Phish's comeback worth the wait February 28, 2003 - Worcester Telegram & Gazette by Scott McLennan Music sends Centrum into celebration WORCESTER -- A little vacation does a band good. At least it did for the band Phish, which made the most of its return to the Worcester Centrum Centre last night. Phish's first tour since going on hiatus in October 2000 has been earning solid reviews since its launch two weeks ago. Last night's sold-out performance to a Centrum crowd of 14,000 sustained the momemtum of the group's return to action. The quartet looked great and sounded better than when last seen in these parts. There was the old whimsical charm of early Phish matched to the greater musical acumen and more inquisitive nature the band gained as it became the standard-bearer of the jam band scene of the '90s. Phish's two expansive sets, the second of which was in progress at press time, surveyed highlights of the band's past and delved into various side projects undertaken by guitarist Trey Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bass player Mike Gordon and keyboard whiz Page McConnell while Phish was on break. The sum of the show was broad musical attack that generated wild crowd adulation for the "classics" and provoked some serious listening with a slew of songs never before performed by the ensemble. Phish met its hero's welcome with a sparkling rendition of "You Enjoy Myself," a concert staple dating back to the band's earliest days of the late '80s when it was simply gigging around Burlington, Vt. Phish unloaded its collective imagination with the tune, making it wind and twist through several improvisational passages that came to a head with an a cappella jam that had the band members crooning and chanting on a darkened stage as white lights shot around the arena. And then things got weird. Phish took the better part of the rest of the first set to play selections from band members' solo projects. "Clone," from the CD Gordon made with guitarist Leo Kottke; "Drifting," from Anastasio's solo band; "Blue Skies," off of the Pork Tornado CD Fishman was a part of; and McConnell's "Final Flight," first done by his side band Vida Blue, all made debuts as Phish songs at the Centrum. These new Phish ventures were not as tightly played as material from the band's group repertoire. Yet it was fun to see them all connecting on pieces of material generated outside the mother ship. The Gordon tune brought a country tinge to the proceedings, while Fishman's "Blue Skies" expanded Phish's foray into bluegrass stylings. "Drifting" came across like it has always been part of the Phish catalog, while "Final Flight" received a tentative reading. Still, seeing a band willing to mess around and take chances is a big part of the Phish allure. The band closed out the first set in classic fashion with a frenzied and lengthy version of "Maze." The crescendo-building epic seemed to perfectly capture the madcap energy of a hustling and bustling Phish concert. After taking a break, Phish again opened up with an old favorite, "Stash," which found the band again stretching out on long ensemble jams that moved the accent from player to player. The groove hound in Phish then came out as the band cruised into the spacey funk of "Ghost" and reggae jams of "Makisupa Policeman" and "Ya Mar." "Ghost" was the more adventurous tune of the rhythm-centric portion of the show. Phish broke down the steady funk of the song into mellower but no less insistent blasts of music. Then as it reached the point of hypnotic, the band left-turned into a workout of War's "Lowrider," which gave Phish the pathway back into the thumping groove at the heart of "Ghost." Phish has always had a playful side to it, and that came out in the island-flavored "Makisupa Policeman" and "Ya Mar." The first is a thin lament about getting hassled, the latter a thin tale of desire. Neither song requires heavy lifting from the listener, just a few loose limbs to freely shake along with. Phish concerts have always seemed to be as much about the celebration aspect of people coming together for fun (and some learning as the band allows various social agencies to spread their causes along the arena concourse) as they did about the music itself. But when the mood of the music is as celebratory as the spirit of the crowd, as was the case at the Centrum, then matters transcend the routine concert experience. Copyright © 2003 Telegram & Gazette