CONCERT REVIEW: THE JAMMY AWARDS

 The first time Phish reunited following an extended hiatus, they chose New York’s Madison Square Garden for a venue, returning for a New Year’s Eve performance that ushered in 2003 with a triumphant re-launch of the legendary quintet’s unique style of improvisational jambandary. Less than two years later, they’d call it quits again, this time ostensibly for good, with a massive farewell concert in their home state of Vermont.

Last night’s 7^th Annual Jammy Awards brought the band back together onstage for the first time since that emotional ending, once again in New York’s Madison Square Garden, but this time in the far smaller Theater below the actual Garden proper (where onetime Phish collaborator Jay Z was busy performing to a packed house). Also, this time the notoriously expansive Phish didn’t play a single note—at least not together.

Instead, Trey, Mike, Fishman and Gordon graciously accepted their lifetime achievement Jammy, and then stepped aside to let The Headcount Allstars—consisting of ringers from Disco Biscuits, String Cheese Incident, and Umphrey’s McGee—take the crowd through a nostalgia soaked short run of “phan favorites” from Phish’s 20-plus year career, including “Run Like an Antelope,” “Maze,” and “Wilson.”

"I feel like as a musician we're servants, and musicians from the beginning of time have been there to express the mood and the musical feelings in the air for whatever's going on in that particular culture," Frontman Trey Anastasio noted during a brief, heartfelt acceptance speech. "It's the greatest joy as a musician to be able to translate that, be part of something and watch the scenery around you. That's what it felt like to be in Phish all those years."

Some in attendance certainly felt disappointment at the lack of a Phish reunion, but they could hardly consider themselves short-changed by a long and winding evening that featured performances by two members of the band, plus Warren Haynes, Matisyahu, Grace Potter, and, most improbably, a duet between Keller Williams and Chevy Chase on “Natural Woman.” Highlights included human beatbox Doug E. Fresh, with Galactic backing him, taking the crowd through a brief tour of old school hiphop, Page McConnell pulling together some jazz heavy hitters for a unique take on Phish’s “Cars Trucks Buses,” and Anastasio’s unannounced appearance for a pair of Beatles covers with the Fab Faux.

And if the awards at times seemed like an afterthought, or at least just an excuse for all that collaborative musical exploration, dig this: the event’s founders took the occasion to announce that they’ll be scrapping the awards format next year in favor of something even bigger.

So stay tuned, and keep on jamming!