This was my 3rd show and a last minute ticket purchase due to overseas travel prior to the show. Managed to score a nice pavilion ticket a couple of days before the show (which seemed to much more difficult in 98 and 99.) There was still a feeling that you were in on the secret that was finally out by summer 98. Everyone near me kept talking about the show the night before in Raleigh and the huge thunderstorm and the massive 2nd set. Also heard about the craziness of the 1st night in Va Beach and was hopeful for a strong show. This show did NOT disappoint.

There were so many highlights to the show, but to me none stand out higher than the Ghost. The funky intro, the fact that so few people knew what it was (myself included) until the words were sung, and then the jam. I'll always think of it like a train slowly building steam and chugging along. For years I've had Trey's guitar leads from this version of this song constantly playing in my head. The theme that he solidifies around the 9:30 mark and repeats a few times is gold. The music that built around that riff and then expanded from it was amazing...the perfect musical launch pad. The pacing of everything in that song was perfect and I don't know if it will ever be topped. At 26+ minutes long, it was the gravy of the show and contains a few nice peaks and valleys and then more climbs back up the mountain with a final dissolution into Sample. PYITE set the table perfectly for this version of Ghost and for my ears it's still the gold standard. It's still the thing that I can look back at that convinced me to make it to every show I could possibly attend from that point forward. (Side note - the version of this song that can be downloaded through The Leaked Soundboard Project website is pretty amazing even though KP seems to downplay it...it's a much better sound than I had ever heard before and now he's got the whole show - though I haven't heard that yet.)

Other highlights for me...the Julius opener is really nice and drawn out in a way that I've rarely heard elsewhere. Very loose with a nice build before they drop the volume down and then bring it back to a nice final peak and then close...a version that will always stand out for me as one of the best (but is there ever a bad version?) The YEM was also quite unique, as others have mentioned.

Very strong show. Very difficult to understate how good this Ghost is. Very cool to hear the voices of the guys "Yeah!" a few times during the build up of the 18th minute of Ghost. They were feeling it and loving it. Everyone was.

There are many times when I wonder if the band ever listens to stuff like this and remembers how funky they could be. I still enjoy the new stuff, but I still love the way they allowed this whole show to breathe.

Other random note during setbreak. The PA system was playing Primus' - Wynona's Big Brown Beaver and some kid was onstage with Trey's original Languedoc strumming along. He wasn't plugged in but seemed to be having a good time...may have been a family member of someone. I was jealous.