Rock band Phish reunites; chooses Hampton for tour kick-off

Popular Vermont-based jam band Phish announced today that it is reuniting, and will launch its tour from Hampton Coliseum, which the band calls its favorite venue.

They even have a nickname for it: the Spaceship.

Early this morning, the band’s Web site began carrying a cleverly crafted, time-lapsed video announcement. On phish.com, an artist can be seen crouching over what appears to be a piece of cloth on a floor and paints three diamond-shaped objects. Once he adds the blue, green and purple colors, it begins to resemble the Coliseum. Beneath the objects, the man paints the words “Phish, Hampton,” and then the dates March 6, 7 and 8, 2009. (Check it out to your left)

“They are brilliantly creative,” said Ken MacDonald, whose Portsmouth-based concert promotion company, IMG, booked the show. “It had been described to me, and I said, ‘Ah, that’s a neat idea.’ But then when I saw it, it was even better than I imagined.”

Before Phish officially split in 2004, the quartet was consistently one of the top-grossing live acts nationwide. The band, known for its lengthy, psychedelic performances, appeared several times before sold-out crowds at the 20,000-seat capacity Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, but later preferred the 10,000-seat Hampton Coliseum. In 1999, Phish released the 6-CD set “Hampton Comes Alive,” which featured live recordings from a two-night stint in Hampton a year before.

MacDonald, who has a working relationship with Phish dating back to 1994, said the band made it clear they wanted to play Hampton first as part of its reunion tour.

“The band has loved playing there and the audience has loved seeing them there. So I think that’s why they wanted to go back to their favorite place and start things off on the right foot.”

Tickets are priced at $49.50 and are available through a lottery system as part of the band’s fanclub on its Web site. General public tickets go on sale October 18 through Ticketmaster.

Jeff Maisey, (757) 222-3934, jmaisey@pilotonline.com