This show is, IMO, wildly underrated. One of the best SOAMelts I've encountered provides the big jam in Set I, but the whole dang set is played well - there's a 12-minute Maze here that's electric, the opening Possum kicks much ass, and I'm grateful for any version of Meat that exists (I love this tune)

But that Set II is just incredible. Maybe this show isn't as well-regarded as others from 1998 because of the relatively short length of these sets, but it's hard to deny how gorgeous the Simple ends up becoming. I could rave for hours about this Simple jam. I feel like it's the purest expression of what Phish seemed to be getting after in the best jams from this career-pinnacle year of 1998. The patience and delicacy the band plays with here would have been unimaginable just a few years before this. 1998 is often characterized as the year they introduced "ambient" jamming, but not every show from this year features a jam that can be called "ambient:" this one does, but I'd also argue that the jam is so compelling that it doesn't recede into the background like textbook-definition Eno-derived "ambient" music is meant to. Instead it commands the listener to follow closely to hear the intricacy of the interplay

The Caspian jam is also stellar, if of a completely different character as the Simple jam. It starts with Fishman on vacuum. and the jam explores a calm and almost eerie zone before launching into a perfectly played and placed Fluffhead. This three-song combo at the heart of the show stands head and shoulders over many centerpiece jams this year, but I rarely hear much chatter about it. The HYHU>Bike>HYHU is a nice change of pace after so much serious jamming, and the Hood is its usual beautiful self

It's downright lame IMO that there are only a couple of fan reviews of this show; I feel like it should be rated higher and people should really dig into that Simple>Caspian>Fluffhead sequence next time they're under any form of "enhancement." It will not let you down!