Phish: The Clifford Ball

Commemorating the band's first festival in 1996, Phish: The Clifford Ball is nothing short of epic: the Vermont quartet played three sets apiece on August 16 and 17 in Plattsburgh, NY, captured here on six discs, plus a bonus disc with extras. Released to coincide with the band's highly publicized 2009 reunion tour, the boxed set features 54 tracks, counting two encores, a reprise (“Tweezer”), a hit song (“Down with Disease”), and a smattering of covers (among them, David Bowie's “Life on Mars,” the Beatles' “A Day in the Life,” and the Edgar Winter Group's “Frankenstein”). Even fans who weren't there will know what to expect here: mid-tempo rock with jazz, funk, prog, and country touches, distinguished by improv-oriented jams and the occasional a cappella or acoustic passage. As the All Music Guide puts it, Phish personifies “neo-hippieville's most proficient and clever players,” and those players are in fine form throughout this marathon: singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, keyboard player Page McConnell, and drummer Jon Fishman (clad in a donut-patterned muumuu). The Clifford Ball is all about the rambling music, with a minimum of stage patter or visual interest (beyond a fog machine, first-night fireworks, and a cameo from Ben & Jerry), but Phish Heads won't mind. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo, DVD extras include a featurette on the fest (which attracted a crowd of 70,000), interviews, a flatbed jam, a sound check, a 53-page booklet, and a set of postcards. Incidentally, the real-life Clifford Ball was an aviation pioneer; the festival itself was held on a de-commissioned Air Force base. Recommended. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy)