[We would like to thank @LizardwithaZ and @OrangeSox for contributing this to the blog. - Ed.]

It’s usually difficult to see the exact trajectory of a tour happening in real time. Some may make statements early-on about it being the “best tour since ______” or any other number of superlatives, often rooted in the bias of recency, especially when mixed with the potent fuel of attendance. On the other hand, one might claim it’s been subpar, with not enough bustouts, predictable setlists, or “the band is playing “Evolve” too much!”

Summer 2024 definitely falls into the previous category, with general acclaim and consistent superlatives. Building on an already exciting year–the band’s improbable 40th–following a Gamehendge spectacle for New Year’s, the most exciting Mexico run yet, the band’s first visit to Sphere in April, a new album before summer tour, and more media exposure than in years, it all challenges the view that in “even years” Phish is somehow less awesome than in odd numbered years.

Since the dust has settled, can we get a better sense of the tour as a whole? The hills and valleys become more clearly identifiable. We see the tight rotation of songs around solid setlist construction, a wide variety of jams that shone through but others that depended on what seemed like I-IV tropes, the individual band members’ influences and contributions, and a million little things in between.

While the site’s Jam Chart teams wrestles with the tough decisions and everyone is sketching their JOTY brackets (with the one seed still likely “Chalkdust” from Mexico), we figured we’d take a look back at the tour–all 26 shows spread across 9 venues–with a bit of hindsight to check out some of the highlights. After all, the ratings have returned...

Toward that goal, first check out this video playlist that contains all of the selections from this tour's LivePhish webcasts shared on the band's official YouTube channel. Here's another official playlist, this one audio, curated by the folks at LivePhish for the app.

Looking ahead toward the Forum Jam of the Year blowout, phish.net user @Outlive keeps a LivePhish+ playlist of his favorites (87 total!) that he is kind enough to share on the forum. Here's another more concise LP+ playlist of the top 24 jams of '24 compiled by @Chewbacca_Wookiee. For another in the '24 theme, here's a LP+ playlist of all this tour's versions clocking in at 24+ minutes. And, since it's not just all about the jams, here's a Summer Debuts and Bustouts LivePhish+ Playlist. And, don't forget Phish.in has great quality audience "tapes" of every stop from this run, including special front of house (FOH) recordings from the three Northeastern stops (Great Woods, Mohegan, and Bethel).

Great Woods

The tour-opening run at Great Woods featured a couple of bustouts, a promising “Hey Stranger,” and some incredible sequences of music, including night one’s demented “Ghost,” night two’s “No Men in No Man’s Land” -> “Monsters,” and a nearly flawless set two on night three that featured an incredible “Scents and Subtle Sounds.” There was much boding!

Mohegan

In their first return to Mohegan since 2019, the band played a blistering set 2 on night one (seriously, check out the whole thing), and then on the second night showed that they’re always willing to shake things up by playing “The Curtain” in the first set, only to throw “With” into the middle of a Mike’s Groove instead of the classic “I Am Hydrogen.”

Alpine Valley

The unexpected emergence of “My Friend, My Friend” as a jam vehicle continued (see also: Alpharetta 23, Bethel 24, and Dick’s 24) the first night at Alpine Valley, before a monster “Simple” blew the doors off of the venue a night later. And on the third night, the show opening “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” proved to be the longest show opener of the tour and featured a nicely stacked 4th quarter taboot.

St. Louis

In another “first since 2019” venue, on the first night of two Phish played yet another 40 minute jam, this time the ever-reliable “Tweezer,” that ended with one of the longest rounds of extended applause you’ll ever hear in the middle of a set. The second night may not have had one of the longer jams in Phish history, but it did have a 22-minute “Mr. Completely” and an 18-minute gnarly “Ruby Waves” in set 2 that combined to surpass the run time of the previous night’s Tweezer!

Deer Creek

To anyone who thought that Deer Creek is “played out,” we learned once again that it’s never wise to skip a Creek run, as after a “Disease-Fest” on night one and the return of “Guy Forget” on night two, Phish closed out Sunday night with a 4-song set featuring back-to-back 25+ minute jams!

Grand Rapids

Billy Strings is from Michigan, so he texted Trey for tickets and got invited to just go ahead and join the band for both nights, including guesting on the promising Phish debut of “What’s Going Through Your Mind.” ‘Nuff said.

Bethel

Sure, the jams are great, (yet another jammed MFMF, an epic Tweezer-fest, and a wonderful “Disease,” “Kill Devil Falls,” and “AC/DC Bag” are among the significant number of highlights) but the biggest mind-blowing moment of Bethel may very well have been busting out “Fikus” for the first time since 1998!

Mondegreen

Finally, Phish was able to make a festival happen six long years after The Fest That Shall Not Be Named, and it was just about everything we wanted, despite the weather trying to derail things on the last day. Not only did the band deliver six well-above-average sets and one extended impromptu daytime one, there was also a “secret” set that pulled heavily (at least visually) from the Sphere run that has earned rave reviews, alongside installations like the Cerealist Bowl, a cardboard replica of Baltimore City Hall, the Heliograph, to name just a few, and of course a ferris wheel, not to mention at least 100 hours of the Bunny, including a new volume (download Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 here, courtesy of the Phish Downloads spreadsheet) of From the Archives by Kevin Shapiro.

Dick’s

How does the band up the ante after a fest? How about big bustouts, with the first “Dog Log” and “Sabotage” in 12 years, big jams out of unexpected songs, and a ton of energy that shouldn’t be possible from a band 40 years in! Somehow after a dozen plus years, as Dick’s solidly pushes itself into the 2nd most played venue ever, the band threw down arguably the best run ever at the venue, giving the legendary 2012 shows a serious run for their money.

And of course, what better way to end our "Reprise" of a fantastic Summer Tour than with the HD release of a jammed out "Tweezer Reprise" for the ages!

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