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Phish
IT
(Elektra)
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Watching the PBS documentary of Phish’s 2003 "It" festival is a bittersweet proposition, since we hear guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell talk about the show as the beginning of a new era for the then 20-year-old band with the knowledge that only a bit more than a year later they’d be announcing Phish’s break-up. But the DVD of the documentary is a reminder of what made the band great in the first place. Director Mary Wharton emphasizes the special feel of Phish’s yearly festivals, which were staged in out-of-the-way locales to distinguish them from other festival shows. This one, which took place in Limestone, Maine, was no exception, as is obvious from the cadre of fire dancers, baton twirlers, and other free spirits in the audience, as well as the band-induced "Sunken City" art installation and the sprawling undertaking that found them playing a late-night show atop an airport control tower. Although the bonus interviews included on the DVD are less than revelatory, long-time Phish heads who missing the band already will swoon over the second disc, a well-edited 150-minute collection of uninterrupted songs from "It."
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