State gives fans their 'Phish phix' February 28, 2001 - Plain Dealer (Cleveland) by Anastasia Pantsios The State Theatre lobby was abuzz Monday night with people talking about how far they'd traveled to see Phish guitarist- vocalist Trey Anastasio. The Cleveland show was one of only 10 on Anastasio's current solo tour so Phish "phans" - the largest concentration anywhere of white people with dreadlocks - came from all over to get their "phix." Phish, which inherited the Grateful Dead's position as the world's leading jam band, decided last fall to take a hiatus after 17 years so each member could do his own thing. Anastasio called up bassist Tony Markellis and drummer Russ Lawton, who toured with him in 1999. Then he added a horn section - trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, trombonist Andy Moroz and saxophonist David Grippo - to fill the role that keyboards provide in Phish. Anastasio's nearly four-hour show (with one intermission) ran the gamut from old Phish tunes to new music to covers. It masterfully blended short pop songs with blazing all-out jams and mingled funk, jazz, calypso, reggae and Latin sounds. The show kicked off with the light funky groove of "The Way I Feel," leading into a long but structured Latin-flavored jam, "Mozambique," which sounded uncannily like live Santana. It built up to a set-closing workout on Stevie Wonder's "Will It Go Round in Circles." In between the show touched down at the languid, Calypso-tinged "Acting Like the Devil," the jazzy "At the Barbecue" and "At the Gazebo," the mellow instrumental "Waves" and the fan favorite, "Bathtub Gin," which featured Anastasio soloing acoustically. Most of the set focused on instrumental interplay between the group members and Anastasio's offhand vocals. His voice is clear and pleasant if not particularly distinctive, although the four-part harmonies he sang with Lawton, Markellis and Hartswick added lushness to many of the songs. A self-effacing performer, Anastasio doesn't talk much. He did however tell the crowd, "I know this sounds like a rock -n- roll cliche - but I love playing Cleveland," adding that thanks to concert recording files on Napster it was easy to learn that he was telling the truth. After the intermission, the band tossed out a couple of quick pop tunes, "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown" and Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," before going into a nearly 20-minute jam that was the set's piece de resistance. The set wound down with the engaging "Windora Bug," which featured jaunty three-part vocals and Anastasio shifting to synthesizer at the end to provide sound effects. The show wrapped with audience participation on Phish favorite "Gotta Jibboo" and an encore version of Bob Marley's reggae ballad "Mellow Mood."