Phish performs swimmingly in Worcester February 27, 2003 - The Patriot Ledger By Larry Claflin Even though the experimental jam band Phish took an extended hiatus in October 2000, they haven't lost a step musically. In fact, from the sound of their four-hour show last night at the Worcester Centrum, they may have gained more than a couple strides during the break. The Vermont quartet - Trey Anastasio on guitar, Mike Gordon on bass, Jonathan Fishman on drums and Page McConnell on keyboards - made good use of the last three years by polishing their musical skills with various side projects from which they sampled last night, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd. The show started 50 minutes late, potentially stemming from the horrendous traffic coming into Worcester and slow-moving lines at the Centrum's entrance. Once the crowd was settled, Phish opened with a live standard, "You Enjoy Myself," which lasted for more than 20 minutes as Gordon and Anastasio bounced and twirled in unison on small trampolines. From there the crowd was treated to some Phish firsts, as the band played one song from each member's recent solo catalog. "You Enjoy Myself" blended into "Clone," a song written by Gordon that he originally played with Leo Kottke. Phish had never performed "Clone" live before last night, and they continued breaking new ground by playing more solo work. Anastasio's "Drifting" got a huge applause, and Anastasio leaned into his guitar and scattered his fingertips over the strings as the band sang the chorus with perfection. That was followed by "Blue Skies," originally performed by Fishman's Pork Tornado. Later they debuted McConnell's "Final Flight," which he created with his solo project, Vida Blue. The first set ended with a searing version of "Maze." Set Two featured more of the band's live favorites, beginning with "Stash." Here the crowd got into the act with choreographed claps, while longtime Phish lighting man Chris Kuroda bathed the building in soft purple, green and red strobes. Anastasio's brilliant guitar work became more apparent during "Ghost," and he did a deep knee-bend dance with every note, often stepping over to a pile of distortion boxes and pedals in order to get the right sound. During "Ghost," Anastasio began playing the scintillating guitar solo from War's "Low Rider," while the band followed his lead and went off on their own version of this '70s classic. From there Phish went in another direction - reggae - and played "Makisupa Policeman" as the crowd slowed down their hectic dancing. More Phish standards followed, such as "Ya Mar," "Guyute," and a slow, spacey "Waves." A riotous version of Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" was included in the middle of "Prince Caspian," before the band finished with "Golgi Apparatus." The Rolling Stones' "Loving Cup" was the encore song, but, as with most songs Phish covers, they extended it into a long experimental journey, making it their own. All four bounced the music off one another and sang as only a band that has performed together for almost 20 years can do. Copyright © 2003 The Patriot Ledger