PHISH, FRIDAY 04/03/1998
NASSAU VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM
Uniondale, NY

SET 1:

Mike's Song: Uh oh, heavy hitter to open the show – look out below – GAME ON! I have said it once and I will say it again, the loops in Mike seem to allow for the first jam to breathe and for them all to stake a claim as to what they each want to accomplish. Nice and spacy! Eventually Trey takes the lead and solos nicely for a couple of minutes and then leads them into the second jam. Trey destroys the first part of this second jam, intense and fire filled guitar frenzy. He hits some loops in the late 12’s and we are back to some spacy breathing room. Plenty of room to stretch out here. Would recommend! Nicely into TOHP ->

The Old Home Place: Trey sounds awesome. Pickin’ and grinnin’ >

Weekapaug Groove: The Mozambique stuff starts at 6:03 on the Live Phish recording. This turns out to be a super crazy version. Very funky middle portion along with that vocalization. There is a LOT going on in this one! Crosseyed And Painless by Talking Heads tease at 9:45. Nellie Kane by Hot Rize tease at 12:50. Highly recommended version!

Train Song: Standard. >

Billy Breathes: Standard.

Beauty of My Dreams: Seems like they really enjoyed playing this one.

Dogs Stole Things: Standard. >

Reba: Trey is a mess late in the composed section, yikes. The beginning of the jam is so bouncy thanks to Page and Mike, awesome stuff! Solid enough version here but nothing that reaches out and grabs me and demands my attention.

My Soul: Standard.

SET 2:

Roses Are Free: The first section of this jam goes until about . It is one long very consistent groove monster, all four members being equal partners. In the late 7 minute mark it shifts to more of a contemplative, ambient infused jam. Extremely mellow. Things start to transition to something else as Page is very influential on the baby grand. Things are gradually heating up. In the early 16’s it briefly sounds like Piper. The best way I can describe the next roughly 4 minutes is – mesmerizing. Kind of leads you into a trance. In the early 19’s Trey is deciding to take a more active role and his soloing but by 20:43 this is getting very spacy again. The next minute and a half are basically rudderless, it seems they have kind of run out of ideas and are collectively deciding on where to go next. Many adore this Roses jam. I think it’s good, but I am not as high on it as many. What I will say is it is very consistent and patient. Would recommend it, just not as highly as some. This segues into Piper before it runs out gas altogether. >

Piper: Super heady jam that follows the standard version of Piper. Two shows in 1998 and it seems that we have a common thread and that is less funk and more ambient, spacy jams. That is personified here as this jam has tons of room to breathe and is not trying to get anywhere fast. I like the last 40 seconds of this with Page playing around on the baby grand and then segueing nicely into Loving Cup. Would highly recommend this Piper. >

Loving Cup: Standard. >

Run Like an Antelope: Lot’s of fun banter about the dude jumping on stage and don’t let Carini get you. And don’t attack the drummer, lol. Carini’s gonna get you vocals here and there. Hard charging Antelope that will melt faces. I like the reggae feel of the Rye Rye Rocco part along with the sticky icky funk. Then the stop start stuff before the Set the gear shift part. Fun! Would recommend.

ENCORE:

Carini: Lots of fun getting Carini grace the stage. >

Halley's Comet: Crowd is super pumped to see this in the E slot! >

Tweezer Reprise: Standard.

Summary: Great show right from the first note! Tons of heavy hitters featured. This show has been super popular amongst the fan base since it was played and for good reason. That new, 98 style of jamming is definitely featured as the funk starts to fade a bit from 97. It is still there of course, just not as prominent. First set starts out like a house afire and then cools down until Reba. Second set is just all gas, no brakes and the same with the encore. This Friday night on Long Island has a rightful place in the annals of Phish history.

Replay Value: Mike's Song, Weekapaug Groove, Roses Are Free, Piper, Run Like an Antelope

[1] "Carini's gonna getcha" sung several times in intro. "Carini" spoken later in the song.

Weekapaug included a Crosseyed and Painless tease and a quick tease of Nellie Kane from Trey. A fan ran up on the stage during Loving Cup, prompting banter and subsequent singing of "Carini's gonna getcha" several times in the Antelope intro, as well as a Carini mention later in the song. This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 4.657/5 (836 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Mike's Song, Weekapaug Groove, Roses Are Free, Piper, Loving Cup, Run Like an Antelope
TEASES
Crosseyed and Painless and Nellie Kane teases in Weekapaug Groove