Phish's Anastasio hooks the crowd March 2, 2001 - Reuters/Variety by Leigh Buckley Fountain A sold-out crowd thrilled to the virtuosity of Trey Anastasio Wednesday night at Richmond's Landmark Theater. As part of a 10-day tour during a year off for Anastasio and his band, Phish, these tickets were very sought after. With good reason. Though Anastasio's solo band, consisting mainly of veteran Vermont musicians, is not the sprawling mass of jams that many have come to expect from Phish, it is definitely worth a hard listen. Though Anastasio is known for his huge grins and obvious enthusiasm onstage, it seemed he was more pleased than ever to be playing small venues again and to be able to showcase some new and sometimes very different songs. The band, featuring a horn section that added much flavor to Anastasio's unique, almost folksy compositions, settled into a groove by the third song, a bluesy number called "Done Done It." Soon we heard "Push on Till the Day," "Tube Top Wobble" and the beautiful "Sunday Morning." Anastasio broke out a blistering "Landlady," then segued into an enthusiastic take on Stevie Wonder's "Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours." The second set featured "First Tube," with a mind-boggling climax. But this crowd still had no idea what it was in for. After a classic and completely solo rendition of the pristine ballad "Strange Design," Anastasio said he wanted to introduce an old friend - and Dave Matthews walked onstage. The two sat down with acoustic guitars, and Matthews launched into "Everyday," the title track on his album released just the day before. As if that weren't enough, the two cheerily broke into Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds," a tune they had last played together on June 17, 1995. The rest of the band came out for "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night." Anastasio and Matthews then hugged and left the stage. Soon they were back for a spirited version of Sly and The Family Stone's "I Want to Take You Higher." Higher, indeed.