PHISH: SOUNDING LIKE GRATEFUL DEAD April 16, 1993 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Pg. 5G) by Michael Kuelker In a town apparently too conservative to bring in the Grateful Dead, Phish serves our needs for hippiefied rock fusion quite well. The quartet from Burlington, Vt., returned Wednesday night to the American Theatre. This was the group's third appearance in as many venues here in nine months. Based on the kind of fans the band draws and the experimental directions the music takes, Phish draws obvious comparisons to the Dead, but its omnium-gatherum of ideas comes from sources as diverse as Charlie Parker, Santana and beatnik literature. Certainly, like a Dead show, part of the Phish story belongs to the fans. Through constant touring and word-of-mouth, the group established an ever-growing grassroots following - before being signed to a record label - the core of which still remains steadfast in its loyalty and rowdy in its expressions of appreciation. The audience often patterns its free-form dancing to the changing tempos of Trey Anastasio's lead guitar, so communal spontaneity and unity were established early in the concert. Two sets comprised the concert, which lasted 2 3/4 hours. The first set was founded on more of the jazz-inflected rock in the band's repertoire, dipping into only a few selections from the most recent album "Rift." "Maze" and "Silent in the Morning" worked the bouncing audience as well as the older material. The musicians are so versatile that various genres of music blend seamlessly in a single song, just as colors in a prism are distinct but not divided. An exhilarating take on "Golgi Apparatus"ended the first set after 85 minutes, at which point some top-billed bands say goodnight and head for the catered food. In dedicating the second set, Anastasio introduced a longtime friend of his, Roger, and his girlfriend on stage; Roger proposed marriage, the answer was a tearful yes, and the band commenced to.jam to the cheering crowd. The second set was looser, more exploratory and more rock-oriented. Bassist Mike Gordon, pianist/Hammond organist Page McConnell and drummer Jon Fishman each had multiple opportunities to fleck in and out of the rhythmic groove with fills and solos of their own. All the musicians sing well individually and in tandem, which allowed for avant-garde vocalizing. At one point all four created complicated percussive sounds by mouth alone that blended into a hymn-like chant. Seemingly endless varieties of instrumental interplay and soloing were profferred, and if the song strayed too far from its theme, a quick return to the blues-rock groove retained its ballast. In the quarter-hour encore segment, "Tubbs" Fishman emerged on stage first; wearing a frumpy drop-waist dress, he led a sing-along to "Lengthwise" before being joined by his bandmates for some of the night's most torrid jamming. Strangely, these widely disparate fragments wrought by Phish made weird sense.