Phish: Pitch-perfect barbershop harmonies December 2, 1996 - Rolling Stone by Staff With the release of their latest album "Billy Breathes," it seemed that Phish had finally spiraled into the commercial maelstrom that eventually swallows all bands -- even the most rebellious ones that desperately try to swim against the mainstream. But Phish fans can breathe easy, for the combo proved at America West Arena that they can churn out radio-friendly rock tunes and still chart unfamiliar waters. The concert was a sell-out, but Phish wasn't. Predictably playful and goofy, guitarist and bandleader Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman and keyboardist Page McConnell jammed free-form style on a career-spanning selection of songs including a chunky, laid-back "You Enjoy Myself" (Junta), a pastoral rendition of "The Squirming Coil" (A Live One) and a scaled-back "Theme from the Bottom" from this year's album. True to form, Phish tossed out 30-minute fusion jams, ripped through pitch-perfect barbershop harmonies and even flip-flopped between piano-driven reggae and high-speed honky tonk. Fishman's solo on an Electrolux vacuum cleaner was a high point of the evening, as was a particularly frenzied jam ending in a five minute silence during which the band stood frozen on stage while thousands of blissed out neo-hippies cheered, danced and hugged. The nation's most popular cult band was communicating in Phish-speak to their adoring fans who were right with them, swaying for the grooves and pogo-ing during the fireworks. An outsider might have felt left out of a big inside joke. Of course, underneath the slapstick silliness is a band whose technical prowess matches that of the Pat Metheny Group or Zappa in his heyday, and whose transcendent music seems to lift the band and their fans to spiritual heights. In just 12 years, the Vermont-based Phish has gathered a cult following not unlike that of the Grateful Dead, the group to which they are most often compared. Their fans, it seems, whose devotion is unparalleled among followers of most national acts, would like to keep Phish under wraps. © 1996 Rolling Stone