R2/W06: 10-15-1998 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA

[rowjimmy]

I've tried to bag my previous recollections on this but... well, I'm feeling the brevity thing:

Set I:
1.Ghost  - This Ghost pretty cool. Not epic by any means.
2.Water in the Sky - Cute. I like the song but... I'm ambivalent.
3.Wolfman's Brother - Funky longish but it doesn't really go anywhere.
4.Gumbo - Pretty cool. Stretched out but not too much. Quality, funky jam.
5.David Bowie - Rockin' and concise
6.Brian and Robert- Cute but a snooze @ a show. Probably cool in the small venue, though.
7.Reba - I dug this.
8.Character Zero - ordinary.


I think the Gumbo / Bowie section is the heat. The rest I can take or leave.

[pnchundi]

the etree link is not working right now- it shows zero availability.  Does it need a little boost?

Unfortunately from the reviews it doesnt sound that good. You would think for a stealth show they would bring the heat. 

[Caravan2001]

ghost- like the high-pitch vocals, nice jam, energy.  Normally, like last week's show, I don't care for Ghost as a 1st set opener, or from a dead stop, but it works for me here.  I'm digging the room ambience/sound on this source too.....

water- good version of a decent song.  Not Miami 03 by any means, but decent

wolfman's- nice and loose.  nice work by mike, like when they break it down @ 9:30...smooth stuff

Gumbo- nice effort...not an all time great, but very well done..

Bowie: Super solid...ok intro and composed section, but the jam picks up some serious steam....they're cooking now  but they pull the reigns back hard and drop into:

Brian and Robert:  Worth it for the funny intro banter, but otherwise forgettable.  I would have liked The Wedge or Tube better in this slot......I mean Gumbo-Bowie->Tube?  That's obscene, instead it's meh.....

Reba: Ok, time to wake up again.  Fairly tight composed section.  Nice drums and cymbal/hi-hat  work by Fish.  Nice jam,  Page has  some nice fills.  I really like the sound he gets on this one.  Love the way it really leaves the reba jam at 14:40 and just gets real slow and twisted at about 15:00....very cool.  Thankfully, we don't have to listen to the Reba reprise for the millionth time, which leads us to

Character Zero:  I like this as a first set closer....the verses are a little rough around the edges, but this song doesn't really need to be technically precise, and it's all about the jam anyway.   The jam is pretty solid....not earth shattering, but  it's good.  I've heard better and I've heard worse.....

This is a very solid first set, with the highlights for me being everything except for Brian and Robert.  I'm tempted  to give it a B+, but I'm going strong B....looking forward to the second set...... thanks for picking a show I've never heard!

[pnchundi]

i have not given up on this show, but i still havent dl'd it. my pull from etree was supa slow.  once i finally get the full thing, I will post a review.  (I actually got a different show from 92 while this one was at 27%)

[sophist]

Set I:
Ghost- nice way to open the show, I really dig the jam. 
Water in the Sky- standard version, but a fun song in my opinion. 
Wolfman's Brother- funky and aimless at times.  I got a little bored while listening to it. 
Gumbo- nice little funk jam, good version imo. 
David Bowie-  meh, I can do without this version. 
Brian and Robert- standard version. 
Reba- great Reba, nice jam segment, with great work by Page and Trey. 
Character Zero- a rocker and a decent way to end the set

Set I gets a solid B imo. 


Set II:
My Soul- didn't do it for me, I was bored with this opener.
Chalkdust Torture- Another rocker and standard version. 
Roggae- meh, standard version and bad placement of song imo. 
The Moma Dance- funky, but nothing epic or worth analyzing. 
Wading in the Velvet Sea- nice placement, and good vocals
Prince Caspian- kind of adds to the slow pace of the set, but again nothing special in this version. 
Frankie Says- meh. 
Birds of a Feather- Finally! Some shred in the set, nice version, and playing by Trey. 
Lawn Boy- Page shines and the vocals sound great. 
Harry Hood- Nice placement, but its a standard Hood. 

Encore:
Dirt- I always love this song, its a nice version. 
Limb by Limb- eh, kind of good, but not great. 

Set II and encore get a C+.  Overall I give this show a C+/B- grade.  It has some great moments, but at the same time you have to wait to get to those moments.  Will, thanks for turning me on to a new show. 

[rowjimmy]

So I listened to set two of this twice and I couldn't pay enough attention to take notes.
Thats pretty telling... honestly.
BOAF was ok. Hood wasn't bad.

I like the encore, though. LimbxLimb doesn't really get to where it oughta go, though.

meh.

[birdman]

  Little late, but here it is.

I would've been stoked to see the band in such a small venue this late in their career. Sadly, the music just doesn't do the setting justice.

Ghost- nice opener, great energy. Usually a good sign for things to come

Water in the Sky- Pretty

Wolfmans- Jam starts off strong and funky but goes out with a whimper

Gumbo- Probably the highlight of the set for me. A above average version.

Bowie- Nice first set placement, nice first set version. Sure the Fillmore was rocking.

B+R- Nice in this intimate setting

Reba- Highly enjoyable version. Goes places few Reba's have been to. Standout version.

0- Never cared for the song, but works as a high energy closer.

II

My Soul- yEch. Hate this song...even more so as an opener.

Chalkdust- This would have been a better opener. Standard but rocking

Roggae- Like the song, but slows down the pacee too much in this slot.

Moma- Funky and tight. Again probably had the Fillmore rocking

Wading- Again, nice tune. But the set is too back and forth, building little momentum

Caspian- This song is a verified set killer most of the time

Frankie- Snooze

Birds- A little to late to save the set. Nice, rocking version though.

Lawn Boy- Page sang

Hood- Always love a Hood. Sandard. Doesn't do much to salvage the set

Dirt, Limb- Nice encore. Sure it sounded great in the venue.


Perhaps this was one of those shows you had to be there at to really enjoy. I'm sure I wont listen again for a long time. First set moved along nicely but set two just offers nothing in the long term. Maybe the intimacy and acoustics of the venue had something to do with the 2nd set song selection, but it didn't hold up to my high expectations.
Gonna give this one a solid C. Average Phish

[Caravan2001]

My Soul: Decent....I like it in the opening slot....not a total burner  of a version, but good warmup

Chalkdust-  Great jam...Trey is ripping it on this one

Roggae:  zzzz....good first set song, snoozer second set track IMO..pretty song but.....

Moma: decent early version...kinda slow...just when the jam starts to rip though, they cut it short...that changes with time.....

Velveeta Cheeze- I like the words to this, and have learned to appreciate it more than when I was seeing shows.  Hated it then....This is a decent version I guess , but I'd rather hear Frankenstein in this spot....

Caspian:  another slow song, but this one picks up for the jam to some degree

Frankie Sez-  alright, I am really looking for something to get me moving at this point

Birds:  Finally something with a tempo.....still, not  brain smashing, which is what I'm after....

Lawn Boy- another standard tune, but one I always like to hear, no doubt.  But, it doesn't make me dance....

Hood-  always a a good closer, this one is aww-ite...

Encore:  Dirt->Limb By Limb-  nice pairing, and I like it in this slot.....not typical encore fare, so that's a plus with me...

All in all, I would have love to have seen this show due to the historical context of the venue, but the song selection for set two is sorely lacking.....Overall I give this show a B-...nice first set, kinda weak second set...Nice pick though, cause I've never heard this.  Thanks

[susep]

15Oct.98

I.

Ghost - 12 days prior to the release of SOTG, ok version, nothing to write home about.

Water - more SOTG, nice version.

Wolfman's - jam begins with an almost Magilla feel although obviously a funk jam, preety laid back groove, Trey chording nicely, Page preety quiet considering, now kicking in a little bit.  Trey switches positions on the 'doc which brings out more dynamics into loop, Fish insistent on his ride, mixing it up.  Mike is fairly low key in the mix, crowd digging it, preety chill version, fairly linear and straight.

Gumbo - more platforms of funk, great tune, one of my favs being the ALO version with CCH(Trey's outro solo in that one is d-o-p-e), nice outro soloing by Trey here, into slight funkifried riffage but with bursting expressions, ice picking Trey(I do think of the GD because of the history of the venue, like on some level Phish is paying tribute through their performance).  Jam mellows into a nice little groove with Page adding some nice tones, jam has a little more motion then previous Wolfman's, everyone's playing with a little more flair this time around.  Jam outros in an ambient space...

Bowie - nice placement imo, more experimentation albeit subtle, nice Page here, Fish bringing it in from behind, everyone responds, Mike sounding more noticeable.  Slight synopocation back into linear DB jamming, Trey foreshadowing his Phil and Phriends HOTWay solo.  More synop, lots of energy here but nothing mind-blowing per se, '94 Trey ascending peak intro pre-trill, tight outro. 

Brian and Robert - nice version.

Reba - nice choice, more color for the psychadelic Ballroom.  Lots of auidence chatting, maybe more then what you might hear on the East Coast or elsewhere.  Nice jamming, again Page's shimmering lines sticking out along with his subtle chording and fills.  Slight Bowie feel from Trey, Trey paying homage to his psychadelic guitar influences and heros:  Hendrix, Garcia et al.  Certainly the venue is bringing out a different kind of Phish on this particular evening.  Textbook jamming, intense and compassionate, Trey definitely feeling it.  Nice jam evolving out of what should have been the peak, into another nice shift.  This is the '98 sound:  spacey ambient mini-grooves coupled with continued improvisation as compared to the preceeding heavily laden cow funk.  Excellent jam.

Zero - great way to end the set.

II.

Soul - more 60's themes although the author was/is a contemporary.

Chalk Dust - more high energy.

Roggae - a little bit of a lull but this did serve as a SOTG release party. 

Moma Dance - great tune in any set, sweet Mike.  Classic '98 Trey tone, reminds of Island Tour.  Nice version.

Velvet - see Roggae

Caspian - chordal begining, decent jam here, Trey feeling it. 

Frankie Says - like B and R I dig these two mellower cuts from SOTG(hear the 6Nov.98 version).

Birds - ok placement but think it did much better as a set opener ala July '99.

Lawn Boy - by now you know this show is over at least in the sense of getting any experimental jamming or do you?

Hood - jam opening more psychadelia, nice tonal sustain by Trey.  Nice mellow begining, slight "Ring of Fire" tribute, interesting how Trey is changing the dynamic of the jam away from the standard Hood platform, nice ascending intro jam into standard Hood jamming, Fish playing rythyms that remind me of the 3Dec.99 version(another trippy, ambient jam).  Solid version.


E:

Dirt - didn't make the SOTG cut appearing on the next LP, good version.

Limb - jam begins in earnest at 3:45, nice energy early on, touching on the nights previous synops, slight modulation, nice playing by all here, Fish mixing it up well on the cymbals.  Trey beginning to incindiate, great version, possibly top 5 alltime.

Overall I like this show, after reading some prior reviews I was uncertain how I would like listening.  Set I owns set II big time but the Hood and Limb help make-up.  My highlights include Wolfman's - Gumbo -Bowie trio,  Reba, Moma, Hood and Limb.  I give this show a solid B+.

MVP: close between Fish, Trey and Page, maybe all three.

[khalpin]

^^^  "MVP"....That's a good idea.  I'll start doing that, too. +k