Last Night in Atlantic City, the legendary jamband Phish surprised their devoted fans with something that seems to have mixed emotions stirring in the Halloween air. For several years, the band has created a tradition of playing a musical costume and covering an album of their band of choice. Every year, in anticipation of the show, Phish Heads around the world make posts on the web and make best guesses with their friends and fellow fans. Albums covered in the past consist of Velvet Underground “Loaded”, Talking Heads “Remain in Light”, The Beatles “White Album”, The Who “Quadraphenia” and many more. Rumors run rampant every year. A big one for this year was either Peter Gabriel or ZZ Top. To many peoples surprise, (for better or worse) the band took a turn away from their traditional costume and presented their own album, which is untitled and unreleased. The reaction to this move covers a wide spectrum. For many fans, they’ve heard some of these songs and weren’t looking forward to hearing them again. It’s new Phish…. Fans want to hear the cover album. For many other fans, they look at it as a bold move and a new level of confidence for the band. The album, which some are calling “Wing Suit” has been described as “A little poppy for Phish but has potential”. In Phish’s earlier years, they were scorned for having songs that were lyrically meaningless although highly technical in composure. As the band and their albums progressed over the years, some songs contained a storyline or had deeper relation to life experince. This only left some critics saying they liked the “Old Phish” and miss their straight forward, psychedelic jam- rock progression. After listening to last nights second set, it seems that Phish is bridging the gap between these two differences. Many songs showed a nice balance of thought out lyrics and traditional Phish jams. Either way, Phish is a band that has often been faced with criticism. The truth is that this band has been recognized by many as being one of todays most talented and praised acts while still remaining on a subculture level. Their fans are passionate and have high expectations when they travel far distances to see them. With expectations on high, it can only leave some disappointments. So if you are a Phan, what do you say, Trick or Treat? One thing is for certain, they will always have something else up their sleeve and devoted fans will keep coming back no matter what.