Phish phinally come phirst in the lineup at Great Woods July 22, 1993 - Telegram & Gazette By Scott McLennan Mike Gordon will be doing something Saturday night he says he "never really expected." He and the rest of his band mates in Phish will be headlining a show at the Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts in Mansfield. And why should Gordon expect to be headlining one of the biggest summer concert venues in New England? Phish's story has been 10 years in the making and the tale doesn't include any hit singles or MTV videos. The eclectic band started out playing clubs in Vermont before moving up the ladder to the Paradise club in Boston and Worcester Memorial Auditorium. Last summer, Phish nabbed an opening slot on the Santana tour and took part in the first H.O.R.D.E. festival with Blues Traveler and the Spin Doctors. Phish ended 1992 with a sold-out New Year's Eve show at Northeastern University's Matthews Arena in Boston. That show was Phish's biggest. Until now. DEFIES LABELING Phish plays a brand of music that defies labeling. During one of its three-hour shows, you'll here country-tinged ballads, steely swipes at Jimi Hendrix tunes, Jewish folk tunes and beautifully elastic jams. Bassist Gordon, guitar player Trey Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman and keyboard player Page McConnell keep the shows lively by hopping around on trampolines while playing. Or by tossing beach balls into the audience and then structuring a jam around the bouncing of the balls, with each player keeping an eye on a different ball. "We're passing around ideas all the time about what to do on stage," Gordon said over the phone recently. "We're thinking about setting up something so we can fly through the air for some songs. A lot of the ideas just materialize on stage." Though the quartet revels in roots, folk and rock styles, it plays with a jazz precision. All Phish shows have completely scripted sections as well as open spaces to fill. Gordon said the members of Phish can communicate in a language of musical notes, shifting the direction of a tune with subtle chord and timing changes. "We play with our ears open," Gordon said, adding that any member of the band is free to lead the direction. GOSPEL OF FISH The band's offbeat playing manner and cavalier incorporation of musical styles has triggered a word-of-mouth revolution for Phish. Mail lists keep fans up to date on where the band is playing. Audience members have always been free to record the shows and pass around bootleg tapes, sort of spreading the gospel of Phish. Fans who follow the band around, catching as many shows as possible, are a common sight at Phish shows. If the tapers, touring fans and jamming all smack of a Grateful Dead experience, the comparison has been made several times over. "The Grateful Dead is a role model for bands like us in terms of the improvising and grass roots organizing. The direct comparison used to bother us, but not so much any more," Gordon said. Where the Dead is content to mine a fairly consistent musical vein, Phish bounds off in several unpredictable directions. Both bands do share a lot of fans, though. NEW PROJECT Phish is readying a follow up to the album "Rift," and expects to have a release out early next year. Unlike "Rift" and previous albums, the new project is to contain songs written and worked out specifically for recording. In the past, songs were concert staples before ever being released on record. "Everyone is pretty excited about this new approach," Gordon said. The new album will not be as thematic as "Rift," and will probably be recorded and produced in Los Angeles, another new step for the band, which has recorded near home, Burlington, Vt. For this tour, on which Phish has been playing a mix of outdoor amphitheaters and theaters all over the country, the band has learned a handful of new cover tunes and one original. Phish shows have been averaging at least three hours; there is no opening act. It may sound like hard work, but that's the way the band wants it. "We like playing for a long time," Gordon said. "With so many styles at play it takes time for the show to come into its own over the course of a night." Phish Where: Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts, Mansfield When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday How much: $19.50, $17.50 and $15.50 Article © 1993 Telegram & Gazette