Phish keeps fans dancing in fun concert

What do you get when you cross an up-and-coming band with a sellout crowd?

You get three hours of great music, thanks to Phish and an enthusiastic Bangor Auditorium audience, most of them high school and college age.

The festive atmosphere at the concert started early, as the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. for general admission seating, and the crowd rushed in, looking to get the best possible seat. It was like taking a step back into the ’60s fashionwise, with seas of denim and flannel mixed with tie-dye.

Friends met up and talked, while colorful balloons were bounced along overhead. Big band, then jazz, played in the background. Smoke quickly filled the auditorium, first from cigarettes and later from joints.

The audience had filled up into the second balcony by the time the four-member band took the stage, 45 minutes late.

Chairs from the floor immediately began being passed overhead, continuing up into the nosebleed seats of the ancient structure. People were making room for dancing, and dance they did nonstop, except for the lone half-hour intermission.

Usually the act onstage provides the energy at a concert, but with Phish, it was a two-way street, with the audience’s delirious approval pushing the band on to greater musical feats.

Now Phish doesn’t just come out and play its hits. First off, since the band’s songs can go on for five to 10 minutes, Phish isn’t very radio-friendly. And without radio support, it’s hard to have hits.

Still, within a few notes, the audience was screaming in recognition of each song. Phish may not yet be a household name, but its fans are faithful.

Phish also just uses each song as a building block. After a couple of verses, the group takes off on an extended jam, whipping the crowd into a fervor.

Guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell would take turns in the spotlight with animated solos. By contrast, bassist Mike Gordon would stand stock still while laying down the foundation with drummer Jon “Greasy Fizeek” Fishman.

Most of the time, Phish’s jamming worked. Fans would get tired of dancing, stop to cool off or catch their breath, then rejoin the group later in the jam. Jamming is a fine line to tread, and a couple of times, Phish went over the edge from musical experimentation into dissonance.

In addition to a wide variety of songs from their own five albums, the quartet turned in a sizzling version of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” (In fact, on Halloween, the band played the tunes from the Fab Four’s “White Album” in concert).

For an encore, the group went unplugged, with Fishman on mandolin and washboard, Anastasio on acoustic guitar, McConnell on standup bass and Gordon on banjo. Their bluegrass version of the Boston classic “Long Time” was a big hit.

If their Bangor stop was any indication, Phish promises to become one of the great touring bands of the present and the future, a logical heir to the Grateful Dead. The unpredictable band will keep audiences guessing and happy.