Phish breaks through ice at Fleet December 4, 2003 - The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA) By Larry Claflin Phish, which played its first official gig at the University of Vermont on Dec. 2, 1983, celebrated its birthday Tuesday night with a full house at the FleetCenter in Boston. Outside the show, fans faced strong winds and frigid temperatures. Once inside, the audience warmed up, relaxed and took in a two-set show that lasted nearly three hours, extending the venue's curfew past midnight. The band - Trey Anastasio on guitar, Page McConnell on keyboards, Mike Gordon on bass and Jon Fishman on drums, wearing his customary concert attire, a baggy housedress - took the stage just after 8 p.m. and eased into "Harry Hood," which ended with a bold, fast guitar solo from Anastasio. "Cavern" and "Birds of a Feather" followed, and the band fell into a tight groove as Anastasio and Gordon played with familiarity, trading riffs as McConnell and Fishman pitched in. Gordon added his voice to "Ya Mar," while Anastasio and McConnell joined him in chanting the chorus. The band followed with "Horn" and "Piper," and the guitarist almost raced his bandmates to the song's end, scratching at his strings with fury. Anastasio's soft voice was featured in a slow, undulating "Anything But Me." Here the band's textured sound was complimented by Phish's veteran lighting man, Chris Kuroda, who surrounded the stage in a purple haze. After "Water in the Sky," "Down With Disease" ended the set, and Anastasio played with more confidence, grinning and nodding as he finished up with torrid guitar work. As a birthday surprise, Phish played a 30-minute video retrospective on the scoreboard and on screens above the stage. The montage from the band's 20-year history featured video from its 1994 New Year's show at the Boston Garden, when Phish flew over the crowd in a giant hot dog. Just before the second set, Gordon brought out a tray of pastries to share with fans in the front row. Then the band launched into a fiery chain of songs, starting with The Velvet Underground's "Rock and Roll," rolling into "Weekapaug Groove" and eventually exploding with Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein." Without stopping, Phish eased into the haunting "Kung," where McConnell and Fishman's heavy collaboration draped over the crowd. Anastasio's movements bordered on performance art as he threw himself to the stage, chanting "Stand up/ Stand up/ Stand up on your heels and call/ From the hills/ From the hills." From here they jumped back into "Frankenstein," and Anastasio ripped through the final familiar notes. A couple of songs later, they worked in more covers: "Boogie On Reggae Woman" by Stevie Wonder morphed into the Talking Heads' "Cities." After "Maze," Anastasio, McConnell and Fishman harmonized perfectly on the pretty "Waste," concluding to extended applause. After a 10-minute encore of "Bug" Phish walked offstage, sharing a big birthday smile. Article Copyright © 2003 Cornell