"Hampton Comes Alive" On New Phish Album November 22, 1999 - The Ledger-Star (Norfolk, VA) By Sue VanHecke Album Review - Hampton Comes Alive NEO-HIPPIE jam band Phish is so fond of Hampton Coliseum that the quartet's latest release - a five-hours-plus, six-CD box set - is entirely made up of material performed at the arena. "Hampton Comes Alive," whose title recalls Peter Frampton's 1976 decade-defining, mega-selling live album "Frampton Comes Alive," hits record stores today. Guitarist and vocalist Trey Anastasio says the album "captures the whole vibe" of the Phish concert experience: "Why do people travel from city to city to see so many of our shows? This album answers that. It's always been our biggest appeal, and we've had lots of requests for one complete show." Actually, "Hampton Comes Alive" features two total concerts of original Phish music, some never before recorded, as well as several offbeat covers, taped at the Coliseum on Nov. 20 and 21, 1998. Though it's not the Grateful Dead-ish band's first live album - Phish released the platinum double album "A Live One" in 1995 and "Slip Stitch And Pass" in 1997 - it is the first time a Phish concert performance has been documented on record in its entirety. " `A Live One' and `Slip Stitch And Pass' don't capture the unfolding of a whole night, which is really what we're about," Anastasio says. "Each show is an adventure. Two-night stands take on the personality of one bigger, hip event that evolves over the course of both nights, so it adds a whole other level of character to the shows." Hampton Coliseum has long been a Phish favorite, according to the band's publicity materials. "We've done a lot of great shows there," Anastasio says. "It's general admission, so you can move around, which is rare for the places we play. It's not that big. It has very good sound. And there's a strip of motels nearby that becomes a scene." The Coliseum also figures prominently in the box set's unique packaging. Two front covers, each held closed with a hidden magnet clasp, showcase photos of the local landmark, one shot taken in daylight, the other at night. Phish, currently in the studio finishing up a new album, will close a two-week tour with another two-night run at Hampton Coliseum on Dec. 17 and 18. Review © 1999 The Ledger-Star