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

As mentioned with the previous show, things are starting to decline for Phish during this summer tour, and this show continues the trend. It's actually hard to muster up a lot to say about this one... I appreciate that it sounds like it was pretty darn hot down in Texas this evening and the band was probably tired. Something like this was to be expected. Unlike the previous show, this one does not have as strong of a setlist. The Roses is Free opener is totally straightforward and the first set has yet another late set Guyute. The second set Tweezer feels downright boring and then has the audacity to mellow out into When the Circus Comes (sorry folks, have never really dug this one). A late set Fee/Antelope to close things out feels too little too late. I appreciate the Hood > Tweeprise encore though.

Really the only bright spot of this show is the mid-set Ya Mar in the first frame. The jam starts off in typical upbeat fashion but then around eight and a half minutes starts to break free as Trey and Fish get more syncopated and Page and Mike fade back a bit. When Mike comes back in he drops a fantastic theme boasting a feel that is both funky and ambient at the same time, aka Phish's sweet spot this tour. What follows is several minutes of communication and build as the band explores this new space. Just before twelve minutes, Mike drives the theme into darker and a bit heavier territory, and Page obliges. We're now in the third distinct portion of this jam and, in the fashion of jams this tour, the band is taking all the time in the world to explore every shadowy nook and cranny of this space. Trey really takes command of this at around 14 minutes, winding this jam to a fantastic conclusion.

It's unfortunate that such a great jam didn't help this show take off. Really looking at this one you could say to the crew "Give us this Ya Mar in a Live Bait someday and forget the rest of it happened." Really hoping we've hit the bottom here and things get more interesting in the next few shows.