This show was special for a lot of reasons both personally and historically. Amsterdam has nothing on Freeport Christiania! Amsterdam, you look through glass cases and deal with shops. Here, you dealt with sheds, made out of pallets, 2x4's and cobblestone. There was a weed garden no more than 100 yds from the front door of the venue. Yes!!! Less than a football field by far I say. 

You could come and go as you pleased. This is the longest 2 set show I have attended. This Limb by limb is spiritual for me cuz I remember where I was standing, what I was doing, and the excitement that pierced every bone as my Europe Phish tour dreams came to fruition. This night of the 3 over all tends to be the most solid, although the next 2 nights second sets BOTH carry the weight of this run IMO. It was 10:30 pm and there was a stained glass window behind the band, above the stage, that still shown daylight. 10:30pm!!!! When you wanted a drink, you could walk outside onto the cobblestone walk-ways across the green and buy beers from this outdoor kiosk-like bar. Black-haired, blue-eyed Danish girl serving you brews as the warehouse behind you rumbled Phish music in the twilight!!!! 

Phenomenal. Stash->Cities. Funky Bitch, Bowie for 1st set highlights. Moma, Wolfman's, Yamar, Mike's for the 2nd set.

7.1 set II and 7.2 set II are both GARGANTUAN!!!!

The first show of the 1998 European Tour is a solid, song-based gig. First set highlights include a tight opening LxL, and a smooth Stash -> Cities segue. The Bowie has some moments, including a nice major mode portion of the jam before getting back to typical Bowie darkness. The second set is of similar flow to the first-- with another debut (Roggae debut in the first set, Moma in the second, Brian and Robert in the encore). The Wolfman's had a little Mike confusion during the second verse, but things resolve nicely into a typically great jam, and the -> Frankie Says is nice. I like the Swept > Steep in the Mike's sandwich actually-- it only happened three other times for those keeping score at home.

Overall this is an average (i.e. great) Phish show, and the current 3.5 rating is about right, maybe a little high if you normalize to the fact that this is Phish we're talking about (i.e. the worst Phish shows are 4-5 when compared to most other bads, but if we set the average Phish show to 3.0, this show lands right around the top of the bell curve). One other thing that struck me: this is actually in some ways a typical 3.0-type show, given how song-based (vs. jam-based) it is. As others have mentioned, there aren't really any jams that will keep you coming back for more, but it's a solid tour opener nonetheless.

N.B. I couldn't find the "Sand" tease in Tube, but after talking to the .net staff, it's at about 1:35 in the spreadsheet version, and it's pretty subtle. "Sand" didn't debut with Phish till Fall '99, but 8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes did debut it a few months earlier at Higher Ground (4/17/98). The spreadsheet AUD is actually quite nice-- it sounds like a very attentive, smallish crowd.

So my intro to Phish was in early 2006. After avoiding them for years the buzz at that time of major archival shows being released (New Year's 1995 and Island Tour shows were put out around that time) was too loud to ignore, so I finally gave them a try. I dug in deep over the next year and was rewarded by a lot... I frequently checked the now defunct "Classic Shows" list on this site to get recommendations on what to listen to next. Overall though, the voices were loud about one thing; Fall '97 was "The Best Phish" and a large subset of those voices extended it out to include the Island Tour as well. It's certainly hard to argue that point; books have literally been written about these shows (or at least one book?) and each one has been lovingly described, assessed, and examined over and over again by members of the community.

One thing always confused me though... every time I took a good recommendation to listen to a Summer '98 show I was always left satisfied. And so after a while I started to wonder... why was the cutoff Island Tour? Why not extend it out and say everything from Fall '97 to Summer '98 was "The Best Phish" too? That wouldn't feel wrong to me. To me it seemed there weren't any Summer '98 tours that were measurably worse than what was played during Fall '97 and the Island Tour; in fact in some cases (which I'm sure I'll get to) there are some performances that trump even what was played during those shows. The only thing that was holding me back was the fact that, unlike Summer '98, I had listened to every single note played between 11/13/97 and 4/5/98. So I figured it was finally time to dig in, put my money where my mouth was, and listen to every note Phish played from 6/30/98 to the conclusion of the Lemonwheel festival.

And so we start with a quiet night in Denmark. The band is clearly trying to kick start themselves for a new tour after nearly 3 months off. After very tame versions of Limb by Limb and Ghost (two songs they were regularly elevating in Fall '97) the band opens up to the crowd about their on stage banter in a fun moment. The crowd seems to happily eat up the open notes of the new Water in the Sky arrangement, but the band still isn't ready to launch quite yet. Bouncing and an incredibly tame Tube follow and I was left wondering if my theory was going to go bust on the first show.

At that point though the band finally takes off. This Stash is excellent, grooving in the same vibe as the previous legendary versions, coming apart brilliantly towards the end and then sneakily slipping into Cities with such smoothness that I didn't even know what it was until Trey uttered "Think of London," to kick it off. The rest of the set feels a bit more energized as a result. The band kicks off Set 2 with the first version of the Moma Dance and more on stage banter results as Trey attempts to explain just what happened to Black Eyed Katy. Not too long after they play another version of Wolfman's Brother that fits right in with the four versions of the song played in Fall '97, with another picture perfect segue into a mellow Frankie Says. The rest of the set from Antelope through Weekapaug is all fun energy, though not overly noteworthy.

The encore is emblematic of the show; quiet and intimate. The crowd politely takes it in. The show feels like Phish being Phish; the banter talk is fun if you like the band for more than just their music and enjoy their innate quirkiness. The band may be rusty but they know their crowd, and this feels like a show put on in the comfort of a fairly small group of close friends.

So for sure this does not feel as strong as a Fall '97 or an Island Tour show. But it definitely feels of a piece with them. For sure if you were looking for something with that Fall '97 feel but didn't want to pull out the same old jam you've listened to a hundred times before you could do a lot worse than to listen to this excellent Stash >> Cities instead. Same goes for fans of the Island Tour's Wolfman's >> Sneaking Sally; if you like that then you'll enjoy this Wolfman's >> Frankie Says. Why not try something a little bit different?

For now I will continue on, a bit more doubtful but still undaunted.

This show is a little better than its rating. It gets a reputation for being song-y (which it is), but consider that at 3:15 this show is an hour longer than the following night and 30-45 minutes longer than your typical 2 set Phish show of the era. If you trim this show down to 2:30 you can make it into a pretty great 16 song show.

It does have a few ugly bits (the composed bits of Stash) and the botched Mike's transition -> Swept Away / Steep -> a sub 5 minute Weekapaug is like a punch to the nuts. However, there are several fantastic highlights:

- Ghost is on the shorter side and overshadowed by the one two days later, but is tight and fantastic
- Stash has a great jam and a butter-smooth segue into a funky Cities
- Funky Bitch is a little bit slower and more in-pocket than usual, making it, well, funkier
- Wolfman's is super funky and segues beautifully into Frankie Says, which itself segues beautifully into Antelope

At any rate, I give it a solid 4/5 and will listen to again, more than once.

The Grey Hall was basically like watching a show in a small high school gym. It is located in beautiful downtown Freetown Christiana, a "no-photography, no 'hard' drugs" anarchist district in the middle of Copenhagen Denmark.

This show had debuts, new arrangements, the whole banter thing, the Moma instruction, and overall tight playing. I have a picture from the second row of Trey doing that first Moma Dance. All of this stuff is why this was a really fun and memorable show.

I think for someone just listening to shows this would be one of those oddity shows you listed to just to hear it but probably don't go back to for the jams.

Besides the four debuts mentioned above, it's also worth noting that this is the first show to feature the new arrangement of Ghost as well as the new abrupt (as opposed to the building-up) style of the second half of Limb by Limb.

This show is also heavy on banter, especially in the first set.

PHISH, TUESDAY 06/30/1998
THE GREY HALL
Copenhagen, Denmark
Soundcheck: Roggae, The Moma Dance, Ha Ha Ha, Birds of a Feather, Water in the Sky

SET 1:

Limb By Limb: Strong way to open the show and tour. They sound great!

Ghost: Fire in the belly out of the gate, I love it – this has some brief HOSE moments in the late 9’s and early 10’s. They back it off at the 11 minute mark, funk it up for about a minute and then suddenly end it with Trey saying we hope you enjoyed that as much as we did and then a bunch of banter.

Water in the Sky[1] - Cool new arrangement. >

Bouncing Around the Room: Standard. After the song some more funny banter. We will honor that request if you stop screaming. Banter is over, we are going back to our old ways.

Tube: Standard.

Stash[2] Trey is quite sloppy in the section right before the lyrics start. Sound issues at 2:50. Pretty loose jam. Has a good bit of tension that they build in it but by the 11 minute they quiet this one down and back off that big wall of tension. Yet, at the same time they keep things very dissonant. It’s really cool and an exercise in how well they are listening to one another. Things get really weird at the 12 minute mark, in a good way. 45 seconds later they are definitely working their way to Cities and segue into it nicely! Would recommend this Stash even though it doesn’t have it’s typical climax and big finish->

Cities: Standard.

Roggae[3] First one ever is played close to the vest. More sound issues after the song is over at 6:35.

Guyute: Standard.

Beauty of My Dreams: Intro is a little sloppy. >

Funky Bitch: Played a little slower than usual. Trey’s solo at first is much more subdued and the band brings it down to match how he starts it of quietly.

Train Song: The crowd is dead silent for the beginning and beyond, impressive. Bunch of veterans in attendance.

David Bowie: Some dude perfectly times his scream requesting Bowie as they let loose the first creepy sound that would lead you to believe a Bowie or Maze is inbound. The first part of this jam briefly explores some upbeat, major mode territory but then descends into typical Bowie territory. Good enough Bowie and a fine way to close out the set.

SET 2:

The Moma Dance[3] - The first few measures of this intro are not what we would come to expect of a typical Moma so that is notable. Trey is entertaining as he teaches those in attendance how to do the dance.

Birds of a Feather: Standard.

Wolfman's Brother: This one starts off as your basic Fall 97 funk jam but at the 8 minute mark quickly evolves into that sparse ambient style of jam that was front and center at the Island Tour shows. This 4 minute segment is awesome, tons of head space and room to breathe. This jam will seriously put you into a dream like state, it’s incredible. Would recommend! Awesome segue into Frankie Says.->

Frankie Says: Another awesome ambient jam that has a digital delay loop jam of sorts. Would recommend! Cool segue that will catch you by surprise as they have lulled you to sleep into Antelope >

Run Like an Antelope: Solid!

Lawn Boy: Standard.

Ya Mar: In the mid to late 7’s kind of sounds like a Macarena tease which would make sense since Trey referenced it during the Moma Dance. After this Fish takes a drum solo and puts on a clinic!

Ha Ha Ha: Funny banter leading into this one.

Mike's Song: Pretty decent Mike’s. Just the one jam. ->

Swept Away > Steep > - Standard

Weekapaug Groove: Wow, that was really short.

ENCORE:

Brian and Robert[3] Love Trey’s sustain in a couple different spots in this one.

Summary: Exceptionally long first set clocking in at 1:44. The second set is long to at 1:25. The entire show clocks 3:12 making it easily the longest of the tour and the third longest two set show of the year (Fillmore at 3:24 and 11.27.98 at 3:36). Pretty cool show, very songy and very, very long with a few good highlights. The current rating of 3.963/5 (82 ratings) seems fair to me.

Replay Value: Stash, Wolfman's Brother, Frankie Says

[1] Debut of "new" faster arrangement.
[2] Unfinished.
[3] Debut.

This show marked the debuts of Roggae, The Moma Dance, Brian and Robert, and the "new" faster arrangement of Water in the Sky. Ghost included a San-Ho-Zay tease from Trey. Tube contained a Sand tease. Stash was unfinished. The Moma Dance included the band teaching the audience the simplistic "dance" that accompanies the song.

SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 3.963/5 (82 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Stash, Roggae, The Moma Dance, Wolfman's Brother, Ya Mar
TEASES
Sand tease in Tube, San-Ho-Zay tease in Ghost

The "banter" show. well at least for the first songs which was pretty comical. Pretty much 4/5 kind of show no real major unbelievable versions to any song but there were nice versions especially Stash>Cities and Wolfmans >Frankie very nice transitions. Mikes song had a nice jam as well. I have to agree with the post above ^^ on how long the 2nd set was. Overall being the first show in Europe on this run...well played.