Phish

When Phish rolls into town, it will have been exactly 1,025 days since its last appearance in the KC area. Although the general public could care less about such a triviality, rest assured that many of the jam-band followers who have this date circled on their calendars can rattle off such facts with mind-numbing speed. The rest, however, will be blissfully content just to rejoin the traveling circus that packed up its tents nearly three years ago. Bands such as Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident and the newly resurrected Dead have split phans' allegiances, but the Vermont foursome still stands as a strong presence in today's counter-music-industry movement. At the center of Phish's swirling mass of pop-art associations and neohippie vibe is the music -- a fusion of jazz, funk, bluegrass and Latin flavors held together by a devotion to art-school eclecticism and derring-do.