Ruling out resurrection and reincarnation, the current summit of Phish's Trey Anastasio [ tickets ] and Mike Gordon [ tickets ] with Phil Lesh [ tickets ] and Friends is about as close as it gets to jam-band nirvana.

Tie-dyed twirlers have been dreaming for years about a tour that would feature both the Phish guys and the Dead dudes. Of course, the ideal time would have been when Phish was still together and Jerry Garcia was still alive. Otherwise, the closest thing that we got was when Anastasio and Phish keyboardist Page McConnell joined Phil and Friends for three nights at the Warfield in San Francisco back in 1999 (a collaboration that is commonly referred to as "Phil and Phriends").

That is, that was the closest thing until now.

Guitarist/vocalist Anastasio and bassist/vocalist Gordon are currently co-headlining a summer tour with Phil Lesh and Friends, which kicked off last week in Raleigh, NC, and continues through a July 12 date in Phish's home state of Vermont. The acts are divvying up the closing slots.

On Thursday (7/6), the tour rolled into the Tweeter Center (formerly known as Great Woods) in the Boston suburb of Mansfield, MA, and the result was as expected: a great day of music for Phish-heads and Deadheads.

The two acts, however, took vastly different approaches to the music.

Anastasio and Gordon, backed by keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo (a.k.a., the Benevento/Russo Duo), completely ignored their proud Phish past to focus on new songs and Anastasio's solo material. As much as Phish-heads would have loved to hear such old favorites as "You Enjoy Myself," "David Bowie" and "Run Like an Antelope," Anastasio and Gordon refused to turn this set into a walk down memory lane. Instead, it felt very much like a peek at the future.

Phil Lesh, as expected, took the exact opposite approach and delivered a two-set show that was filled with Dead classics and brimming with nostalgia.

In all, the two sets complemented each other quite nicely.

The music started with an opening set by the Benevento/Russo Duo, which was performed early in the day in front of a mostly empty amphitheater. Those who skipped the Duo's performance to further explore "Shakedown Street" (the circus-like strip of T-shirt vendors, micro-brew sellers and drug dealers that forms in the parking lot of nearly every jam-band show) really missed out. The Duo put on a very adventurous set of tunes, which surely would have appealed to fans of Medeski Martin and Wood, and showed why it deserved to be on this bill. Based on the thoroughly enjoyable performance, it's easy to recommend that people check out the Duo's new album, "Play Pause Stop," which hits stores on July 11.

Next up was Anastasio and crew, who wasted little time before jumping into a killer spin through "Drifting" from the guitarist's eponymous debut of 2002. The quartet then turned to the soaring instrumental "Something for the Rockets" before touching upon Anastasio's most recent release, 2005's "Shine," for "Sleep Again."

Gordon got his turn at the mic to sing a trio of Zappa-like oddities: "Suskind Hotel," "Hap-nappy" and "The Beltless Buckler"--the last of which made its live debut at Tweeter. Although the bassist is a fan favorite, he's not nearly as good a singer as Anastasio. Not surprisingly, Gordon's songs weren't as enjoyable as such Anastasio nuggets as "Sweet Dreams Melinda" (arguably the best song off "Shine").

Still, of course, the show wasn't really about the vocals. It rarely ever was with these guys. This concert was about the jams. The boys simply took off in the second half of the set--jamming "Goodbye Head," "Spin," "Mr. Completely" and "Dragonfly" together in an electrifying fashion that recalled Phish's finer moments. The key, as always, was Anastasio, who proved once again that Rolling Stone magazine was right on the money when they ranked him as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

In terms of sheer musicianship and pure energy, the Phil set was initially a major letdown after Trey had torn up the place. It did have one thing that the previous set didn't--songs that we knew and could sing along to. That counted for a lot.

Phil and his Friends--which currently include saxophonist Greg Osby, vocalist Joan Osborne [ tickets ], drummer John Molo, keyboardist Rob Barraco, guitarist and pedal-steel player Barry Sless--delivered a short, enjoyable first set that opened with "Doin' That Rag" and included such Dead faves as "Deep Elem Blues" and "Brown-Eyed Women." Despite the presence of Mike Gordon on banjo for a few numbers, the band really never caught fire until the last number, "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)."

That would change in the second set as Anastasio joined the group and helped them push the likes of "All Along the Watchtower," "Help on the Way" and "I Know You Rider" into the stratosphere. But Anastasio's epic guitar leads were only the second most important factor at play here. The first was Joan Osborne, who really became a force in the second set with her gorgeous, blues-soaked vocals. In fact, the absolute highlight--perhaps of the entire concert--was her precious take on "China Doll."

The great Phish-meets-Dead summit drew to its conclusion with an encore that included a great version of the Dead staple "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad." It was hard for fans to empathize with that song; they left this show and hit the road feelin' mighty good.

SET LISTS

Trey Anastasio & Mike Gordon:
Drifting
Something for Rockets
Sleep Again
Suskind Hotel
Sweet Dreams Melinda
Hap-nappy
The Beltless Buckler
Goodbye Head
Spin
Mr. Completely
Dragonfly

Phil Lesh & Friends:

Set 1:
Doin That Rag
Deep Elem Blues
Brown Eyed Women
Next Time You See Me
The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)

Set 2:
All Along The Watchtower
St. Stephen
Help on the Way
Slipknot!
Nobody Girl
China Doll
Nobody Girl
I Know You Rider
Slipknot!
Franklin's Tower

Encore:
Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad
Box of Rain