaded area to get away from the blazing August sun and heat.

The stage was set for the big opening set, and expectations were high.

The Heliograph would prove to be an important feature of the festival, and AG, who flew all the way across the country for this event, and I made it to the elevated platform for part of each night’s show.

The first time up top, what a tremendous perspective!

Slave To The Traffic Light:

8.16 Phish at Mondegreen Festival, Dover Speedway - Day Two

Now that everyone had spent several hours in the festival bowl and were starting to get a proper feel for the venue, things were really getting exciting. There was so much to do, more activities than anyone could possibly have time for, art everywhere you looked, and 3 more shows to go. One area of the bowl held a foursquare tournament, and there was the customary Runaway Jim 5k race.

I’d never heard of this particular mondegreen, or misinterpreted lyric, before. The real lyric is “I come from atop the mountain, baby”

This was a (not so) secret installation where people walked through a porta-potty door to find themselves in a magic lair. It was only open limited hours and sadly I never made it in.

Museum of the Moon had a giant, suspended scale model of the moon, maybe about 15 feet high. It lit up at night and was very realistic.

When the composed section of “Reba” gives way to the blissful improvised section is one of my favorites musical moments:

First set closer “Character Zero”:

The end of “Fluffhead”:

The ‘Secret Set’, widely anticipated but only formally announced at the end of the encore, was an hour or so of one continuous instrumental, with a curtain completely covering the stage so no band members were visible. This left the lights and graphics to take center stage, and they were mesmerizing. The set began with minimalist jamming that featured Trey on both acoustic and electric guitars, nearly simultaneously. It intensified into a dark groove with images of flying umbrellas before taking on a more hopeful tone and really got cooking towards the end with images of electric trees swirling accompanying the driving, improvised music. It was reminiscent of the incredible visual theatrics that were on display four months earlier at Sphere. The secret set was officially released on youtube:

8.17 Phish at Mondegreen at Dover Speedway - Day Three

Beach balls were a-flying during “Mike’s Song”:

“Meatstick”

I couldn’t get enough of the lights in the (and on the trunks of the) trees!

“You Enjoy Myself” (first from the ground, waiting to walk up the stairs to the platform of the Heliograph, then from the top:

8.18 Phish at Mondegreen at Dover Speedway - Day Four

A lovely double rainbow escorted us out of the festival. We got rained on some on the way out but luckily for those who stayed around, the severe thunderstorms didn’t materialize. Having to leave early and the shortened show on the final day made for a a bittersweet ending to what was an otherwise incredible weekend!