Trio's harmony a 'phan' treat July 10, 2005 - Alameda Times By Jim Harrington Phish bassist, acoustic-guitarist, stellar percussionist provide enjoyable evening FEW BANDS have ever boasted the type of loyal following that Phish maintained for the better part of 20 years. Even in the Vermont band's commercial prime, when it was selling out four-night stands at 20,000-plus-capacity amphitheaters, Phish could never claim as many fans as U2, Bruce Springsteen or Coldplay. But Phish fans were every bit as passionate, arguably more so, than the most ardent Fab Four freaks at the height of Beatlemania. Following the path paved by Deadheads, these "Phans" would follow their favorite jam band basically anywhere, logging thousands of miles in a single summer, going from the Gorge in Washington to the Shoreline in Mountain View to Alpine Valley in Wisconsin to, finally, a two-day farewell concert in Vermont that brought the proud Phish saga to a close last year. On Saturday, a few hundred local Phans again picked up the trail and went looking for thatol' familiar grove up at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. What they found, while vastly different than a Phish show, was still an extraordinarily enjoyable evening of music performed by erstwhile Phish bassist Mike Gordon, acoustic-guitar hero Leo Kottke and stellar percusssionist Neil Symonette. The trio's two-set show drew strongly from the soon-to-be-released "Sixty Six Steps," which marks the second collaboration between Gordon and Kottke. From the sound of things on Saturday, the new album should be every bit as enjoyable as Gordon and Kottke's first effort, 2002's "Clone." At first glance, the acoustic-guitar wizard and the plugged-in arena rocker might appear to be strange bedfellows, and the winery setting may seem to favor Kottke's background. But Gordon's old band was far more than just a rock act. A common Phish show, not that there was such a thing, might feature a reggae song jammed into a blues number topped off with an a cappella tune. Furthermore, Gordon has traditionally done some of his best work on bluegrass and country-tinged selections. Plus, the musicians share one important similarity: a whacko sense of humor. Take, for example, Kottke's lyrics on the new album's offbeat "Balloon: "When the raccoon steals the cheese behind Pandora's other box/Or the one you love is shopping for a helmet made of rocks/Balloon, balloon, balloon." That's exactly the type of wonderfully nonsensical lyrics that would have fit perfectly in a Phish song. In concert, Kottke and Gordon worked nearly flawlessly together as they cruised easily through such fleetly fingered instrumentals as "Last Steam Engine Train" and engaging vocal numbers like "Cherry County." Credit much of that to Gordon, an accomplished sideman who spent 20 years bobbing and weaving his way through the fretboard fireworks of Phish's Trey Anastasio. The crowd was somewhat split between Kottke's fans, many of whom have been listening to the 59-year-old Georgia native's contemporary folk music since the early 1970s, and Gordon's patchouli-scented followers. But it certainly didn't seem that way. The Phans were far more vocal and, wearing the regular assortment of tie-dyed goods, harder to miss. Almost every song was punctuated by someone yelling, "We love you, Mike!" Fortunately, the acoustic music appealed equally to both crowds. Some Phans, impressed by Kottke's finger-picking on "From Pizza Towers to Defeat," likely walked out of the venue with the intention to pick up one of the guitarist's solo works. (A good place to start is with 1973's live "My Feet are Smiling.) Likewise, many of the uninitiated, who sat with their mouths agape while the 40-year-old bassist created rhythmic wonders on "Rings," probably left the building with the desire to give Phish a shot (try 2000's "Farmhouse," which is one of the band's somewhat more accessible discs). Both fan bases were buzzing about the work of percussionist Neil Symonette, a Bahamian drummer who is featured prominently on the new album. Symonette's bouncy calypso-flavored playing provided further impetus for fans to take the necessary steps to buy "Sixty Six Steps" when it hits stores on Aug. 23. Another good reason is that the album features an improbable cover, except by Phish standards, of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion." The crowd would have loved to hear "Sweet Emotion," which didn't happen. But what most of them really wanted was a Phish song. That, thankfully, did happen when the trio launched into a version of "Ya Mar" that can be probably described in Phan-lingo as "sick." It felt uncannily familiar as Gordon was joined by hundreds of overjoyed Phish-heads on vocals for this true concert classic. It was as if we were back at the Shoreline, or the Gorge or Alpine Valley, dancing on the lawn and living in the moment. It was like the last year hadn't happened and Phish had yet to call it quits. It was, unfortunately, just wishful thinking, but thanks to Saturday's concert, it was shaded with real hope for more good tunes and more good times just around the bend. Article Copyright © 2005 Alamedia Times