Trey Anastasio at Greek Theatre July 12, 2001 - New Times Los Angeles by Tim Grierson There is no gray area. Either you love Phish, and cherish the band's zealous touring, and feel a deep loyalty to its communal groove, and speak of the group members in reverential tones, and understand that the music is a road map to a higher spiritual consciousness -- or you're with the rest of us. Trey Anastasio, the band's colorful leader since their formation in the early '80s, was blessed with a goofy, charismatic normalcy -- the sort that can command unreal devotion while at the same time undercutting that fanaticism with a no-big-whoop nonchalance. Despite the limitations of the neo-hippie movement -- namely, the monotony of the indulgent free-form improvisational style -- Phish conquered by reinforcing a we-are-you bond with its audience. Hell, give or take 10 years and a weakness for rock's romanticism, and their fans might have been part of Springsteen's legions. And yet, if you don't buy into Phish's populist overkill, Anastasio just seems like the luckiest punk ever, a hairy, homely guy who hit the jackpot in the Who Wants to Be the Grateful Dead sweepstakes. Not that any of us would dare make such a derogatory suggestion anywhere near the Internet -- that would be an invitation for 200 unsolicited, vehement e-mails from Phish nuts explaining, with religious fervor, how we're missing the band's funky freshness, musical purity, humor, genius, humanity, zzzzzzzz... With the group in the midst of an uncertain hiatus, Anastasio will carry the torch while fronting his own band, complete with horn section. He promises an emphasis on material from his side projects and not so much of the Phish stuff. Can it be that even these guys are getting sick of their own shtick?