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

Here we are at the end of this run with night one of the Lemonwheel festival. The band ambitiously opens with Mike's Song, though this one does not jam like some of the great versions of this tour, and leads into another fairly standard version of Simple. After Beauty of My Dreams, the band delivers a somewhat shorter but still pristine version of Roggae that feels good compared to others from earlier in the Summer. Split Open and Melt is a nice, slow burn, not a standout but still something that strengthens this first set. After Poor Heart the band delivers another great rendition of Moma Dance; again, this one isn't breaking barriers but every version of this song just sounds so good during this tour. This is a really good Divided Sky, with Trey tastefully building this one up and then going full rock star peak at the end to great effect. Water in the Sky cools us down and Funky Bitch warms us back up. Cities includes some fun references to the festival and a "sick" breakdown for the people on the Ferris Wheel as well as a funky outro reminiscent of Sleeping Sally... a segue to that would have been nice here but instead Fish starts dropping the Weekapaug beat and off they go. This one is fairly standard as well, though with some nice stop/start jamming for a bit towards the end. A nearly two hour set but not a ton to remember from this one, outside of strong versions of Moma Dance and Divided Sky, and that funky Cities.

Wedge nicely opens the second set here, after opening the 8/8 show a week earlier. Phish proves they mean business with this set next though, by jumping into Reba. This is another great '98 version, once again exhibiting how this band can rattle off a complex number like Reba at ease at this point, and then jam it out. Next up is a Gumbo with a funky jam that at first feels like a throwback to the excellent Deer Creek version. This one develops a different theme, with Fish offering up something polyrhytmic while Trey and Mike swing in an almost bluesy fashion. By the ten minute mark though it develops into an almost Tweeprise-like bliss build-up. After peaking the jam shifts again, and then segues nicely into Sanity. The centerpiece of the set is this Tweezer, which after a Moog-driven intro, takes off. There isn't anything hard to explain, this is just a nice '98 style "explore and build" and provides the first really electric peak of the show. After the climax it breaks down into a steady rock drive that conjures up echoes of Walk Away for a bit before finally bottoming out. After The Horse > SITM the band delivers a double shot to close the set, with a rocking Chalkdust and another delicately constructed Slave to the Traffic Light (with the songs played in the right order compared to 7/24). Definitely a much stronger set than the first.

Set 3 opens with NICU and then another great Bowie with an extended and incredibly creepy intro (8 plus minutes long). After Strange Design we are treated to yet another magnificent version of Limb by Limb, as this song continues to deliver this tour - in retrospect it is the perfect fit for the expansive explorations of theme that '98 jamming has thrived off of. The set wraps up with Brian and Robert and a particularly explosive Loving Cup. The three song encore is good and nicely tees up the Fourth Set Ambient Jam

It's hard to describe the Ambient Jam... it feels like an amalgamation of much of the exploration the band had gone through during the tour. I don't mean to downplay it here by calling it a rehash... it's quite compelling. The band twists and turns through many different styles and themes over the course of 50 minutes but I don't feel right cataloging it here. It's really meant to be listened to, and to let your mind drift away and be carried by the music. Definitely a must listen, and a very nice end to the first night of the festival. There were some strong performances but festival sets are large and busy affairs... Sets 2 and 4 feel like the winners here, and are definitely excellent examples of The Best Phish.