Part of my full run through of Summer '98, see here
Unlike the show's that preceded it, this is a show I've listened to before. Quite a bit actually; it's a personal favorite and one of the shows that lead me to this hypothesis in the first place; that Summer '98 was as strong as anything that Phish did in Fall '97 or the Island Tour earlier this year.

The band seems keen to shake off the previous night's debacle. Right off the bat, Trey shreds into this Buried Alive with vigor, and then bursts into a tight AC/DC Bag. While this one doesn't journey anywhere the swift and seamless transition into Ghost is fantastic. The Ghost itself is amazing and not at all like the 7/2 version. This one is all glorious rock peak for 14 minutes, before slipping into an ambient loop to close out, and then a surprising segue into Cities. The Cities starts out at a fast and funky tempo for the first verse, and then just as suddenly drops tempo to more familiar territory. This Cities hits all the right funk notes, and closes out an amazing run to open the show. This opening run feels like a statement; the mess from the previous night is a thing of the past and Phish is back to display their true power for this crowd in Prague.

The second half of the set is just as good. This Limb by Limb is perfection, displaying the band's ability to patiently build and construct a peak from top to bottom... it goes on for 9 minutes and never feels boring for a second, with an excellent reprise lick at the end. Finally the band takes a cool down with Train Song, before jumping into Roggae which feels of the same piece as the Limb by Limb, patiently but interestingly growing for 8+ minutes. After this more low key section the band follows up with a harrowing Maze; it's never been my favorite Phish song but this is my favorite version. The band stops on a dime just shy of ten minutes to thank the crowd and it almost feels like they are showing off at this point before closing the song out in a rollicking fashion, as if to say "that band you saw last night? That wasn't us. THIS is what we're all about." The Golgi closer ties it all up in a nice bow. And that is just Set 1.

Perhaps it's not as strong overall but the second set still has some things to say. They open with the first Julius of '98 which feels like a continuation of the high energy close to set one. The Meat is solid and fun. The heart of the second set (and maybe the whole show) is this best-ever-contender Piper, which takes off into rock bliss as soon as the "proper" part of the song ends. For a while this feels like more of what we got from the Set 1 Ghost, but better. And then at the 15 minute mark it starts to slow down and simmer, with Mike driving for a bit and creating more space. At 16ish minutes Trey breaks into a loop, and then he and Page seem to be guiding the jam to a landing point. Rather than get ambient like other jams from this tour though, it turns downright bluesy, and for a second there it almost feels like it might segue into Fikus. The band toys with this Fikus-lite riff before it instead veers off liquidly into Makisupa Policeman. The rest of the set feels similar to the Set 2 closing segments from this tour; strongly executed versions of standards that keep the vibe going. The Loving Cup seems exuberant to close the second set. The band seems to have really enjoyed themselves too because they come out and perform One of Those Possums, where the band refuses to just play the song in a straightforward way, zig-zagging through several fun themes until we get to a very satisfying conclusion to a really stellar show.

For sure this is the best show of the run so far, and exhibit A in terms of how in Summer '98 Phish was still delivering at the highest level.