6/26 @ Hotel Lilien, Tannersville

“They’re doing a stripped down performance, so they ditched the full band in favor of some samplers, looping stations and a chaos pad. This is taking me back to the first time I saw them at the Mercury Lounge in New York City back in 2010. I was young and single and in my 20s without a baby anywhere…”

Last month I wrote a profile detailing the work that The Wild Honey Pie does. You can read that full article here or in the June 2025 issue of Metroland. If you’re not into reading the whole article (which you really should), in a sentence, The Wild Honey Pie is a creative agency that creates experiential concerts that explore the intersection of food and music.

On June 26, 2025 I was fortunate enough to attend their pizza party at Hotel Lilien in Tannersville, NY featuring a special set from the Capital Region’s own Phantogram. The following is a stream of consciousness retelling of the experience.

It’s 3:40 pm on June 26, 2025. The wife and I have decided to turn this sojourn to the Catskills into a mini-vacation. We left the baby and the dog at Grandma and Grandpa’s and we’re going to get a little crazy the way that parents in their late 30s tend to do when they ditch their child for a night.

We’ve just pulled into Hotel Lilien where there’s supposed to be a pool party happening, but this gloomy weather put the kibosh on that – there’s only two people in the pool along with a floatie shaped like a pizza slice. We see Kiki, here for photos, and she’s got Vacation sunscreen products that look like whipped cream canisters, so that’s also fun — the brands that support the Wild Honey Pie support the artists and the creative agency so that The Wild Honey Pie can donate all ticket sales to non-profit organizations which is a very cool thing for them to do

Since the pool party is kind of a bust, the wife and I are going to explore the grounds of Hotel Lilien. It’s a large Victorian style home that’s been transformed into a hip-modern hotel without losing any of its rustic charm. Out front next to the pool there’s a fire pit with super comfy Adirondack chairs. The whole bottom floor is surrounded by a wrap-around porch with more comfy chairs (there are two rockers that have our names written on them). Just inside the front entrance is a beautiful library that looks unchanged from when the structure was built in the 1890s. The event doesn’t really kick off for another couple hours, so might as well cozy up with a book and relax.

Around 6:30 pm, the concert-goers begin to fill up the library where the wife and I posted up. There’s a lovely family of locals here and they are really excited. They have two teenage daughters rocking Phantogram t-shirts who can’t believe this is real. They’re about to see their favorite band in a tiny hotel with only about 100 other people. With Phantogram opening shows for bands like Kings of Leon at giant venues, it’s truly special to see them give their fans this kind of experience.

It’s 7:00 now and the pizza party has begun. THE Paulie Gee is here and is chatting up the guests. Forno Rosso Hudson Valley are actually making and serving the pizzas from Paulie Gee’s recipes and they are excellent.

The best one is the “Rube in the Catskills” which is basically a Rueben Sandwich in pizza form. It’s got local pastrami, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, swiss cheese and pickles from Grillos (who are also sponsoring this event). I ate 5 slices of this one. They were small so quit judging me over there.

They also have a vegetarian pizza option with grapes on it which is not something I think I’ve ever had before, but it adds a nice sweetness. Ate three of these slices. There’s a vegan slice too and Eric Weiner, founder of The Wild Honey Pie, homemade an almond ricotta for it. Not something I’d normally eat because I’m a barbarian that likes real meat and cheese, but it’s delightful. The pickled red onions add a tangy compliment to the creaminess of the vegan ricotta. Had two of these slices as well. If you’re keeping track at home, that is 10 slices of pizza and yes I’m also disgusted with myself.

In addition to the pizza, we’ve got a cooler full of Spindrift (another sponsor for the event) sodas and there are a bunch of flavors in here I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I fuck hard with the Nojito flavor Spindrift so I plan to try every single one of these flavors over the course of the evening.

Inside, at the bar, the Hotel Lilien bartenders are slinging custom made cocktails named after Phantogram songs using the various sponsor products. My wife tried the “Mouthful of Diamonds,” basically a dirty martini but instead of olive juice, it’s Grillo’s Pickle juice. She’s a massive pickle fan and loves a good martini so she wants this injected directly into her veins.

With my wife asleep by 8:30 (her normal bedtime is 8:00 and let’s not forget the pickle martinis and pizza), and since I don’t have a conduit to try these bar drinks, I gotta go all Hunter S. Thompson and start drinking on the job because, research. I go with the “When I’m Small,” a tequila drink with the Concord Grape Spindrift and grenadine and lime.

9:00 pm and Weiner is on stage introducing Phantogram. Like me, he’s been with them since Eyelid Movies and is super excited about this performance. They’re doing a stripped down performance, so they ditched the full band in favor of some samplers, looping stations and a chaos pad. This is taking me back to the first time I saw them at the Mercury Lounge in New York City back in 2010. I was young and single and in my 20s without a baby anywhere…

Shit sorry, no time for all that nonsense. This isn’t an episode of How I Met Your Mother.

The first song is “Pedestal” from their 2020 album Ceremony — it's a little touch and go at the beginning as they aren’t totally comfortable with this stripped down set up. Once we hit the chorus of “It Wasn’t Meant To Be,” the second song in their set, Sarah Barthel had taken the mic from the stand and was fully in. That didn’t take long.

The rest of the set spanned their discography, including “Fall in Love” from 2013’s Voices and “When I’m Small” from the aforementioned Eyelid Movies (two of the cocktails at the bar). They didn’t play “Mouthful of Diamonds,” the third of the bar cocktails and my personal favorite song, and now I’m pissed because this show was all about me and my needs – just kidding.

Phantogram’s set was outstanding and truly a throwback. I caught up with the two teenagers after the set to gauge their reaction and they were awestruck.

10:15 pm and it’s time for the afterparty. I’m heavily considering skipping out and joining my wife in bed because I’m exhausted, but I’ve got to stick it out. I’m sans baby for the night and I need to make the most out of this.

The Wild Honey Pie has taken over Lucky Catskills for the afterparty. There’s a DJ spinning for the 40 or so people who are still partying post show. Lucky Catskills has a late night menu going and are serving Voodoo Ranger beers (the final sponsor that I have yet to mention).

The pork dumplings I ordered are ready in 5 minutes and they come out in a miniature chinese takeout box. Served with the OG spicy dumpling sauce, these things are amazing.

There’s a couple here who came all the way from Lafayette, IN, some serious dedication. One of them ordered the dan dan noodles and even though the dumplings were great, I’m feeling some food FOMO and really feel like I need to go back for round two.

This is going to be a grave mistake, but I’m going back for another Voodoo Ranger and an order of the dan dan noodles.

It’s now 11:30 pm and this has truly been a once in a lifetime concert going experience. Except it’s kind of not, because The Wild Honey Pie does this all the time. Their next one features Passion Pit playing with a String Quartet at Stonehills Farmhouse in Accord, NY. Check it out if you want to get in on the fun.

Time to take at least three Alka-Seltzers and join the wife in bed.