'Plasma' gets blood pumping May 9, 2003 - Oregon Daily Emerald By Mason West Album Review - Plasma If you are of the mind that jam bands are the devil in sonic form, I will not convince you otherwise in these measly 18 inches. While I am by no means supporting every rag-tag band of hippies with the stamina (or idiotic perseverance) to play one song for 20 minutes, I will always take pause to give any members of Phish due consideration. Like clockwork, a year after the release of guitarist Trey Anastasio's self-titled solo album comes the live album, "Plasma." Anastasio's solo effort was more recognizable by Phish fans than other Phish offshoots -- such as keyboardist Page McConnell's spacey band, Vida Blue, and bassist Mike Gordon's project with Leo Kottke -- because Anastasio has generally been the dominant influence in the Phish song writing process. And his warm, fuzzy guitar tone hasn't changed in, like, 10 years. Anastasio's recent albums differ from traditional Phish in their "Afro-Cuban" undertones and the permanent addition of a nine-piece band heavy on brass. At times, this takes "Plasma" back to the untainted music Santana played in the sixties.Unlike the myriad live Phish albums (seriously, live or not, how many ways can you do the same song?) only one song from the studio album reappears in this live compilation. There are requisite reinterpretations of some Phish songs: "Sand," "First Tube" and "Magilla," which fully realizes its swing nature with the brass band behind it. There is also a cover of the Bob Marley tune "Small Axe." The other seven tracks are new material. Well, that's half true. Anastasio could take his guitar with him to the toilet and come out five minutes later with a new song. Many of the tunes devolve into two-chord refrains underscoring obscenely long solos. These musical voyages are why people either hate or love jam bands. To illustrate: The second disc has four songs to the first disc's eight and is almost 15 minutes longer. I'm sure this could evolve into some pseudo Jeff Foxworthy "you might like jam bands" joke. The organization of the two discs mimics the pattern of Phish's "A Live One" where the more jammy songs are diverted to a conveniently easy-to-neglect B-side. A little philosophy on live music: I am all for the live musical experience where listeners embark on epic musical journeys. If artists only play songs from their studio CD exactly as they sound on the CD I am content to save $40 and listen to said CD in the comfort of my home or automobile. So Anastasio has created a suitable live experience. But creating a good live recording is a more difficult task than piecing together an exciting performance. Being surrounded by hippies and getting unwittingly buzzed off the collective haze makes the jam acceptable, if not desired. And as you sway from side to side nodding your head and waving your arms. You, like, are the music, man... Woah. Lost my train of thought for a moment. Some live albums capture all this and somehow embed it through little ones and zeros onto silicone. Incidentally "A Live One" does it for me. "Plasma" does not. Instead of being swept away, I am painfully cognizant and isolated by the music. Sure, my presence of mind allows me to recognize Anastasio's reference to "The Sound of Music" in the tune "Mozambique," but it doesn't make me care. Honestly, the mentality of the jam is something you let happen to yourself. Somewhere along the line, I signed onto to the Phish-ing boat. If some other jam band did the exact some thing Phish did, I would think Phish's version was better. Along that line of thought, it is basically impossible for Phish or any of its cohorts to make a bad album. Average and redundant, yes. But my predisposition for Phish will save them from a tirade on mediocrity. And that is much of what has just taken place. So if you are swimming in bootlegs, live releases and studio albums (or if you get it for free) you could stand to add this to your collection, if only for the sake of coherency. The rest of you can just listen to it on the stereo at Rennie's. Article © 2003 Oregon Daily Emerald