This was a great, great show and when listening to the tapes I realize how great that first set really was. Trey's solo in the outro of DWD is one of my all-time favorites. Absolutely shredding. I recently heard that South Park Meadows was torn down. It was a great venue; huge open grass field with a rolling hill near the back. The stage was kind of set in a grass bowl. Huge glostick war during the Hood encore.

Listen to this show for the great Ya Mar in the first set. The traditional improvisation grows into an ambient and then funky jam. Wilson in the second set is also a bit different. Its jam is longer and more rocking than usual.

This show was the lowest rated show from summer '98 on phish.net with a score of 3.58. Now that I have given it 4 stars, it is tied for lowest with 07.26, each of which have a score of 3.62.

All that said, this show still rocks. It really speaks to the quality of this tour if one of the (generally considered) worst shows is still a really good listen. Ya Mar is the highlight of the show for sure, but aside from that, Tweezer gets a good funk workout, Guyute is very well played, Piper has a really long and slow build in the intro, Wilson has some extra umph, and Antelope and Hood rage like usual for this era.

This is not a show to pass up.

The Ya Mar was a sunset jam. When the sun dropped the jam turned dark. A great version.

The first set is very well played...everything is a sharp version.

The second set is unfocused and weak. The next night Trey was singing "too much of everything ain't good for nobody". You can draw your own conclusion.

The dust in the lot was like a thick fog...never seen so much dust.

Decent setlist, but a mostly unexceptional show. The only major highlight is Ya Mar, which is a fantastic version that gets out there into dance/groove territory and stretches for just over 16 minutes. The Tweezer in the second set features some half-hearted Funk jamming, but nothing overly inspiring. Antelope set closer followed by a Hood encore is always welcome, but this Antelope is a complete mess. After completely bricking on the composed section, the jam section is standard and lifeless. As is the case with many 98 shows, the SOTG songs all sound great.

Really fantastic AUD recordings of this show circulate. Upfront and well balanced.

Seek this show out for the Ya Mar, but don't feel bad about skipping the rest.

2.9 / 5 B-grade Phish

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.

PHISH, SATURDAY 07/25/1998
SOUTH PARK MEADOWS
Austin, TX

SET 1:

Roses Are Free: Awesome way to start the show! >

Down with Disease: Type I face melter, finished. Very cool. Love the placement! >

Roggae: Time for a bit of a breather with this one. >

Beauty of My Dreams: Standard. >

Ya Mar: Epic Fishman in the late 8’s and well into the 9’s on the wood blocks, and this is where this jam truly takes off. Mike is prominent in making all of this happen, interesting tone he employs in here in the 9 and 10 minute range – he doesn’t shift out of that until 11:20 and once he does that this jam transitions again. Things take on a darker, sort of ominous tone once this happens. Trey hits a big loop at 12:47, nice! Page painting in the background on the baby grand is sweet. This lasts for a good three minutes. The last minute or so Trey backs all the way out and they are trying to figure out where to go next and decided to segue into Guyute. This Ya Mar jam is sick, easy all timer and would highly recommend! >

Guyute: Standard. >

Julius: Standard.

SET 2:

Piper: Standard. >

Wilson: Definitely has some extra mustard and length! There is a piece here and there that – to me – sound like they could have easily gone into In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Would recommend this Wilson. This segues into Frankenstein. >

Frankenstein: Standard. >

Tweezer: Big ol loops to get this jam started as was the style back in the day, miss that. So chill. This one hangs out in that very mellow, funky pocket dominated by Mike for a good five minutes. Trey takes over around the ten minute and gives it a traditional ripping for about two and half minutes, maybe a little less. It eases back into that funk pocket and hangs there for 90 seconds. Neat segue into Circus. Decent Tweezer here. ->

When the Circus Comes: Standard. >

Limb By Limb: Set could have used something with more energy here. Crowd seemed pretty bored here. This is a pretty average version.

Fee: Strange placement. Standard version. >

Run Like an Antelope: Standard version although more goofing around and general space in between the climax and the Rye Rye Rocco part.

ENCORE:

Harry Hood: Pretty average version here, not much sticks out to me. The crowd seemed to enjoy the glow stick war that another reviewer noted. >

Tweezer Reprise: Standard.

Summary: This show is very average. Only two highlights that I would point to. The current rating on Phish.net just seems high to me: 3.84/5 (100 ratings). I would rate this show as a 3/5.

Replay Value: Ya Mar, Wilson

Tweezer contained a Frankenstein tease from Mike.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 3.84/5 (100 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Ya Mar, Wilson
TEASES
Frankenstein tease in Tweezer