With new Phish to fry, band goes out with a bang August 11, 2004 - Boston Herald By Christopher Blagg Most farewell tours are full of overwrought nostalgia and sentimental schmaltz. Phish must have missed that memo. Sounding like a band on the brink of a rock-star career rather then the end of one, the four-piece jamband juggernaut didn't seem too concerned with goodbyes last night at the Tweeter Center. Phish may be playing their last days together, but grieving was the last thing on their minds. The first of two sold-out shows at the Tweeter Center began with the sharp, punchy rock of ``AC/DC Bag'' which proceeded to deconstruct into a classic Phish improvisational tangent that had the crowd wobbling in arrhythmic delight. Never a band to stick with a singular theme, Phish then changed gears into the clean and frisky pop of ``Heavy Things,'' where Trey Anastasio's melodic guitar turns reigned supreme. The quirky funk of live staple ``Punch You in the E'' garnered the set's strongest reaction from the noodling crowd, highlighted by a festive Latin cha cha break in which Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon laid down their instruments to trade goofy mambo dance floor moves before resuming with the tune. Luckily, dancing will not be involved in any of the band's post-Phish careers. As on any night, several of Phish's tunes tended to run on a bit at times, but after 20-plus years, they deserve a little self-indulgence. While many of the tunes veered into trippy and dissonant territory, the payoff was almost always worth the wait. Any newer fans looking for tight, brisk arrangements of newer material would have been disappointed by the band's long-winded set full of rare classics. The vast majority of the gypsy traveling, tape-trading crowd was overjoyed. The pummeling riff rock of ``Mike's Song'' opened the second set which soon slid seamlessly into a song cycle including the breezy calm of ``I Am Hydrogen,'' and ending with the slap bass frenzy of ``Weekapaug Groove.'' In a rare moment of stage banter (Phish rarely speak during their shows), Anastasio comically demystified the latter tune, explaining its origin as being copped from the notoriously unhip prom/wedding staple ``Oh What a Night.'' The band did slow things down a bit midway through the set with the country-tinged ballad ``Dog-Faced Boy'' and the rather unremarkable, slippery melody of ``Friday,'' causing many a chemically infused fan to take a seat. Momentum swung back soon enough with the gorgeous, sprawling epic ``Harry Hood,'' as the crowd created a dizzying light show of its own with a flurry of hurtling glow sticks. Article Copyright © 2004 Boston Herald