PHISH GOES WITH THE ROCK, FUNK, JAZZ, BLUEGRASS FLOW October 10, 1994 - Morning Call (Allentown) by Tim Blangger How did a rock-funk-jazz-bluegrass-fusion group called Phish, with little exposure on MTV and no hit album in Billboard's mighty Top 200, quietly sell out Bethlehem's Stabler Arena Friday night? What would prompt hundreds of twentysomethings in tie-dyeds, flannels, jeans and Birkenstocks to line the roads leading to Stabler, begging for extra tickets? The answers may say a lot about one direction for arena-based rock music in the '90s. Phish, a four-member group with your standard arena-rock instrumentation (guitar, keyboards, bass and drums), has developed an underground following among mostly college-age listeners without benefiting -- if that's the right word -- from the usual rock industry promotional machinery. The Stabler gig, which attracted about 6,000 people, was their first stop on a national tour. As the usually large number of out-of-state plates in the Stabler parking lot indicated, the group has a loyal, mobile following, allowing easy comparisons to the Grateful Dead, which, coincidentally, performed the last of three sold-out shows at The Spectrum in Philadelphia on the same night. There are other similarities between the groups: Like the Dead, Phish encourages fans to tape its live shows, and trade -- but not sell -- tapes with one other. There were about two dozen "tapers" behind the band's soundboard, near the back of the arena. And, at times, the group's eclecticism verges on a Dead-like sound, a collision of rock and blues and bluegrass styles. The group also uses long instrumental jams and vocal harmonies, as do the Dead. But comparisons to the Dead don't tell the entire story about Phish. As musicians, the group has the ability -- the musical chops if you will -- to pull off just about any style. The two 75-minute sets included examples of everything from tunes on the cusp of straight-ahead jazz to bluegrass. Trey Anastasio held most of the spotlight, singing and playing lead and rhythm guitar. Drummer Jon Fishman, keyboardist Page McConnell and bassist Mike Gordon all contributed to an overall sound that wasn't dominated by any one instrument. Phish performed two cuts from "Hoist," its latest Elektra disc: "Julius" and "Scent of a Mule," which featured Gordon on vocals. But most of the concert featured long jam sessions, with large chunks of improvisation linking brief vocal choruses, the sort of playing that fans have come to expect from Phish. The band also introduced a new song, although no title was mentioned. "You're the first people who've heard that one," said Anastasio. The audience, hands raised, shouted approval.