Phish [ tickets ] performed in New Jersey on Friday, the night after Bruce Springsteen's heralded tour launch at the Continental Airlines Arena, and saluted the local hero with a show-closing rendition of "Born To Run," according to reports on the fan-run Phish.Net web site.

The performance was reportedly a first for the band, who have a reputation for amazing dexterity in pulling out inspired covers of classic and current rock material. The song was sung by the band's longtime friend and occasional lyricist Tom Marshall, who has made seven previous appearances on stage with the band, according to the site.

The Vermont-based jam-band then played a weekend stint at the Oswego County Airport in Volney, New York, where on Sunday they attempted to break the Guinness record for most people dancing to a song simultanously. The group reportedly had Guinness crews film while the crowd (estimated at 70,000) attempted an ensemble take on the band's own Meatstick Dance.

Following another week of U.S. shows, the band will finish up the first leg of the 1999 tour in Japan, where they'll perform at the Fuji Rock Festival.

A second leg of dates will begin September 9th and stretch though October 10th. Tickets for the first several shows on the run, including Vancouver, B.C.; George, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Boise, Idaho and Mountain View, Calif., will go on sale the last weekend of July.

During the coming weeks, the band is likely to begin making definitive arrangements toward their planned multi-day New Year's Eve festival. In recent weeks, plans to host the event in Florida's Okeechobee County have fallen flat, largely due to resistance by the county sheriff, who voiced concerns ranging from Y2K problems to potential terrorist activities and drug use associated with the show.

Potential sites elsewhere in Florida and in both southern and northern areas of California have reportedly been in various stages of negotiation in recent weeks, according to both published reports and industry sources.