10-29-98 Greek Theatre

Phish Live Shows
#1

10-29-98 Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

Soundcheck: Drum Check, Slow Jazzy Jam -> Funky Bitch^, Dirt, Dirt Intro, Dirt Ending, Water in the Sky, Bluesy Jam -> Dog Log -> Jam , Roggae Intro, Roggae Section

1: Julius, Roggae, Llama, Limb by Limb*, Driver**, Sleep**, Frankie Says, Birds of a Feather, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Character Zero (1:13)

2: Possum -> Moma Dance, Reba -> Walk Away -> Simple, Albuquerque -> David Bowie (1:20)

E: Something# (0:04)

^Half speed. *After “Limb by Limb,” Trey talked about how Fish played the old ending much better than the new one (he bungled the ending the first time through), so he told Fish to play the old one. Fish then started the old ending, but stopped after to figure out where to start. He tried again, but stopped once more. Then he figured it out and started with the cymbal work and vocal refrains until the end of the song. Trey then thanked Fish, and Fish took a bow. **Trey on acoustic guitar. #First time played (Beatles cover; written by George Harrison).

#2

This show is great, especially the second set. The Possum->Moma is decent, buit the Reba->Walk Away->Simple is just epic. This Reba and the one previously played are some of the best two Reba’s from the late 90’s. There is a rocking segue out of the Reba jam into Walk Away and Trey decides to throw away trying to end Walk Away and just tears shit up until it just sort of breaks into Simple. The Simple jam is short but contains some really nice textured grooves. Albuquerque has always been a weird cover to me, but the Bowie set closer is fucking awesome. A lot of dissonance from Trey and a firey ending. Cool encore too.

#3

just a quick greeting to all those listening this week :slight_smile:

well, before picking this i knew nothing of this show… this is for obvious reasons way overshadowed by two of the most infamous Phish shows of all time.

so coming out of a two month period since a proper tour show (october 98 is filled with special one-off performances) i’m not sure what to expect but fall 98 is weird and i like weird so let’s geometrical on dis! :thumbup:

#4

After a listen where I was unable to pay full attention… This show is ALL about the Reba.

Will give a better listen tomorrow.

#5

First set is very straight forward. The only song that’s even given a chance is the McGrupp’s but that’s not much of a jam vehicle. Second set is where the action is. Playful Possum and Moma Dance open up the set and get the crowd revved up. Reba -> Walk Away -> Simple is by far the highlight of this show. Albuquerque is a nice quick breather before they drop into a great set closing Bowie. Nothing wrong with a one song cover encore either, especially when it’s a Beatles debut. Overall, nice warm-up show for the incredible 2 night stand in Las Vegas that followed. The setlist for this show never would have drawn me to listen to it but I’m glad I did for the Reba -> Walk Away -> Simple.

#6

i found the McGrupp to be quite noteworthy. first off it sounds really tightly played, which doesn’t always happen. really stunning Page solo section, drifting off into some moody weird chords and some minimal murky spaces instead of the usual melody driven approach. unique interplay between everyone, especially digging Fish adding some tension with soft crescendos. unfortunately crashing back into the ending section is a little awkward, but this is worth paying extra attention to and hearing the piano solo/jam

as for the overall first set, they keep bouncing between rocking (Julius, Llama, BOAF, Zer0) and putting more chill stuff in between (Roggae, LxL, Frankie, McGrupp). i think the opening four work well together despite the shifts in mood because Roggae and LxL are played with some high energy. they don’t go anywhere crazy but each type I jam has nice peaks… 6:15 of Roggae and somewhere after 6:00 of LxL. the middle of the set doesn’t have much meat on the bones, but the set closes very strong for me with McGrupp and Zer0.

also Trey is really talkative through the set… “the man in my little head” LOL. Fish hootin’ n hollerin during the rockers like julius, llama and Zer0. fish having to reboot the solo ending to LxL is pretty cool to me :wink:

if i were in attendance i’d definitely be happy at setbreak :slight_smile:

#7

Fun set one. A couple things that stood out to me - one was the dissonance of Llama, which I felt really suited it. It was pretty exciting. Although, I suspect Trey’s effects were the primary generator of the chaos, rather than actual chaotic deliberate wild note choices. He used that effect on ‘Saw it Again’ from teh 9/30/00 Vegas DVD too, I really like it. Maybe I’d tire of it if I heard him use it too much, a la whale call pedal.

Another thing that stood out was the tight playing in McGrupp, contrasting nicely to the 10/11/95 version I just heard recently, which wasn’t as well rehearsed. This one sounded like they’d rehearsed it up for the occasion. Until the messy re-entry at the end, that is.

Yet another thing that stood out, was the bold insistence on new material … something I enjoy about the 7/15?/98 LP17 release. In 97/98 they were really writing a lot, and it really refreshed things. It’s not their strongest stuff ever, but I really do like most of it.

Finally I noticed that it’s a pretty strong set one, playing-wise (especially Trey, who I typically expect to be somewhat compromised in varying degrees, between say, Summer 1998 and Coventry!) …

Just digging into set two.

#8

^agree with most of this

  • Llama absolutely shreds
  • Trey uses that muddy, thick guitar tone throughout the show, and Llama is the first time its noticeable
  • Trey plays lightning fast and accurate the whole night
  • 7 of 10 songs in the 1st Set are from either the Story of the Ghost or Farmhouse LPs.

:slight_smile:

#9

Nuh uh…

#10

Well, he’s close. Plenty from Hoist & Billy Breathes too, making this show very heavy on newer material.

#11

After listening to the 1st set so far I’ve come to these conclusions:

-I really wouldn’t care if I never hear another Julius… :wtf: :wave:
-Late '90’s Roggae’s are so awesome…dreamy/relaxing
-I don’t care for acoustic Trey :silent: I mean Phish…yeah…Phish :eh:
-Frankie Says is in my top 5 don’t hear it enough songs
-Mike seems to be having an off night so far…

I do love audience recordings from '97-'99…they have a certain sound that’s really warm and fuzzy which takes me back to warm and fuzzy times.

2nd set just started… :wave:

#12

sorry for the typo… 6 of 10 songs…

Roggae - SOTG
LxL - SOTG
Driver - Farmhouse (Japanese Import Version)
Sleep - Farmhouse
Frankie Says - SOTG
BOAF - SOTG

:slight_smile:

#13

sometimes i wanna feel the way you do about Julius, usually after a ho hum version, but then they’ll play a ripping version and pull me back in

when i saw them do Sleep on this tour i really liked it. here, Driver and Sleep back to back seems to be too much.

#14

I have mixed feelings on Julius too … the studio version might be my favorite track on Hoist though.

I personally dug the Driver & Sleep thing, thought it was cool of them to play so much newer material.

This Reba is really good so far … about halfway thru. The composed section was so tight … I remember feeling proud of Phish as I drove thru the village plaza last evening.

This show’s got me wondering why the mid Nov Hampton shows find the band so much sloppier than this, only a few weeks later. If I remember Hampton 98 right. Hampton Comes Alive is 11/18 & 19/1998 IIRC. Cool setlists, and amazing packaging but I’m otherwise underwhelmed by that release.

#15

Funny to hear the comments re Julius. Really enjoyed hearing it, especially as an opener. Also, I wish they’d start playing Frankie, Albuquerque again. Cool to hear those, as its been some time for me.

#16

maybe you’re onto something… at least for me, Julius is really dependent on placement. it makes a fantastic 1st set opener and closer, but that’s probably it.

although, i was going thru some Phish stats that have led me to already decide what my next LSD pick will be, because apparently i’m in need of a significant re-listen! :wink:

#17

2nd Set notes

  • Possum/Moma bring the good energy, but neither has any extraordinary moments to note

  • not a Reba for a Reba purist, but damn this thing is wild. first notice of something odd is Fish with some bonus woodblock during the “Reba dip a ladle” section. the Reba jam oscillates between sections of type I and suggestions of type II, until finally they do. trey at times is playing like millions of fast, watery bluesy notes… most often in those “type II” breakdowns… the band keeps using the type I sections to pull the jam up to its peak and then they follow Trey back to more chill and spaced out territory. the section at about 15:00 is exactly what i love about 98 phish… its crazy, murky, looping madness, and yet somehow a little creepy groove stays in there. this jam is REALLY melting down and getting acidy on dat ass in minute 16 tho. minute 18 brings in a sick jimi-esque blues on LSD jam. again trey is playing a million notes that all seem to cry and bend into each other. Fish keeps splashing his ride… dense gnarly blues man!

  • Walk Away enters with a big tempo change but the bluesy rock vibe is spot on. hardly the biggest bustout of the year following a summer when seemingly every show had a major bustout, but its pretty choice :wink: feels like the jam is about to end about 4 minutes in, as Doug noted, when they just keep hammering it and Trey wastes little time, again going to that muddy tone and shredding filthy machine gun blues. fish and mike respond with major escalations in bombing entering the 5th minute… pretty sick.

  • segue into Simple is way more creamy… the downshift in tempo is a little hasty or even unnecessary… they shoulda just played it full speed balls out. odd note: in grand rapids on 11/11 they played it
    “Simple > Walk Away” instead…

  • Something is a pretty nice treat… obviously the crowd loves it from go. and even if its not the cleanest version ever i appreciate that its not tentative… they’re really playing it with heart

i’m really glad i came upon this show… it has some serious keepers for me from it in McGrupp and Reba->Walk Away… hope everyone had an enjoyable listen this week :thumbup:

#18

Yeah, solid 2nd set

You never expect to see a Reba>Walk Away>Simple but it worked well

I like Albuquerque…I actually always joked with my friends that this was the song that was the cause of them going on the 1st hiatus. Just the way Trey would sing it, it was like he was breaking up with a girlfriend or something… :laughing:

I remember seeing them in Albany about a month later and was stoked they busted out Something…great encore tune.

I like LSD…we should do this more often. :thumbup:

#19

I wish that soundcheck was available in this recording package.

I thought Driver and Sleep worked well together there. Both being short and sweet and having that similar feel, they work well together and it was a good time to slow things down and introduce some new tunes.

The first set certainly brings back memories of the Phish of 98, with Roggae, Frankie Says, Driver, Sleep, Birds and CZ. I haven’t gotten to Albuquerque yet, another late 90s standard I don’t necessarily miss.

Possum had a nice restrained buildup.

Just getting to the big Reba section of the show, so I must focus.

#20

I love Albuquerque. It’s a highlight of the Darien '00 show, I just really dig the song I guess. Thought it was extremely well rendered here.

Reba, I thought, was amazingly well done thru the composed section. They lost me on the jam though. Not much of a jam afficianado, so there’s that. But it just sounded like, less musical than I prefer. The Reba jam is usually such a beautiful thing, but here it’s pretty ugly. I will relisten though, after reading Tanas’s take on it.

I love Simple in general, so I always welcome it. This one was strong too, so, bonus.

The second set didn’t keep my interest as well as the first set.

Funny story though: I transfered all my George Harrison vinyl to mp3 this week. Brought the CD-Rs to the car, and was gonna listen to me some George once the Phish show was over. Got the whole catalogue on mp3 across two discs, including the live stuff and b-sides I’ve got. Well, my mind must have been on other things. When “Something” began I … like … forgot that I hadn’t switched discs yet. Thought I was listening to live George, having forgotten all about the encore being a George tune. It was like, “Oh this is still Phish”, lol.