https://forum.phish.net/forum/permalink/1377869236

While most performing artists play single-set shows, Phish has made a career of playing two-set shows. This is almost certainly because of the precedent set by The Grateful Dead, although the practice likely goes back further than that. Playing multiple sets per show required the band to expand their repertoire quickly, and develop both their musical abilities and their physical stamina. In the liner notes to A Picture Of Nectar, Phish acknowledges that playing three sets a night, three nights a week at Nectar's "taught us how to play".

Phish also modeled their approach to first and second sets after The Grateful Dead, with the first set typically featuring tight song arrangements showcasing the band's versatility, and more experimental, psychedelic music in the second set. When the band went through a seismic shift in all aspects of their art between 1996 and 1997, they changed this perception, eliminating the "warm-up" aspect of their first sets. This resulted in some of the band's most highly regarded shows (11/17/97, 12/7/97), but also a few shows where the first set is more creative and enjoyable than the second. But even then, our favorite band would drop a couple of gems in the second half that are worthy of inspection under the jeweler's loupe.

Phish hit the ground running at the start of their Summer '98 U.S. tour, and like with 11/3/94, I find it odd that 7/19/98 isn't as highly regarded as the shows that surround it. The setlist displays several jam "heavy hitters", and there is plenty of laid-back funk along with blazing rock and roll. Tweezer is set up to carry the second set, but as with 10/27/94, this version fails to latch on to the deep funk or blissful groove like other versions from this period. But then an angular descending bass line from Mike right at the end of McGrupp flips a switch on the band, and they return to improvisational territory previously visited in the jam out of Horn four nights earlier in Portland. I find these five minutes of improv immensely rewarding and special, particularly in the context of such a mammoth show.