This Phish reunion goes swimmingly December 3, 2003 - Boston Globe By Steve Morse, In the frigid night air, Phish fans filled the sidewalks around the FleetCenter. They raised their hands in hopes of enticing someone to sell them a ticket. It was a time-honored ritual that evoked memories of many Grateful Dead shows -- and the clamor was especially feverish, because this was Phish's 20th anniversary show, and no self-respecting Phish fanatic wanted to miss it. There were delays getting in because of the human traffic, but Phish made the hassles worthwhile, as the Dead had often done before them. Phish honored its 20th anniversary by showing just how much they've improved from those early, hippie-dippy Vermont days when they flailed away in search of a spark. The music picked up steam through two sets augmented by a special surprise -- the screening of 30 minutes of video highlights that encompassed everything from a bad, out-of-tune rehearsal in the early days at Goddard College (a cacophonous mess interrupted by moments of beauty) to peeks at the band's past aquarium stage set and its strangely unforgettable moment of having been hoisted above a Boston crowd in a plastic hot dog. (The video was edited by Phish bassist Mike Gordon and friend Jared Slomoff.) It's been 20 years and counting -- and Phish has had a blast on this recent minitour to mark the event. Musical companions Jeff Holdsworth, the Dude of Life, and lyricist Tom Marshall have joined them on various dates in the Northeast, though Phish kept it simple last night (despite rumors that Carlos Santana was going to sit in). They played a fairly sluggish first set, but it accelerated near the end with a whomping ''Water in the Sky'' and ''Down with Disease,'' before really taking off in the second set with a cover of the Velvet Underground's ''Rock & Roll.'' The gears were well-oiled by then, as was the band's love of rock history. The crowd's energy was unflagging throughout. It stood and boogied immediately through the opening ''Harry Hood,'' a space-jam oldie that dates to Phish's beginnings in Burlington, Vt. That led to ''Cavern,'' though singer Trey Anastasio momentarily appeared to forget a lyric (he and keyboardist Page McConnell exchanged a good-hearted laugh about it). And then drummer Jon Fishman drove ''Birds of a Feather,'' before Anastasio took it home with terrific, rapid-fire riffing. Bassist Gordon sang ''Ya Mar'' with a pleasantly warped calypso flourish, followed by an up-and-down ''Horn,'' a trancey, tripped-out ''Piper,'' and a moody but tasty Anastasio vocal on ballad ''Anything But Me'' from the last studio album. And then entered the almost country hoedown flavor of ''Water in the Sky'' and the brash rock chording of ''Down with Disease,'' as strobe lights lent a psychedelic tinge. Deadline pressure forced this reporter to miss a fair portion of the second set (which went to midnight), but it included the rarity ''Kung,'' ''Maze,'' ''The Wedge,'' and more love of rock history shown in covers of Edgar Winter's ''Frankenstein,'' Stevie Wonder's ''Boogie On Reggae Woman,'' and Talking Heads' ''Cities.'' It would be nice if all 20th annniversaries were this much fun. Copyright © 2003 Boston Globe