At any Phish concert, the night begins long before the Phab Phour takes the stage. Is the beginning when carmates arrive at your place? When you hit it on Interstate-90 westbound? How about when you receive your first smile of the evening in bumper to bumper on I-290 as you blow bubbles into the crisp night sky? Whatever the case may be, when I heard the boys open it up old school with a YEM on Feb. 26 while on the endless men's room line, I decided that I didn't need to go that badly and headed for my seat. I was at my actual seat (no aisle squatting this time) before the first leg of their timeless marathon of an opener had ended.When Phish starts a show with one of their masterpieces, you know you're in for a good night. Off of their debut album "Junta," "You Enjoy Myself" is a crowd favorite. The first musical moment that reminded me how wonderful these guys are was Trey's sustained note that led me beyond a place of happiness. Shortly thereafter there was the build that exploded with 15,000 heads screaming, "Boy!" This funky YEM, like the rest, ended with a vocal jam, as Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Page McConnel and Fish created an eerie warped space with nothing but their voices. Chris Kuroda, the light man for Phish, defined the boundaries of this space as white spotlights waved around the stadium, adding tremendously to the transformation of the Worcester Centrum into another world. Unlike the others, this vocal jam included the word "Clone."

The lights went neon and Gordon's bass became pronounced as Phish debuted "Clone," off of Gordon and Leo Kottke's recent release. It was upbeat, yet mellow, including much vocal harmonizing. Although some consider the next two songs the lull of the show, I am a big fan of both, so my intensity did not wither. The first of the two was "Roggae," the first of the disproportionately large number of songs that night off of "Story of the Ghost." There's something about this song that impregnates me with warmth just thinking about it. I certainly got that feeling as the lights flooded the place yellow and the song ultimately drifted off into a peaceful, sparkling puddle.

Next they debuted "Drifting," which is off of Trey Anastasio Band's self-titled album. Although Anastasio flubbed up the intro, I was soon lost in heat lights that shined on the audience every time Trey crooned the lyric "Stars above." A slow carpet ride journey transpired and led me to a place where my innards melted and Phish was chanting, "Love, love, love..." not in the style of the Beatles but rather in a less coarse, enrapturing way.

The third song to debut was "Blue Skies," a bluegrass diddle by Jon Fishman's side project, Pork Tornado. They kept this song short and to the point, which was smart because it was apparent that many heads were getting restless for something more.

Phish felt it and they delivered, laying the deep funk groove down with "The Moma Dance." They flowed the jam like lava traveling at a comfortable pace down the mountainside. During this song, Kuroda made use of a circular screen stationed at a 45-degree angle above the band. He played with some vibrant blues, reds, purples and oranges to create an undulating eye toy that coincided perfectly with McConnel's organ and Anastasio's guitar.

"Final Flight" was the last of the debuts, a medium paced slinking tune by McConnell's side project Vida Blue. This song was highly appreciated by the phans as played vibrantly soft piano gestures as the rest supported strongly. The first set ended with the best "Maze" ever; it clocked it at the not too shabby 16-minute mark. With minimal notes to go on for this song, my only concrete memory is of some Ring Wraith-like horses galloping through the darkness. Phish must have taken the song in three to four intense, full blown rockin' directions. I seriously thought that I would never get out of this maze, which, to tell you the truth, was fine by me. After several eons, they finally rescued me out to the overhead view with their circus style deus ex machina. That appropriately sent me out into the maze of crowded heads for a set break in the midst of my journey.

After my best men's room conversation to date and some comfort on the cool concrete, it was back to my seat and back to the music. They wasted no time kicking the show into high gear with "Stash." The audience was professional in the music making process, timing their triad of claps perfectly and without interruption. The song played out until I finally found myself tumbling through space with Anastasio and Gordon echoing "As if for this my life I sought," in the sexiest of stripteases. They then pulled out some experimental jazzy piano licks, after which I swore I heard a "Ya Mar" tease. Alas, they went back into "Stash," carrying on the full-blown, yellow lit, Anastasio looping mayhem until I could take it no longer. After the third or fourth "ending" they finally exploded into silence.

And then the "Ghost" snuck up on us. This "Ghost" explored new directions, containing what to me sounded like a "Midnight Hour" tease, dizzying kaleidoscope nowheres, and an organ supporting Trey's slick, piercing probes. Then Gordon turned on the bass line to War's "Low Rider." Anastasio picked up on it and they jammed out an instrumental version, much to the delight of the crowd.

The next part of the show was Caribbean kindness. "Makisupa Policeman," Phish's reggae tune, kept the party going. Anastasio threw in the key phrase, "My hotel was burning down," in reference to a fire at the Westin in Cincinnati earlier that week. Again the phellas were toying with us as they echoed "Policeman" throughout the arena.

They seamlessly segued into the island delight, "Ya Mar," which exhibited a crystalline organ solo by Leo Page. The song built in complexity, turning the corner to what I thought may be a "Col. Forbin's" (but to no avail) and remained fun throughout.

Next was a classic Phish moment: Anastasio managed to forget some of the words towards the beginning of "Guyute." Then, during his entire whistling showcase, you could hear and see the trouble he was having. I felt really bad for the old boy, but he finally got through it. It wouldn't be a Phish show without both the ecstatic and the pathetic. Despite the shaky start, they redeemed themselves and played a multiple climactic story of a song.

Their next song was the only song of the night off their new album, "Round Room." Waves delivered the surface of the ocean groove, ascending to a mind rocking journey and returning back to the gently sloshing water. Again they created a beautifully mesmerizing extended moment as they kept repeating "On the wind and under water," with no identifiable rhythm. This segued thematically into "Prince Caspian" floating upon the waves. It was my first, and more beautiful than I could have imagined.

"Caspian" segued quite choppily into a "Frankenstein" that wasn't identifiable until 10 or so notes into it. They then conquered the Edgar Winter classic, pumping a huge wave of energy into the crowd. After two show-worthy endings, they stopped for about a quarter second and busted out with "Golgi Apparatus." I was certainly one of the dorks who let their ticket stub wave in the air, and I loved every minute of it.

Phish left the stage and the crowd hoisted their lighters into the air, never letting up their ovation until they came back out minutes later. They chose "Loving Cup," a Rolling Stone song that Phish incorporates regularly into their rotation. It was rather exploratory for an encore, highlighted by a type I, slightly up-tempo journey. They ultimately built up a classic concert ending, but went back into the song, dragging it out and finally departing on a slightly off note reminiscent of, but not nearly as intense as, the album version of "Seven Below."

So that was that. I'd seen over 60 shows since the last time I saw Phish two years ago, and it was well worth the wait. These guys are taking their old songs in new directions while creating new seeds that get more enjoyable every time around. They are looking to punctuate musical history with their sound and experience, and I must say that in the post-hiatus era they are convincing many that they are one of the best bands around.