This show is crazy underrated. The show opening Moma is super funky and the 18-minute Gin that follows is fantastic. Punch has a cool fade out/in silent jam thing. This Wilson is off-the-charts evil and abuts a short, but very cool/chill BOAF. Ghost-> Johnny B. Goode is a great rocking closer. I think people see the short track timings and just avoid this show, but they shouldn't. This show only scores a 3.5 on the .net star scale, but if it took place 19 years later it would be like a 4.5.

This show Starts out on Fire! With a rockin Moma Dance(4.5) and with a 19 min Bathtub Gin(4.5) that the band jams hard....followed by unique PYITE. The start of PYITE(4.5) is different and worth a listen but during the middle of the song Trey flubs the lyrics but the beginning of the song makes up for it. Rockin Beauty of my Dreams(4.0) then a surprise Frankenstein(4.0). Then an average Guyute(3.5) and Antelope(3.5) round out the 1st set: a 4.2/5.0

2nd Set: WILSON!(5.0) what a version. One of the best Ive ever heard! Followed by an Average Birds, Dirt>Piper(3.5). Sleeping Monkey Was a dedication, Betty” (whom Trey had apparently met in a bar the night before) from Chile. Sleeping Monkey was her favorite song, so Trey dedicated it to her and she danced while the band played Trey chants Ole Ole Ole in the beginning talks about attending the Brazil/Spain world cup game the day before...then the crowd proceeds to chant Ole Ole Ole. Overall above average version (4.2) Solid Ghost(4.0) average JBG(3.5) by Phish standards any other band it would have been rockin! 2nd set overall was strong but short I would give it High 3.9 to around 4.0 a tad above average.

E: Julius(4.2) fans chant Ole Ole Ole before the Encore

Show: 3.9/4.0

Highlights: Moma Dance, Gin, PYITE and Wilson,

Sweet Meat-jam snd chk. Good Gin(and hash for that matter.) Next 2 nights were better IMO

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

The show kicks off with a smooth Moma Dance, which is welcome given that the previous versions of the tour had been a bit sloppy in places. It seems that the band finally is feeling comfortable with the song and delivers a great version, and that feels like a good place to start. Not messing around, they follow up with an excellent Gin. This one goes on in Gin-ish fashion for a bit with nice rock peaks and valleys. At around 12 minutes it breaks into s sprightly sequence with a jubilant vibe until around the 14 and a half minute mark where it quiets down and gently drifts into another dreamy Europe '98 ambient groove. Overall it's a very fun and different Gin jam and maybe one of the best performances of this European run so far (and that is saying something after the second night in Prague). The band attempts to follow up in strong fashion with Punch You in the Eye; this one has a drawn out intro that at one point dims down to near silence before building up again. Trey unfortunately loses this one in the second verse both lyrically and musically... not sure what was happening here. The rest of the first set is Perfectly Fine Phish with decent songs and a nice close out with Run Like an Antelope.

Set 2 kicks off with an excellent version of Wilson, one of those with a long, heavy metal breakdown in the middle (this one with some extra bite). They follow this with a nice but standard Birds of a Feather and Dirt, then ease into Piper. Unfortunately, this one comes nowhere near touching the version from the previous show. Sleeping Monkey is dedicated to a Chilean fan who really wanted to hear it. This second set Ghost comes to an almost complete stop at one point during the end of the verses... while it's planned the band almost loses the song when they come back into it. This version is mostly standard but moves into a bluesy rock jam towards the end... would have made for a nice segue into My Soul but instead the band slams into Johnny B. Goode to close it out. The Julius encore also feels a bit sloppy at times. This show certainly didn't end as strong as it started...

This one unfortunately felt like a bit of a snoozer, but it was in the unenviable position of being night one of a three night stand immediately after an all time great Night 2 in Prague. The band couldn't give a lot away during this show... I'm certainly hoping the other two nights are better. That being said, this is a fantastic Gin and feels very unique, positioned here with one of the great ambient jams that seem to be the hallmark of this European tour. The first half of Set 1 is available in SBD so this Bathtub Gin is very much worth your time if you want to listen to some highlights from '98 (might as well listen to the Moma opener too which is quite good).

PHISH, WEDNESDAY 07/08/1998
ZELESTE
Barcelona, Spain
Soundcheck: Meat

SET 1:

The Moma Dance: This one definitely has some extra mustard. Cool little theme that starts around the ten minute mark and goes for close to a minute. Nice! Would recommend.

Bathtub Gin: The timing in the intro is all goofy, intentionally I imagine. Hits the jam segment at 7:45. Trey is peppering us starting in the early 9’s – impressive – machine gun Trey type stuff. In the mid tens you can tell they are searching on how/where to plant their flag next. Everyone seems intent on finding that direction but uncertain on how to do so. By 12:00 they have more or less landed on the way forward. This last just for two minutes though – it is solid but nothing worth doing cartwheels over. The next 4 minutes are sparse and ambient. Would recommend for a listen or two. Very good, but not great. Still, the Moma/Gin one two punch to start the show is extremely promising and looks like they might be able to sustain the momentum from that epic 7.6 Prague show!

Punch You in the Eye: Blazing fast out of the gate. This one has a gap in Trey’s strumming from about 2:15 to 3:00. Would love to know what was going down on stage during this time. I cannot find a video. Trey forgets the following lyrics in the second verse: “But the sea was eager to beat me back - And the waves grew huge and deadly black - And the gray clouds rumbled over my head.” So, at this point in the tour – sloppy is becoming a consistent theme. The fan radar is ON. His playing up to the dance is very poor, tons of flubs.

Beauty of My Dreams: Standard. Tons of space and laughter in between the end of this and Frankenstein.

Frankenstein: Pretty interesting placement to say the least.

Guyute: The beginning to Trey’s ending solo is slightly gaffed.

Run Like an Antelope: Hot ‘lope!!! Awesome set closer.

SET 2:

Wilson: Absolutely sick as hell – some slop but honestly who cares? This energy is off the charts, and they give it a ton of extra mustard. Monster metal version. Super nasty and what a way to hit the fan base in the mouth coming out of the break! Highly recommended!>

Birds of a Feather: Bit of an odd duck here. Instead of exploding into the jam like they typically do, this one sits way back in the cut as Trey plays around with some loops and things are very quiet for a good 90 seconds. Eventually it finds it’s way into a normal BOAF jam.

Dirt: Beautiful! >

Piper: As standard as they can be.

Sleeping Monkey[1] -- Good old Beatriz from Chile.

Ghost: About a 2.5 minute ambient stretch in the beginning of this one. Otherwise a short and standard version. At 10:37 with 0:30 to go in this one Fish starts playing Johnny B. Goode which sets up a nice segue ->

Johnny B. Goode: Standard.

ENCORE:

Julius: Sloppy at 2:40. Otherwise, run of the mill version.

Summary: Outside of Wilson, nothing here will likely stand out and grab you too much. I would rate it a 3.5/5, very average show. The current rating on Phish.net = 3.697/5 (66 ratings).

Replay Value: The Moma Dance, Bathtub Gin, Wilson

[1] ¡Olé Olé Olé! chant from Trey.

Frankenstein was preceded by a Frankie Says tease by Fish. After the Frankenstein, Trey said the band had been waiting and waiting to play some Edgar Winter in Spain and that this was their chance, adding that they planned on playing a lot more Edgar Winter as the night went on. The band subsequently teased Edgar Winter's Free Ride. Sleeping Monkey included ¡Olé Olé Olé! chants from Trey and a stage appearance by Beatriz (whom Trey had met in a bar the night before) from Chile. Sleeping Monkey was her favorite song, so Trey dedicated it to her, and she danced while the band played. This three-show run in Barcelona was originally scheduled for Bikini Club in Barcelona but was moved to Zeleste when ticket demand greatly exceeded supply for the original venue.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 3.697/5 (66 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
The Moma Dance, Bathtub Gin, Wilson
TEASES
Olé, Olé, Olé quote in Sleeping