I would guess that this is one of the more beloved shows among the Phish fanbase, mainly because the second set is (as another reviewer pointed out) a '93-style set played by '98 Phish, with the crazed energy of five years ago replaced with a more measured (though no less energetic!) approach to the segues. I really loved this show when I first heard it, as it was one of the first shows I'd gotten a hold of; time has tempered my love of the show a bit, but it's still remarkably fun and happens to have a good deal of musical value as well.

The first set is pretty standard for 1998; Ya Mar briefly steps out towards the end, Reba is nice enough (as it generally is, unless it's an all-timer or a noodle-y version), and Birds has more pizzazz to it than it does in 3.0, but this set is just fine. The second set gets off to an always-promising start with Buried Alive, then takes a sharp left turn into Wipe Out (it'll always be anybody's guess as to why they decided to break it out 2 songs into the second set), before getting down to business with CDT. This is one of my favorite versions, even though there's no real jam to speak of; both Wipe Out and Mirror in the Bathroom are heavily teased from the start, and the actual segue into Mirror itself is buttery smooth (thanks to Mike, who's got that bassline locked down pretty good), as is the even sharper and even less expected segue into the blues version of Dog Log. You might not be too impressed if Type II is your only reason to listen to Phish, but if you enjoy happy fun times as well, then you'll love this CDT.

Sanity and Buffalo Bill are interesting palate cleansers, then comes a massive Mike's Groove for the record books. Mike's brings us into the land of loops right out of the gate, as the band locks into the usual late-90s chilled-out Mike's jam, Trey ripping off a particularly *ugly* solo as the jam reaches its climax. We get a lovely segue into Hydrogen (seriously, why don't they do this anymore?), which is longer than usual, and then the real highlight of the set in Weekapaug. Weekapaug wastes little time going into a sharp, funky breakdown, with Page and Mike taking the forefront as Fish drops a skittering beat, then gloriously bursts back into plain ol' Weekapaug - that is, until Trey rolls back into Wipe Out, which the band jams on for a few measures, before double-timing Weekapaug to its close. Or so you'd think - upon finishing the song, Trey leads the band back into a *ferocious* reprise of Weekapaug, which then dies away as we enter an ambient zone, Mike's basslines alien-sounding as Trey (apparently) goes to his mini-kit, a thick slice of the messier ambiance that Phish traded in at the end of the decade, before the jam comes to a powerful close. A lovely, jazzy Antelope is the icing on the cake.

Final thoughts - a truly fun, exciting show. There are a few better sets in Fall '98, but only a few, and none of them feature as much pure thrills as this second set here does. Highly recommended.