Phish get wet at New York farewell show June 18, 2004 - Reuters News By Richard Valdmanis Phish kicked off their farewell tour on Thursday night amid torrential rain at New York's Coney Island, winding down two decades of touring for the jam band hailed as successors to The Grateful Dead. But the rain didn't dampen the spirits of the group's hard core fans, who squeezed every drop from the signature musical odyssey to dance and sway, some using garbage bags to fend off the weather, as thunder clapped overhead. "We might not be able to convince Phish to stay tobDave Singelin of Flemington, New Jersey. "But we might be able to convince them to play the best show they've ever played." Dozens of fans withstood the storm and offered cash or bags of marijuana for spare tickets. Vermont-based Phish, which inherited the hippy time capsule audience of the Grateful Dead following the death of legendary guitarist Jerry Garcia in 1995, has vowed to call it quits in August after a 13-stop summer tour. The band, like the Dead, has made a career out of touring. The amicable break-up was planned by the band as a graceful exit after 21-years of touring. "We all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health," said guitarist Trey Anastasio in a release on the Phish Web site. "We don't want to become caricatures of ourselves, or worse yet, a nostalgia act." Their exit from the scene leaves open the question of where the Phish heads will go once the quartet says 'so long'. "There are loads of good studio bands out there, but Phish is about the live show and the people," said Singelin, who has followed the group for four years. "Nobody else is Phish." Article Copyright © 2004 Reuters