Hampton will get one final serving of Phish Juny 29, 2004 - Hampton Roads Daily Press By Sam McDonald Phish isn't finished with Hampton, after all. Vermont's jam-rock kings announced Wednesday night they would play a farewell concert at the Hampton Coliseum on Aug. 9. In May, the band's leader and guitarist, Trey Anastasio, said Phish would break up after outdoor shows in Coventry, Vt., on Aug. 14-15. "We don't want to become caricatures of ourselves, or, worse yet, a nostalgia act," Anastasio wrote in a posting on the official Phish Web site, www.phish.com Apparently, the band decided to wedge in one more date before the ultimate farewell. "It's the send-off in The Mothership, the final send-off," said an elated Joe Tsao, director of the Coliseum. Phish fans have affectionately named the Coliseum "The Mothership," referring to the arena's flying-saucerlike design. Tsao said the Phish appearance came together very quickly through a series of telephone calls Wednesday afternoon. He said he stopped trying to understand the band's unorthodox methods. "I've quit trying to get it. I've got a date. What more can I ask for?" Tsao asked. The spur-of-the-moment nature of the concert - now just 11 days away - was confirmed by Jason Colton, a spokesman for Dionysian Productions, Phish's management company. "I think it was kind of a whim," Colton said Wednesday evening. "And it's something very easy to do, given our relationship with folks at the Coliseum. The band is very much looking forward to doing the show." In words and deeds, Phish has shown affection for the Coliseum, which opened for business in January 1970. Ending a two-year hiatus, Phish played Madison Square Garden in New York City on New Year's Eve 2002. It followed that by playing three back-to-back concerts at Hampton during Jan. 2-4, 2003. In 1999, the band released "Hampton Comes Alive," an elaborate 6-CD box set documenting shows played at Hampton during Nov. 20-21, 1998. Local "Phish heads" rejoiced at the mere possibility of a local show. "That is awesome," said Bob Wharton, a fan who attended all three of the 2003 Hampton shows. Wharton planned to see the band in Camden, N.J., on Aug. 12. "That's going to make a lot of people happy - that they are playing here one more time," he said. "You just made my day." Article Copyright © 2004 Hampton Roads Daily Press