The four guys from Vermont were back. The trampolines, vacuum cleaner and the doughnut dress returned as well. Most dramatically, the fans had come back--in full force.

A capacity crowd of 13,000-plus turned out on Friday night (3/6) at Hampton Coliseum to see the four original Phish [ tickets ] men--guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell, bassist Mike Gordon and doughnut-dress-wearing drummer Jon Fishman--reunite and perform their first concert since calling it quits with a two-day farewell gig held in Coventry, VT, back in August of 2004.

That attendance number doesn't factor in the thousands of ticketless fans that turned out to the spaceship-shaped Virginia venue, folks that traveled hours in hopes of scoring "miracle" tickets in the parking lot. Fat chance; ducats for Phish's three-night stand, March 6-8, at the Coliseum sold out in the blink of an eye. That forced many to turn to resellers, who were demanding, and getting, hundreds of dollars over the face value of the tickets.

It was, by far, the biggest event in the jam-band universe since, well, that Coventry farewell concert. And the occasion won't stop in Hampton: Phish will take to the road in June, and every date is expected to sell out. Most gigs, with the exception of Phish's stop at the big Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee, are already sold out.

Phish did more than just live up to expectations during their first concert stand in nearly five years. Indeed, the band crushed those expectations by delivering three nights of music that had even longtime "Phans" scratching their heads and wondering when, if ever, they had heard Phish sound this good.

The following is a night-by-night breakdown of Phish's stand in Hampton:

Friday, March 6:

Internet chat rooms had been buzzing for months--basically, ever since the band announced the Hampton dates last fall--as Phans pondered what Phish might choose as its opening number.

One thought was that the quartet might pick a straight-ahead rocker, something like "Suzy Greenberg," to start, which would allow them time to dust off the performance cobwebs before getting into more complicated material. That didn't turn out to be the case, as Phish opened with "Fluffhead," a difficult piece of prog-rock that even Yes might say "no" to, and then followed with the elegant art-rock of "Divided Sky." Those two numbers combined to last some 30 minutes, while delivering more intricate musical passages and dangerous dynamics than most acts handle during entire tours.

Phish, it seemed, was definitely out to prove something on this night. Most significantly, perhaps, was the message that the days of short first sets, lasting little over an hour, are over for now. The group played 16 songs during a first set that stretched nearly two hours.

That set consisted of mainly longtime fan favorites, such as "Stash," "NICU" and "Squirming Coil." It also marked the return of one old friend: Fishman's vacuum cleaner. The drummer came up from behind his kit to perform his beloved shtick, where he makes cool sounds using his mouth on an operating (i.e., "sucking") vacuum, during the otherwise a cappella number "I Didn't Know."

The second set included many highlights, such as the sweet ballad "Waste" and the rambunctious "Possum," and ended with the all-time fan-favorite "You Enjoy Myself," which featured Anastasio and Gordon performing synchronized moves on trampolines. "YEM," as the tune is known by fans, also contained the evening's one notable flub. Showing a bit of rust, Phish goofed up the beginning of "You Enjoy Myself," which led Anastasio to call for a do-over:

"We are starting this up again."

Anastasio was talking about the one song, but the statement was happily misconstrued by some Phans as a reference to something much bigger.

Saturday, March 7:

In the parking lot scene, which begins many hours before the actual show time, Phish Heads could be heard muttering on Saturday about the previous night's performance. They were using words like "epic" and calling the gig "one of Phish's all-time best."

In other words, Phish, one date into their reunion, had already set the bar sky-high.

Some Phans could be heard pondering aloud what was left for the band to play, given that Phish had performed 28 songs on Friday and rarely, if ever, repeats itself during stands at the same venue. Yet, that wasn't really a legitimate concern, since Phish has arguably the most extensive song list, of both originals and covers, in the business.

As it turned out, the group delivered another near-two-hour first set that nicely showcased its remarkable versatility. Phish opened with the country-tinged rockers "Back on the Train" and "Runaway Jim," continued through the acid-rock freak-out "Split Open and Melt," the concise radio-friendly pop of "Heavy Things," the doo-wop-influenced "Halley's Comet" and nine other diversely intriguing numbers before ending the first set in rambling psychedelic flavor with "Run Like an Antelope."

The band kicked off the second set with one of its most popular cover songs, the Velvet Underground nugget "Rock and Roll," and then went right back to its own originals. The highlights weren't the expected ones: usual live favorites such as "Piper" and "Mike's Song" weren't nearly as interesting as "Limb by Limb," "Ghost" and "Wolfman's Brother," tunes that many Phans might consider B-list songs. Still, those latter numbers were the ones that were given the most drastic, and satisfyingly different, re-workings on this night.

The group ended the evening in the same fashion that the second set began: with a cover song. The encore was the Beatles triumphant "A Day in the Life," which this Fab Four nailed to perfection.

Sunday, March 8

The last day of a lengthy Phish stand always carries a bit of sadness. That's definitely true for some merchants, who make millions during the Phan invasion. These businesses go out of their way to court Phish Heads while they are in town (best banner advertisement seen at a Hampton restaurant: "Hooters is Phish Phriendly").

Going into Sunday's show, however, concertgoers weren't acting all that sad. Instead, they were rejoicing like this Hampton stand was only the beginning, which it appears to be. Plus, they still had one heck of a show in front of them.

The band again played two generous sets, which, combined, clocked in at more than three hours. Again following the course set on Friday and Saturday, Phish stuck mainly to the longtime fan favorites. Highlights included a roaring take on "AC/DC Bag" and a thunderous rendition of "Down With Disease."

Anastasio sounded particularly strong on this night, electrifying the crowd with King Kong-sized leads during "2001," "Maze" and numerous other songs. As most know, the guitarist-vocalist has managed to put together a pretty impressive career outside Phish. Yet, this weekend served as proof positive that Anastasio does his best work when he's standing next to Gordon, McConnell and Fishman.

Those lucky enough to score tickets to this three-night stand in Hampton would surely agree with that statement, as will, in all probability, the Phans that catch the band during its other reunion shows in 2009.

Phish is back--in a big way. And the group sounds better than ever.

Friday, March 6

First set:

Fluffhead
The Divided Sky
Chalk Dust Torture
Sample in a Jar
Stash
I Didn't Know
The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony
Suzy Greenberg
Farmhouse
NICU
Horn
Rift
Train Song
Water in the Sky
The Squirming Coil
David Bowie

Second set:

Backwards Down the Number Line
Tweezer
Taste
Possum
Theme From The Bottom
First Tube
Harry Hood
Waste
You Enjoy Myself

Encore:

Grind
Bouncing Around The Room
Loving Cup

Saturday, March 7:

First set:

Back on the Train
Runaway Jim
Brian and Robert
Split Open and Melt
Heavy Things
Punch You in the Eye
Gumbo
Reba
Mexican Cousin
It's Ice
Halley's Comet
Beauty of a Broken Heart
Guelah Papyrus
Lawn Boy
Run Like an Antelope

Second set:

Rock and Roll
Limb by Limb
Ghost
Piper
Birds of a Feather
Wolfman's Brother
Prince Caspian
Mike's Song
I am Hydrogen
Weekapaug Groove
Character Zero

Encore:

A Day in the Life

Sunday, March 8

First set:

Sanity
Wilson
Foam
Bathtub Gin
Undermind
AC/DC Bag
My Friend My Friend
Scent of a Mule
All of These Dreams
Maze
She Things I Still Care
Army of One
Tube
Cars Trucks Buses
Free
Frankenstein

Second set:

Down with Disease

Seven Below
The Horse
Silent in the Morning
Twist
2001
The Moma Dance
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Wading in the Velvet Sea
Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore:

Contact
Bug
Tweezer Reprise