To say this show is a mere 'gem' would be heresy; this show positiveley reaks of headiness. It boasts one of the most solid, well-played, thought-provoking jams the band has ever created, (Roses>Nassau Jam)a well above-average Mike's Groove, (with a special emphasis on the funkdified Weekapaug) a great Reba, a superbly melancholic Piper, (with a downright scary jam that follows) a supremely-placed, ever-welcome ballad, (Loving Cup) and a humorous yet vibrantly-soaring Antelope (chock full of jabs at Pete Carini, and gift-wrapped with a few Gordo bass bombs). The encore bodes well with this legendary show, coming full-circle with the second set's shenanigans by way of a bubbly Carini>Halley's>Tweeprise.

First Rating: 5/5...get this show, dissect it, analyze it however you want; remember that the 24 minutes of amorphous bliss following Roses are at a minimum a defining moment for the band, and - at a maximum - the pinnacle of the group's improvisational prowess.

This 27-minute(!) Roses starts out as robofunk in the vein of the 12/30/97 AC/DC Bag, though it lacks that jam's magical film-score climax. It's got the porno-percussive vibe of e.g. the 11/17/97 Ghost at first, but way more ambient-electronic trickery and remarkably patient playing from all corners. Surprisingly (and wonderfully) though, the jam develops *inward* rather than *upward* - growing clearer, more mellow, more spacious. Even the Fall '97 climax is muted, favouring private darkness over the anthemic vibe of (say) the 11/22/97 Halley's. The segue into Piper is downright mournful despite the music's resolute beauty - like seeing sunrise with a friend after a night's soul-searching - and the boys take their time bringing on the lyrics. The astonishing nine-minute jam that follows develops not from the driving uptempo segment (which powers most versions (and all modern versions) of the tune) but from the delicate coda; it's collective onstage composition, showcasing Phish's empathetic communication and patience.

The Roses > Piper > Cup is one of the strongest pieces of Phish improvisation of 1998, as far from the frenetic rock'n'roll pounding of 1995-96 as Phish could get without transforming into a different band. The rest of the show is of a piece with the fine Set II improvisation (Jesus, a 35-minute Mike's Groove opener?!), but Roses > Piper is the reason to seek out this recording. This is an attractive show for the post-'96 Phish fan, whether you prefer the band's 1998-99 ambient grooving or its more aggressive Fall '97 galactic funk antecedent - but the ~25 minutes of music around that marvelous Piper jam have more in common with the Lemonwheel ambient set (or the IT soundcheck!) than anything else. Heartily, happily recommended.

From the show notes above:

"...as well as a Carini mention later in the song."

Possibly the greatest understatement that can be found on Phish.net.

During the Loving Cup some dude catapulted onto the stage from like 5 rows deep. And what made it so cool was that he launched onto the stage precisely at the "beautiful buzz" part of Loving Cup. As soon as the band came out of the jam and sang "Oh, what a beautiful buzz", this guy flew through the air and landed on the stage. It was like he was spring-loaded. No clue how he pulled it off but he clearly had help. He hopped around a bit and then jumped back into the crowd. Seemed to get away scott-free. Im pretty sure it was this show, but Im not positive. But I do remember the band doing "Carini's gonna get you" lines during the beginning of Antelope. Anyway, the Island Tour was awesome, even if I dont fully remember it. Listen for yourself!

Can anybody back me up?

This capped my week visiting my aunt in Queens, but I was staying in Manhattan (score!). Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, all I had to do was jump on the LIRxR and I was in Uniondale for 2 Shows. I judged this far superior than shlepping across 2-3 states just for a single show. Just sit back, crack a Guinness, and ride the Train->Song.

While I was blown away by the strength of the transition between the evil Mike's jam into sweet bluegrass land of Old Home Place and the Crosseyed and Painless Jam in Weekapaug, the second set was, once again, where it was at.

The only two shows of fall '97 I caught were Champagne and The Palace, and they were JamFests. Here again was a four song second set. After bobbing to 40 mins of Ween->Piper, Loving Cup (the song they were born to cover) kicked the vibe into overdrive. The air was electric at the beginning of the show, but by now, they were ramping down east coast nuclear reactors and powering the US with the energy of Uniondale.

That crazy bastard jumped on the stage and then all hell broke loose. A Carini-lope ensued with Fishman repeatedly SCREAMNING "Carini" into the Antelope crescendos, followed by the 3-song monster of an encore, including Tweeprise because, although they didn't play Tweezer, apparently Trey wasn't done rocking. He was rooster-strutting back and forth across the stage (a VIOLENT display of emotion for him at this point) and threw in some "air-guitar" moves at the end. Check out the Youtube clip. Turn it up and you can hear the audio peaking out from the roar of the crowd.

Simply Legendary.

Yes, that's exactly what happened! I just watched a youtube clip that shows it quite well (Phish - 04.03.98 - Loving Cup -- Antelope (intro)). Around the 6:20 mark, a shirtless guy with a tiger backpack springs onto the stage out of nowhere. He skips along and pumps his fists in the air until Carini confronts him, forcing him to jump back into the audience which was feet from where I was standing. Funny shit, great show!

(posted to rec.music.phish in April 1998 - part 2 of 4)

Friday 4/3

Ahh! Mike's Opener! Run for your lives! Actually, Reilly called this
one, figuring after a Tube opener we'd see 4 straight shows with
mind-boggling openers. How did he get to be so smart?

This Mike's rocked for an entire 15 minutes, and was considerably good
being in that slot! Certainly better than 12-9 (Penn State) and I'd have
to say just as good as the 11-22 (Hampton) 1st set Mike's opener. Old
Home Place was oddly placed as far as I'm concerned, but Trey turned to
Mike looking for a suggestion and that's what he suggested to a shrugging
"ok," of Trey's.

The Weekapaug however, was stellar and came in at 18 minutes. The jam
segment went on *forever* and seemed to almost segue into a new song then
back into Weekeapug. At one point in the jam, Trey looked to Fishman and
Fish pulled his mic to his mouth, although he never sang anyhting. Again
this jam digressed into something similar from the post Twist jam the
night before (band members "ooh"-ing and Chris doing a similar effect
lighting the band from behind) Suddenly amidst the chaos Trey raised his
finger with the number one and the band launched back into Weekapaug.

The next four songs (Trainschwag, Billy Brothed, Beauty in my Pants, and
Dogs Stole an Otherwise Great Slot for a Song) were painful to hear all in
a row, but better here than a few hours later. But all was saved by the
Reba. Nice jam in there before the dreaded My Soul.

Second set of Friday was probably the best musically of the run. Another
four song set which tore the roof off of Nassau. The Roses are Free went
on for almost a half hour (28 mins for those playing at home) of pure
rock-n-roll bliss, which then segued into an incredible Piper. More
intense than the Palace Piper (the only other one I've seen) and better
(though I can't describe how) that the Utah Piper, which was my favorite
up till then, this is quickly becoming my favorite song. You heard it
first here, I'm calling a Mike's->Piper->Weekapaug to open Portland. ;^)

Out of Piper formed a jam that can really only be described as "niiyce!"
but I think you'd need to hear me say that word out loud to fully gather
its meaning ;^) This unique jam (it was after the traditional end of
Piper but before the Page solo where he started Loving Cup) was an entire
10 minutes, more than enough to warrant a Piper->Jam->Loving Cup imho.

Loving Cup was Loving Cup (which is to say great!) but Antelope was
something else. I was thoroughly geeked to hear the opening of what was
to become the first '98 Antelope - especially with all the "Carini's Gonna
Get You!" madness. 1997 was such a great year for Antelopes, and I feel
safe in saying that 1998 will be as good...but in a different way. This
was not like an Albany nor a 12.29 Antelope, but had an energy all its
own. I'm sure many people will say this was not as good as those
Antelopes, and some will say better. I can say that it didn't get as
crazy as either of those, and it was relatively short (15 minutes) but it
rocked nonetheless. But don't believe me, cause I'm stupid, remember?

The Encore, in the words of Aaron, "Rules all worlds." Carini (obviously)
-> Halley's (whu...?!?) -> Tweeprise...what a night. Who can complain?

I've searched high and low, and still cannot find a better set 2 from this band. Absolutely mind numbing in every way, and it pains me to say that I skipped this show in favor of a road trip with some high school friends. Where's the Gamehendge Time Factory when you need it?

second set... absolute perfection.

a seriously heavy antelope that blew me away.

Jabberstin basically hits the mark on this one. Well played sir!

Get this show, and the night before for the Twist.

This show is phenomenal but it's tough to listen to Trey play Carini in a different key than the rest of the band the entire song...