Part of my full run through of Summer '98, see here

After the previous festival set I was hoping to see Phish get back to the spot they were in during the three night run at the Grey Hall, but instead I discovered a blemish in this run with the first show in Prague. From jump there is clearly an issue; Trey flubs the BOAF lyrics. At first I chalked it up to the fact that at that point the band had only played the song a handful of times live. But this was just a precursor to the rest of the night. Taste is a mess lyrically, with both Fishman and Trey not on point. After Cavern the band jumps into an ill advised Reba... and it's very clear at this point that something is not right. This Reba almost comes apart completely, both musically and lyrically. This is clearly becoming a mess of a set. Fee suffers the same fate, with Trey and the band seemingly deciding to abandon the song altogether after continuous lyrical flubs; the jam that arises from this is fun but can't make up for the mess that preceded it. After that, the band seems to land the plane for a three song run to end the set, but they are clearly shaken.

Set 2 offers a chance at redemption, but it is also a mixed bag. The Bathtub Gin jam feels like an exercise, with the band trying to get back into a groove. Unfortunately Moma Dance then suffers from a lyrical breakdown by Fishman. The McGrupp is excellent and winds into another nice Europe '98 ambient outro as the band seems to try to reexert control over a show that has rapidly slipped away from them. But the rest of the second set feels almost like a frantic overcompensation; the Axilla/Hood/Rocky Top run to end the set is almost Too Much. Thankfully the Funky Bitch encore sounds good.

Now being five shows into the Summer, I'm feeling like my experiment is coming off the rails. This show for sure doesn't feel like Phish at their best, even though they kept trying. Honestly, if I didn't already know what was coming for the next show I might be ready to throw in the towel, but the next night in Prague the come back was on.