Even without Phish, Anastasio was hardly alone at Warfield June 03, 2003 - Alameda Times-Star By Jim Harrington PHISH-HEADS -- those tie-dyed fanatics who gleefully drop out of everyday life to follow their band across the country in beat-up VW buses -- are passionate fans. That's mostly a good thing. But it can also be a bad thing as well. When Phish went on a two-year hiatus following a show at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View in late 2000, some of these "Phans" treated the extended departure from the stage as high treason. As lead singer, Trey Anastasio took the brunt of the backlash. The vocalist-guitarist's solo project failed to live up to commercial expectations as a touring entity as fans decided to follow other acts during Phish's hiatus, which ended New Year's Eve 2002 at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was as if the Phans were making a statement by their absence: "Give us back our Phish." Phish is back -- in a big way -- and will play two shows at Shoreline July 9 and 10. However, Phans who have yet to fully embrace Anastasio's solo project are only hurting themselves. During the weekend, Anastasio brought his dynamic 10-piece band to the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco for two sold-out shows. And, to the delight of crowd, Anastasio added an 11th member to the band for Saturday's show -- Carlos Santana. We're not just talking about a simple guest appearance here. Santana was on the Warfield stage for almost all of the approximately three-hour, two-set show, which focused on material from Anastasio's self-titled debut from 2002 and his recent two-disc live album, "Plasma." This concert showed that this once slightly rigid band has found flexibility and maneuverability that Phans dearly crave. With Anastasio leading the way, the band moved fluidly through the evening's every curve. But Anastasio delivered more than just direction to the band. With "Simple Twist Up Dave," Anastasio unleashed a searing guitar lead. In most situations the band would back off a bit to further highlight the fancy fret work. Instead, the band stayed with Anastasio every step of the way, challenging him to take his lead to new places. That song proved the definitive highlight of Anastasio's guitar heroics Saturday. Santana entered the stage for the third song, "Last Tube," and from that point on it was all about the legendary local guitarist. Unfortunately, the pairing never quite materialized into the clash of the titans that most would expect. Anastasio is generous to a fault and allowed too much of the spotlight to go to Santana. He never really tried to challenge or push Santana, instead settling for playing simple rhythm guitar most of the show. One of the best songs of the night was a new work titled "Cincinnati," which began like a colorful instrumental overture to a Broadway musical and then broke into an arena-worthy rock anthem that would do Bon Jovi proud. Anastasio's voice sounded great on songs like "Night Speaks to the Woman." Still, the best vocal work of the night came from trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, who is becoming an increasingly important member of the band. She put down her horn and belted out a bluesy rendition of Zeppelin's "Black Dog" that would have made Robert Plant or even Big Mama Thornton proud. Of course, the Phans like nothing better than a good extended jam. Well, how about a 30-minute version of "Mr. Completely" that never seemed to grow tired? Santana and Anastasio found a groove that fit for both of them and delivered some of the most intriguing musical dialogue of the night. Copyright © 2003 Alameda Times-Star