Phish - August 15th, 1998

Musically, 1998 falls somewhere between the crisp, hard rocking sound of the mid-90's and the subtle, layered grooves of 1999 and 2000. This excellent version provides glimpses of both.

"Manteca"-like jamming to start, then, slowly, a "Tweezer Reprise" jam develops, and once it peaks, it breaks down into a fun danceable jam with a nice segue into "Sanity".

Brief appearance by the MOOG.

1998 was also a strong year for "Limb." This Lemonwheel version is a case in point with a '98 style diminuendo ending.

They just kill it to close the third set!

Beginning with a clear nod to "Music For Airports," The Lemonwheel's "Ambient Jam" moves in and out of menacing riffs and gorgeous fluidity over a bubbling rhythm section as the band navigates tipping their hat to a dear influence, while also letting their voice bleed through. Around 16min there's a full band breakdown into a dark, hypnotic groove where the Rhodes shimmers, Mike and Fish lock-in, and Trey guides them via minimalistic riffing, building over the next ten minutes to a massive peak around a shoegazey Trey riff. At 34:15 the band moves into a strutting and funky jam segment that has no resemblance to Eno but feels a part of the overall 97-00 sonic shift in the Phish world. Deconstructing this segment around 41:50, the band spends the final ten minutes of this thematic masterpiece in a haunting, dreamlike segment led by the chordal humming of Trey and Page, once again on the Rhodes. There's a "Rock A William" tease at 43:30 before Trey moves into a dawning theme wherein which it sounds as though the band is softly lulling itself to sleep. It then ends in the haziest and prettiest manner possible as Trey releases fireflies of notes fading like dying embers in a fire.