Colorful Phish Sweeps In For Summer Jam Session July 31, 2003 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette By Ed Masley Grinning from ear to ear and joking with bassist Mike Gordon in the sometimes lengthy breaks between songs, Trey Anastasio looked pleased to have the greatest jam band since the Allman Brothers back on the concert trail and connecting with the Phish-heads Tuesday at the Post-Gazette Pavilion. And who can blame him? It's not everyone who gets to spend the summer chasing down the "it" he talked about in jams as intense, as transcendent, as long as the epic performance of "Crosseyed and Painless" that opened the second set -- a jam that left fans feverishly pushing buttons on their cell phones. "Was that really half an hour?" asked one blissed-out, smiling, bearded kid who kept talking about how he couldn't believe his luck as he high-fived the people around him. "No," replied the older, more serious fan, with a smile. "It's 10:29 and they went on at 10:01." This was after an opening set that came on fast and countrified with "Daniel Saw the Stone" (the first of two songs with a racing train beat in the set), then slowly wound its way through the elastic hippie-funk of "Camel Walk," the mellow island vibe of a 10-minute "Gotta Jibboo" (which at its peak recalled the Allmans at the Fillmore, but with Keith Moon playing jazz on drums), a swamped-out, Stones-y, jammed-up cover of a Velvet Underground song ("Cool it Down") and a massive Phish-head sing-along on "Fee." The first set also featured an impassioned Anastasio vocal on a Band-like rendition of "When the Circus Comes to Town" by Los Lobos and the goofy psychedelic pop of "McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters" along the way to closing with an awe-inspiring crescendo at the end of "Golgi Apparatus." The second set is where they really opened up, though, from the epic performance of "Crosseyed and Painless" to some of the goofier moments of the night (if not the summer), including a mini-opera loosely strung together by another one of Anastasio's "many, many stories." And just when it seemed as if that portion of the show would peak with "Bittersweet Motel," Jon Fishman, the guy in the dress whose likeness Anastasio had been wearing on his shirt all night, stepped out from behind his kit and proceeded to belt out a hilarious yet faithful cover of Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," complete with a vacuum cleaner solo. Yes, a vacuum cleaner solo. In its own demented way, it was as brilliant as the most transcendent moments of the most inspired jams. And therein lies the magic of a Phish show. Article Copyright © 2003 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette