Phish - Bittersweet Motel
Phishheads may be hard-pressed to define what they love about their  idols, the Vermont-based jam bandPhish, but they know it when they see it--and hear it.  AndBittersweet Motel, the 2000 documentary by Todd Phillips, serves up  exactly what they want: generous dollops of the band's free-form, jazz-laced  music and by-the-numbers backstage glimpses of the musicians relaxing during  rehearsals, between sets, and after hours. The 84-minute film follows a year in  the life of the band, from the happening called the Great Went in Maine in  August 1997 through the band's 1998 European tour (but inexplicably, the film  begins with Europe and ends with the Great Went). Along the way, viewers are  treated to long snatches of band favorites like "Wilson" and "Down with  Disease."Affable singer-guitarist Trey Anastasio is the focus of most of the nonmusical  scenes, trying to explain the band's cult appeal, or griping about lunk-headed  critics who are all too dismissive of the band's often-stellar virtuosity. It's  clear that wearing the mantle of the Grateful Dead--especially since the 1995  death of Jerry Garcia--is a mixed blessing for Anastasio, who bristles in one  interview about Dead comparisons. Phillips, who directed the fascinating but  discredited documentaryFrat Houseand the Tom Green vulgarfestRoad  Trip, does have an eye for the absurdly comic, especially evident in the few  scenes he features of stoner Phishheads, who follow the band from show to show.Bittersweet Motelmay not earn the band any new converts, but fans will  find more than enough to satisfy those long dry spells between tours.--Anne  Hurley