Phish Swirls with Lively Ghosts of the 70's November 22, 1992 - Times-Union (Albany) by Michael Eck click on thumbnail for larger image Burlington, Vermont's Phish made its triumphant, sold-out debut at the Palace Theatre Friday evening - and like its spiritual forebears the Grateful Dead, it kept dedicated fans swirling, spinning and dervishing through two epic sets. By fans' estimation they could do no wrong, so they just went ahead and did lots and lots of right. Only a few years ago the group was edging its way out of a Green Mountain haven to perform at regional venues like our own Pauly's Hotel. The new era of psychedelia offered a fanbase to grow on in almost record time. New York City's Spin Doctors, mining a similar vein of groove-happy rock, have pulled off a similar coup, selling out the Palace themselves a few weeks ago. This after already saturating the area with gigs. Both bands suffer from comparisons to the Grateful Dead. The group claims that stems from their propensity to jam and reconstruct their tunes onstage. On Friday Phish did just that - but one couldn't help but hear echoes of the Dead and see their ghosts dancing around the room. The similarities run deep - the audience garb and the tapers section midway back proved that. Phish also complains of comparisons to Frank Zappa - but he too was seen and head in the attitude of the crowd and the quirky time changes and humor of the band's music. Unfortunately this band wears its influences a little too proudly on its sleeve - not that the audience seems to mind. Even at their most ingenius turns, there was always the nagging feeling that one had heard this before. And probably at some time in the mid-70's. Guitarist Trey Anastasio has more options at his fingertips than the Dead's guitar godhead Jerry Garcia. He boasts a punchier tone and takes his flights to more places; often quoting from cartoon themes, snaring bits of old songs and loopng through his own imagination. His spunky playing on longer jams was at times inspiring - building through a long series of Sisyphusian peaks in one take before exploding into a brilliant climax. The rhythm section of drumming Jonathan Fishman and bassist Mike Gordon stuck close to him. Their ensemble playing behind him and keyboardist Page McConnell was tight and funky - just the way this kind of band should be. If they weren't as supple as the Dead's longstanding team they made up for it with some muscle that the older guys lack - particularly on aggressive tunes like "Suzie Creamer" [PA note: the print actually says that] - a tune that runs dangerously close to a Zappa rip-off. Vocally, Phish pushes the musical envelope as well. If the members don't posses unique voices they don't let that stop them from going after nifty group arrangements - including an a capelle jaunt to the front of the stage, sans microphone. When a band can do something as daring as that at a hall like the Palace - and pull it off - it shows the bond of trust they share with their audience. The regularly whirling crowd hushed right down to hear what their boys has to sing, and roared back when they were done. It's wonderful to see that a band and its fans can still touch eachother and create that kind of bond. The downside is that it would be nice if they could do it with a music and style of their own time instead of dipping back into the already tired font of the late 60's and 70's to do it. Besides, all that tie-dye and hippie hair made me pine away for the days of a good Day-Glo Mohawk and a pin through the nose.