Phishheads catch their limit June 19, 2004 - Newsday (New York) By Rafer Guzman There wasn't a dry eye in the house as Phish played the very first concert of its very last tour, but that was mainly because of the hour- long downpour that drenched the crowd. During a long but notably unsentimental show, Phish offered no parting words to its fans, and the fans shouted only requests. The band's break up after a 21- year career means the end of an era for fervent followers who attended dozens, sometimes hundreds, of concerts and often tagged along on tours, setting up camp in town after town. Thursday, however, everyone seemed to realize that it was time to move on, and not just physically. As singer Trey Anastasio put it in "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing," the first tune of the evening, "one foot follows the other, one foot follows something new." That song comes from Phish's latest album, "Undermind," released just two days before the show, but the band ranged mostly through older material during its 3 1/2-hour concert (split roughly in half by an intermission). The choices often reflected themes of escape and transition. "In a minute, I'll be free," Anastasio sang on "Free." The buoyant funk tune "Moma Dance" featured a somber refrain: "The moment ends, the moment ends." And "The Curtain," from the mid-'90s, seemed to presage the band's growing sense of ennui: "As he saw his life run away from him/Thousands ran along/ Chanting words from a song." Perhaps Phish will show some emotion at its last show Aug. 15 in Vermont, its home state. Thursday, the first of two dates at KeySpan Park, Anastasio addressed the crowd only once, to dedicate the goofy song "Kung" to "all the players at the U.S. Open." (The song mentions a "runaway golf cart.") Otherwise, he kept busy playing fine guitar parts against Page McConnell's keyboards while bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman held down the rhythms. On Phish's Web site, Anastasio posted a message explaining the break up: "We don't want to become caricatures of ourselves, or worse yet, a nostalgia act." Too late, some might say. The entire foundation for Phish's career is The Grateful Dead, itself a nostalgia act that kept the Summer of Love alive for decades. As for caricature, who couldn't spot a barefoot, skull- capped Phishhead a mile away? Still, Phish was never a pandering, trend-chasing pop act. It found its audience not through marketing but in an honest, organic way: It went on tour and played. The band's success as a live act enabled it to work almost completely outside the record industry, ignoring pressures to release hit singles and sell millions of albums. Phish made music - and made a living - on its own terms. That may be the best definition of counterculture available in this highly corporate age. The closing number, a 20- minute version of "The Divided Sky," could have sounded like a tearful farewell with its sad, "Layla"-like chords. Instead, it virtually soared, as if the band had already said its goodbyes. Article Copyright © 2004 Newsday