This was a great, great show and when listening to the tapes I realize how great that first set really was. Trey's solo in the outro of DWD is one of my all-time favorites. Absolutely shredding. I recently heard that South Park Meadows was torn down. It was a great venue; huge open grass field with a rolling hill near the back. The stage was kind of set in a grass bowl. Huge glostick war during the Hood encore.

Listen to this show for the great Ya Mar in the first set. The traditional improvisation grows into an ambient and then funky jam. Wilson in the second set is also a bit different. Its jam is longer and more rocking than usual.

This show was the lowest rated show from summer '98 on phish.net with a score of 3.58. Now that I have given it 4 stars, it is tied for lowest with 07.26, each of which have a score of 3.62.

All that said, this show still rocks. It really speaks to the quality of this tour if one of the (generally considered) worst shows is still a really good listen. Ya Mar is the highlight of the show for sure, but aside from that, Tweezer gets a good funk workout, Guyute is very well played, Piper has a really long and slow build in the intro, Wilson has some extra umph, and Antelope and Hood rage like usual for this era.

This is not a show to pass up.

The Ya Mar was a sunset jam. When the sun dropped the jam turned dark. A great version.

The first set is very well played...everything is a sharp version.

The second set is unfocused and weak. The next night Trey was singing "too much of everything ain't good for nobody". You can draw your own conclusion.

The dust in the lot was like a thick fog...never seen so much dust.

Decent setlist, but a mostly unexceptional show. The only major highlight is Ya Mar, which is a fantastic version that gets out there into dance/groove territory and stretches for just over 16 minutes. The Tweezer in the second set features some half-hearted Funk jamming, but nothing overly inspiring. Antelope set closer followed by a Hood encore is always welcome, but this Antelope is a complete mess. After completely bricking on the composed section, the jam section is standard and lifeless. As is the case with many 98 shows, the SOTG songs all sound great.

Really fantastic AUD recordings of this show circulate. Upfront and well balanced.

Seek this show out for the Ya Mar, but don't feel bad about skipping the rest.

2.9 / 5 B-grade Phish

PHISH, SATURDAY 07/25/1998
SOUTH PARK MEADOWS
Austin, TX

SET 1:

Roses Are Free: Awesome way to start the show! >

Down with Disease: Type I face melter, finished. Very cool. Love the placement! >

Roggae: Time for a bit of a breather with this one. >

Beauty of My Dreams: Standard. >

Ya Mar: Epic Fishman in the late 8’s and well into the 9’s on the wood blocks, and this is where this jam truly takes off. Mike is prominent in making all of this happen, interesting tone he employs in here in the 9 and 10 minute range – he doesn’t shift out of that until 11:20 and once he does that this jam transitions again. Things take on a darker, sort of ominous tone once this happens. Trey hits a big loop at 12:47, nice! Page painting in the background on the baby grand is sweet. This lasts for a good three minutes. The last minute or so Trey backs all the way out and they are trying to figure out where to go next and decided to segue into Guyute. This Ya Mar jam is sick, easy all timer and would highly recommend! >

Guyute: Standard. >

Julius: Standard.

SET 2:

Piper: Standard. >

Wilson: Definitely has some extra mustard and length! There is a piece here and there that – to me – sound like they could have easily gone into In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Would recommend this Wilson. This segues into Frankenstein. >

Frankenstein: Standard. >

Tweezer: Big ol loops to get this jam started as was the style back in the day, miss that. So chill. This one hangs out in that very mellow, funky pocket dominated by Mike for a good five minutes. Trey takes over around the ten minute and gives it a traditional ripping for about two and half minutes, maybe a little less. It eases back into that funk pocket and hangs there for 90 seconds. Neat segue into Circus. Decent Tweezer here. ->

When the Circus Comes: Standard. >

Limb By Limb: Set could have used something with more energy here. Crowd seemed pretty bored here. This is a pretty average version.

Fee: Strange placement. Standard version. >

Run Like an Antelope: Standard version although more goofing around and general space in between the climax and the Rye Rye Rocco part.

ENCORE:

Harry Hood: Pretty average version here, not much sticks out to me. The crowd seemed to enjoy the glow stick war that another reviewer noted. >

Tweezer Reprise: Standard.

Summary: This show is very average. Only two highlights that I would point to. The current rating on Phish.net just seems high to me: 3.84/5 (100 ratings). I would rate this show as a 3/5.

Replay Value: Ya Mar, Wilson

Tweezer contained a Frankenstein tease from Mike.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 3.84/5 (100 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Ya Mar, Wilson
TEASES
Frankenstein tease in Tweezer