Phish - December 30th, 1998

Outro turns towards ambience ripe with synthesizer and builds into a wall of sound before > "Maze".

Huge holiday version features extended "Manteca"-like playing (9:00), before Trey drops into familiar riffing. Super Fish propels the version, with Trey seemingly picking up "Manteca" again, before the band enters a great, full-band, mini-groove. Fluid and direct jamming builds to a false peak which dips to rise into playing warm with sustain and powerful trilling, before, surprisingly, drawing to a close, sans tomming.

Improvisational and intense. Several sections in this far ranging jam foreshadow the swirling sounds and groove-based jamming that would dominate '99 - '00. Triumphant return to "DwD" to conclude with a > to "Piper."

Long serene intro. Trey's guitar is somewhat amped down from most '97 - '98 versions, and this restraint adds quality to the tone. Beautiful Trey/Page/Mike outro beginning at about 12:15 enhances the sentiment.

Full-band jam in place of traditional piano outro transforms Coil from predictable (if beautiful) set piece into surprising vehicle for textural improvisation. Unlike 5/8/93, this is not an unmotivated reentry by the rest of the band, but a smooth, natural progression: Rather than step back, the rest of the band just keeps playing. (Thanks @qushner for the lovely description).

Great intro with awesome Mike. The jam is basically a medley of "Wipeout" jams, with different little jams led by Fish, Mike, Page on the B-3, CK5, Trey, and Mike again. In the encore slot, this one sends the fans home happy.