Part of my full run through of Summer '98, see here

So after the ups and downs of the European stint, Phish kicks off their summer an ocean and a full continent away in Portland, Oregon. This show was chosen for the fourth batch of Live Phish releases way back in the day, so you would expect this to be a good one. The Wolfman's Brother opener is a solid statement with good energy and none of the funk of the previous versions. The band follows with the US debuts of the new Water in the Sky arrangement and Moma Dance. After some banter (I don't remember this much banter in Fall '97 ha) about the venue they deliver a racing Guyute that comes to a sudden stop... and then starts back up again so that Trey can finish his solo. As the band approaches the end of Horn it seems the show has been pretty standard... but then something happens when Horn proper ends. It fades out into yet another ambient jam. It feels almost abrupt but the band is clearly itching to do something so they embrace it. This jam is even better than many of the ambient jam closings the band played in Europe. It stretches for quite a bit, with Trey gently rocking this forward as the rest of the band creates waves for Trey's theme to float on. It moves on in quiet bliss for a few minutes and then starts to ascend with Page and Mike providing the build, reaching it's destination with a rocking segue into Chalkdust Torture. Brian and Robert feels like a nice cool down after that. The run to end the first set is good... it features more banter after Roggae and a Birds of a Feather with a little extra bite.

The Limb by Limb to kick off set 2 is excellent, but that's no surprise, the band was routinely killing this song at the time. As the song peters off the band once again goes into an ambient outro very much in the theme of Limb by Limb and winds their way into Simple. While this one lacks the wild jam from the European Tour closer, it doesn't matter, as the band kicks into another great Tweezer. The California Love segment gets all the attention but the fact is, take that out and you still have a great Tweezer jam from a time when the song was really killing it live. It segues nicely into a very unique Free. At the point where the band usually transitions into the jam they instead decide to stay in the space where Trey and Mike slam into the beat. The jam that arises is patient, steady, driven by a constant staccato rhythm held down by Mike and Fish while first Trey and then Page interplay in the space between the beats. This comes to a sudden stop, which actually leads naturally into the Meat that follows. This Hood is stronger than the versions played in Europe, rising to a beautiful peak to close out a set full of songs that had quieter, slow builds. The Wilson > Tweeprise encore feels explosive after this, with full the Wilson being full heavy metal and unfinished.

Overall a strong show that feels very much like the European shows and less like Fall '97. This feels like a quick and light taste of what the tour has in store, but it's just the opener... there was a lot more to come. A curious choice for an early release for sure, but still worth a listen for the Horn jam and a really nice set 2 (with the Free being the standout from that set).