As a night of music on tape, this is a pretty decent if not spectacular show - the first set YEM and Reba are fine but nothing to write home about; the actual RIL set is great and hews very closely to the original except for the occasional (Type I) extended jam, which is to say don't expect the C&P here to blow you away or anything; and the third set has an amazing setlist but isn't as spectacular as, say, the previous year's 3rd set (or, I guess, just the YEM), even though the Maze/Simple run is really strong and Perazzo for an entire set is something that should not be taken lightly (which makes the WAY TOO SHORT 2001 almost a slap in the face). As a moment in Phish history, this show is about as monumental as it gets, as the ideas of minimalism and tighter, funkier jamming and guitar as singular thread in jam tapestry that Phish retained from playing Remain in Light, one of my favorite albums ever*, would stay with them into the following year, culminating in their greatest tour in November and December. Absolutely recommended, both for the music and for what that music meant.

*So yes, I'm totally biased both from a Talking Heads fan standpoint and a Fall '97 standpoint, but these are both awesome things, aren't they? Although that bias does mean I'm forever bothered by the first review's somewhat offhand dismissal of RIL - the two album sides are *meant* to work that way, for Pete's sake!