The digital version of Surrender to the Flow Issue No. 75 is available now at www.gum.co/sttf75 for free or by donation. This issue includes information about this year's Labor Day Weekend Run at Dick's---where to eat, things to do, and things you need to know about the area. The issue also contains reviews of the first half of Summer Tour 2022; articles about WaterWheel's 25th Anniversary, fans helping others, an interview with Jovi, and things to do during the day in Colorado; and regular STTF features (among other things) like recipes, My First Show, Phish Changed My Life, Everybody Loves Statistics, Read the Book book reviews, Celebrations, fan fiction, and a puzzle.

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The Seventh Annual Runaway Open is booked solid at a record 120 players with waiting list enabled and we've expanded it, so that as many Phish golfers who are interested can take part in the fun and fundraising, wherever you are.

Those on-site this Saturday will be part of our largest outing yet: sixty (60!!) golf carts, 22% larger than last year, with gift bags twice the size! We've already had 6 cancellations, and been able to fill them from the waiting list. Hopefully there aren't any more conflicts, but the waiting list is now empty, so sign up if you're interested, and we'll let you know as soon as there's a spot.

And now those not coming to Denver - or not able to golf on a show day - can join a virtual tournament, using the same 18Birdies app that we used for the Fifth Annual in 2020, at the height of quarantines (and a cancelled Dick's run). You can play on any course, anytime from September 1 to September 7.

Those who participate in the provided Virtual component and make a donation of at least $50 to the Mockingbird Foundation during that window, will be sent the two limited-edition event merch items (a divot tool with a magnetic marker and pencil sharpener, and a mini bluetooth speaker, both in the same forest green of all Runaway Open merch, and both with the Runaway Open logo) and other surprises pending availability.

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Hi Gang,

Hope all is well! We at The Mockingbird Foundation hope you are enjoying the Summer and staying healthy and safe. We are currently in the midst of a Back to School Campaign running through Labor Day to help ensure that music programs will be coming back on the right track. We aim to raise $50,000 to help support children’s music education throughout the country.

An incredibly generous donor has once again agreed to match the first $25,000 of donations that are made. You can make your donation by clicking on this link. Any amount - big or small - will help us reach our goal.

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[We would like to thank Landon Schoenefeld, user @Nomidwestlove (IG: @_colonel_mustard) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

Hey nerds! When tour dates dropped this Spring, a chime of disappointment rang through my chest with the realization that my favorite band wouldn’t be coming within 1,200 miles of my home in California. A collective shrug inevitably felt by most of my west coast brethren. Yeah, yeah, we did get eighteen amazing shows between the summer and fall of ’21 (an embarrassment of riches really), but as a card-carrying member of hardcore phans, it’s in our very nature to be disappointed at least part of the time.

Traveling for Phish is certainly nothing new for me. The older I get and the more I become comfortable in my professional life, travelling becomes part of the fun, checking off bucket list venues as if on some imaginary bingo card. But also, I’m from the Midwest, so as I scrolled through the dates, my eyes were immediately drawn to this middle weekend in August at the behemoth that is Alpine Valley. A venue that’s imprinted on the DNA of any Phish kid living in the middle of the country. Also, I could use this as an opportunity for a phamily reunion of sorts with all my homies from the great North. In addition, I happen to love lakes, brats, cheese curds and swill beer, so win-win. Of course, I bought the ticket and made the pilgrimage to this sprawling Midwestern Phish mecca. I have a bit of a storied history with this venue, many of which would be inappropriate to mention on this fine forum, so unfortunately you’ll have to wait for my tell-all book for all the dirty details. Needless to say, I’ve seen many, many shows at this place throughout the years.

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[We would like to thank Doug Kaplan, user @MrDougDoug (Twitter: @hausumountain, IG: @hausumountain) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

What’s up wooks, custies, spinners, and spunions? It’s your boy @MrDougDoug, here to share the heady scoop on Phish’s 22^nd ever show at Alpine Valley, on the day of our Lord Icculus, August 13^th, 2022.

Today we’re going to focus on the notion of between-ness and liminality in the Phish experience. So we aren’t focusing on what was before, or what will be after, but that undecided, undefined space in the middle . Some of the most important rituals in the life cycle – like a wedding or graduation – celebrate the passage from what was known into the unknown and can serve as essential touchpoints, unforgettable times, moments in a box.

Conversely, some of the most mundane elements of life brim with this feeling of liminality: a doctor’s office waiting room or a train station are equally marked by their between-ness, but on a less world-altering "from-where-you-were-to-where-you’re-going"-sort-of-vibe. A liminal space brims with potential energy as one moves from what was before into what could possibly be. To exist in this sort of space in the present could be disorienting, or even a little bit frightening, like standing on the edge of a cliff. But being open to this sort of zone can provide life-altering and life-afirming experiences when you lean into embracing the unknown.

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[We would like to thank Rob Mitchum for recapping last night's show. Rob is a science and music writer in Oak Park, IL. He tweets about Phish @phishcrit, other stuff @robmitchum, and has undertaken the Sisyphean task of writing about every Phish show on its 25-year anniversary, which will take him until at least 2047…and counting. Thank you Rob! -Ed.]

When Twin Peaks came back for a miracle third season in 2017, it succeeded where many other TV show reboots failed. It reunited beloved characters, but didn’t offer up the simple comfort of familiarity. Everyone looked older – an obvious fact, but not one that television usually admits. While some characters were still stuck in their former patterns and roles, others were different in ways both surprising and frustrating. A slew of new characters were introduced, expanding the show’s world in ways that weren’t always clear. There was no easy retracing of steps, and that tension, combined with the emotional weight of a story that had been living in viewer’s heads for 25 years, made for an experience unlike any other.

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Welcome to Canada y’all. Been a while. Has it? Time sure feels messy these days, and this band just keeps on plugging away blowing our minds, despite it all. In any case, I feel like there’s a lot of ways to set the context for last night’s show in Toronto. We could call back to the band’s recent history at the venue in 2019 (a show which I thought was unfairly maligned), or whether or not they’d bust out "Misty Mountain Hop," which they debuted here in 1999. And then there’s the context of this unique tour, which has at times been brilliant and, at other moments, felt like maybe the momentum of their revived post-Covid identity has been waning a bit, Trey especially. I said to a new friend before the show that, really, the biggest knock on 2022 is that it’s sitting right next to 2021 -- a year in which the band performed to a level they really had no business reaching this late in the game. So what would this tour’s Canadian stop add to the story? Would it be a throwaway gig between AC and Alpine, or a can’t-miss, out of the way gem? Where do we stand? Let’s find out…

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[We would like to thank Brendan Daily, user @itsice88 (and IG: bdailysound), for recapping last night's show, which was the ninth show he's seen on this tour. -Ed.]

It’s early Monday morning. I’m sitting in a Bed & Breakfast in nearby Absecon, NJ, collecting my thoughts on the show that ended only a few hours ago, and on the greater tour at large. Feelings of gratitude, splendor, wonder etc. are all running amok through my head.

AC3 was my ninth show of this inspired tour. It’s no secret that the last two years have been an absolute joy for us Phish fans. Seemingly all the rules of set-listing are out the window, the band’s jamming is at an extremely high level, and everything just feels fresh. I’ve walked into every show I've seen this tour not knowing what to expect as the band has delivered twists and turns and major highlights nightly. After a revelatory, improvisation-laden Friday night and Saturday night party, the band was poised to deliver a top-to-bottom “complete” run in Atlantic City.

Did it finish in strong fashion? Were the Sunday Show™ vibes in full effect? Would we see Satan on the beach, trying to catch a ray?

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[Today's recap is courtesy of RJ Bee of Osiris Media and HF Pod. -Ed.]

Philly. Bethel. Hartford. Jones Beach. Raleigh. MPP. Blossom! AC night one! This tour has been incredibly consistent, with few dips and many many peaks. The tour is picking up steam, and AC1 showed that they have no intention of slowing down. Relentless is the one word that comes to mind. The ballads are few and far between, most perfectly placed, the jams continue to evolve and show no signs of stalling out. And on the jams—they've finally optimized the synthesizer toys between Trey, Mike and Page, and Trey has perfected his tone, which is pushing them to innovate. They're pushing each other, and instead of a basic pattern that relies on building bliss peaks, we're getting noise rock, ambient space jazz, a mix of good and evil—new, different sounds. What every Phish fan is looking for.

But it can't possibly last, can it? Fishman, fueled by an experimental jet propulsion technology, must need a tune up at some point. Trey's shoes must need to be replaced. Does Mike have enough neon outfits? Page's sandwich supply must be dwindling. Like helicopter parents, fans are constantly pushing Phish to do more, to keep it up, to continue to deliver. But like my colleague Megan wrote, "It’s their own fault though, they keep delivering so we keep expecting it."

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[Phish.net thanks user Jeremy Willinger (.net @Jeremy8698) for this recap. -Ed.]

A warm breeze blew down the famed Atlantic City boardwalk (did you know? It was first opened in 1870, and is the oldest boardwalk in America and is the longest boardwalk in the world), pushing salty air into the faces of thousands of phans as they waited to enter the sand to hear Phish for the first of three shows on the beach. *As the esteemed reviewer of last year’s AC night 1 show, I will refer you to that entry for more AC trivia.

Now in its second year, Phish’s three-night stand in Atlantic City is the only option for folks unable or unwilling to go to Riviera Maya (Mexico) to dip their toes into the ocean while jamming to our favorite foursome. The hotels have, unfortunately, caught on to the cash cow that the phandom brings to local communities, and prices for rooms now reflect that suckling of the teat. Does that deter us? Of course not - in the same way that accepting gifts from strangers at Phish is welcomed but actively rebuked when back in reality.

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[Phish.net thanks Chris Vetoulis for writing this recap. -Ed.]

Living in this tube, we are safe. We are free. Our escape begins before the first notes are played. From the time our last moment of responsibility ends, our eyes suddenly open and we gaze in a world of fantasy, where our imaginations expand beyond the constraints of our day-to-day. The feelings weren’t forgotten, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude flows in as we realize we have the chance to do this once again.

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[We would like to thank Aaron Presuhn (@presuhn) for volunteering to recap last night's show and agreeing to recap it even though, last minute, he wasn't able to attend the show. -Ed.]

Cuya-WHOA-ga. Yeah, it’s cheesy. I don’t care. I like cheese and that title amuses me. Accept it and move on. I LOVE Blossom. It’s been one of my favorite venues since my first show there in 2010, and the only show I haven’t seen there since is 2015. It’s also the 19th anniversary of my first festival, IT.

But alas, I’m not there tonight. So this review is from the comfort of my couch. Lights off, volume loud, and (relatively. kinda. ehh maybe not) sober. The crowd energy, friend reactions, venue ambiance…none of those impressions are there. And I’m kinda pissed about it. But such is life. The perfect confluence of f**kery conspired to prevent my attendance tonight, and it sucks. Oh well. Here are my thoughts.

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In celebration of Phish’s 34 shows this spring and summer, The Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending an unsolicited $1,000 Tour Grant to a music program near each venue at which Phish performs. The grants are part of a long-standing effort to help bring music from the Phish community to the local communities that Phish touches.

These are the 21st round of unsolicited Tour Grants awarded, an effort that now totals over $200,000, which is 9.0% of all disbursements made by the Foundation. Continuing the celebration, additional Tour Grants will be announced through the end of the summer. The recipients announced thus far are:

• LeFlore High School | Mobile, AL | The Wharf Amphitheatre | 5/27, 5/28, 5/29
• Haut Gap Middle School | Johns Island, SC | Credit One Stadium | 5/21, 6/1
• Brookside Elementary School 54 | Indianapolis, IN | Ruoff Music Center | 6/3, 6/4, 6/5
• Mansfield High School | Mansfield, MA | Xfinity Center | 7/14, 7/15
• Orono High School | Orono, ME | Maine Savings Amphitheater | 7/16
• Grover Washington, Jr. Middle School | Philadelphia, PA | TD Pavilion at the Mann | 7/19, 7/20
• Monticello High School | Monticello, NY | Bethel Woods Center for the Arts | 7/22, 7/23
• Weaver High School | Hartford, CT | Xfinity Theatre | 7/24
• Bayside High School | Bayside, NY | Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater | 7/26, 7/27
• Vance County High School | Henderson, NC | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek | 7/29
• Landsdowne Middle School | Halethorpe, MD | Merriweather Post Pavilion | 7/30, 7/31

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[We would like to thank Brandy Davis user @smilercontrol (@inkandbrandy on IG) for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

TLDR: A rocking show with a party of a first set and great chops throughout. A perfect start with a 14 minute "A Wave of Hope." Fun but straightforward jams in "AC/DC Bag" and "Back on the Train". "Mull" gets very interesting, "Foam" is beautifully executed, and the "Ghost" really goes some spooky places and finally gives the first set the peak it's been asking for. Second set has all the meat in the third quarter's "Tweezer" > "Wingsuit" > "Tweezer" > "Birds of a Feather" segment which is well worth a good listen. "Joy" cools things down for a beautifully played "Taste" and a powerful "What's the Use?". "The Howling" > "Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S." are a nice combo to end the set. Fine but unremarkable 3-song encore.

Clouds fill the sky and turn down the heat in Columbia, MD as expectations for typical Sunday show greatness at Merriweather Post Pavillion fill the parking garages and the largest shakedown I've ever seen at this venue. No one is going to let a little rain dampen this day! It comes and goes lightly all afternoon and throughout the show (lawn girl here) but never gets too much to handle. A welcome change from the sweltering heat of weekend shows prior. I have brought my 16 month old on this weekend ride (don't judge me, she did great!), and this kept me bound to the top of the hill with all the other little ragers for the first set. Sight lines are a little better up there now with the newly raised roof, and the sound is definitely at a lower volume but still nice and clear. Little B enjoyed a few songs and then fell asleep somewhere in the middle of first set, leaving me a little more free for note taking and absorbing the music.

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[We would like thank Michael Ayers, user @yhgtbfkm, for recapping last night's show. -Ed.]

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite aspects of Phish shows (aside from the music) is the people watching. Outside of the usual cast of characters you might happen to run into, one thing that’s always interested me is the groups of friends that attend shows together. I can’t recall which year at Dick’s it was, but one year in front of me were a group of 8-10 folks all wearing matching t-shirts with their names and the number of shows they had attended (I assumed) on the back. I remember thinking how cool that was, to have a group of friends like that. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, so I didn’t know anyone who liked Phish as much as I did. I knew people who knew who they were, but most everyone else was into either nu metal or country. That is, until I met [Redacted] (who asked to not be named as he’s embarrassed to be my friend and, quite frankly, I can’t blame him).

We met back when I was in college. We were both members of a peer-to-peer music sharing service called Soulseek where you could share your music collection with others and download what they had. After downloading the Phish shows that he had that I didn’t and vice versa, we exchanged messages and the rest, as they say, is history.

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