Like Phrankenstein, talented Phish brings Dead to life December 6, 1996 - San Diego Union Tribune by Jeff Niesel Members of the rock group Phish have downplayed their capacity to fill the gap left by the demise of the Grateful Dead, one of rock's most successful touring acts. Yet, for better or worse, Phish's show at the Sports Arena on Wednesday looked and sounded like a Dead concert. Converted school buses and camper vans nearly turned the parking lot into a campground as desperate fans struggled to barter for concert tickets, while others peddled incense and homemade veggie burritos. With spacey jams tacked onto the ending of nearly every song, Phish's performance also mirrored the Dead. Even many of the teen-age fans too young to really have grown up with the Dead compared the two acts. "The Dead were the greatest but Phish is good," said 15-year-old Brent Forman of Spring Valley. For 30-year-old juggler Roger Deem of Carlsbad, who said he saw the Dead play more than 60 times, Phish puts on a comparable show. "Phish is far-out," he said between tosses to his juggling partner. "Their jams are more complex and have more drama than the Dead." Formed in 1983 by University of Vermont student Trey Anastasio, Phish released its first album, "Junta," in 1988. The band has recorded consistently since then, and 1994's "Hoist" and last year's live album have both gone gold. In its live performances, the group also draws from an additional catalog of unrecorded tracks. The sets change drastically from night to night and fans diligently record and track the songs at each concert, trading tapes and concert reviews over the Internet. Alternately tedious and thrilling, the band's improvised jams on Wednesday recalled a host of musical influences, from psychedelic to bluegrass and country. Bathed in a swirl of purplish and dark-hued lights, the group used lighting effects to add to the hysteria its long-winded segues inspired among the audience, which numbered about 6,000. Although the band's current album, "Billy Breathes," is more direct and concise than its previous efforts, the new material the band played didn't sound out of sync with its earlier recordings. New tunes like "Train Song" and the fairy-tale "Prince Caspian" melded easily with early material like 1990's "Reba" and 1988's "David Bowie." A talented singer and guitarist, Anastasio mingled the flashy harmonics of Steve Morse with rock licks inspired by Santana and the Allman Brothers. At his best moments, Anastasio built songs like "Sparkle" into speed-demon crescendos that posed a challenge for keyboardist Page McConnell, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman. Since the concert was the penultimate show of the tour, the band thanked its caterers by dedicating the ballad "Lawn Boy" to them. As McConnell serenaded the two cooks, Anastasio pulled them up from the front of the stage for a short slow-dance. It was good to see that Phish's humility has remained intact even as its fame soars to Grateful Dead proportions. article © 1996 San Diego Union Tribune Publishing Company