Yeah I don’t get the love for the 98 Halloween show here. I mean the velvet underground set is the best set of the night.
Let me think about this. Dream Halloween Show:
First set: 10.31.96–> So much energy in this set…Sanity…Sweet Forbing/Mockingbird (solid story), great Reba…etc.
Second Set: 10.31.98–> Best set from the covers played.
Third Set: 10.31.94–> Great energy and way to end the show.
Well I certainly agree on 2/3 of your post…
…but you think 96 has the best first set?
That “Reba” is good but it’s not as good as '94.
You should know by now nobody cares about that.
And '98 rules your faces… first, second, third. Boom!
I mean… Esther tease fer gawds sake!
I gotta say, I’m surprised at the responses so far. I had no idea there was so much love for the '98 show.
Here’s how I rank 'em:
Best First Set: The '95 show. Come on. Icculus and Harpua in the same set?? A great '95 style Free?? A fucking insane Antelope?? You guys seem to love the '98 first set, but there’s nothing Halloween-y about it. The other three first sets trump it for that reason.
Best ‘Musical Costume’: This ends up as a race between the Loaded and Remain In Light covers, because honestly the other two were well done but mostly rote. Anyway, I give the '96 performance the nod. While I like how Phish-ized the '98 one is, I think '96 strikes a perfect balance between faithful-ness and ‘taking liberties with the material.’ Once they get cooking on the first song, they never look back, and the slow segue into ‘Seen and Not Seen’ is incredible.
Best Third Set: I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the '98 third set is the best. It’s such a bizarre, experimental set…I find it endlessly fascinating and one of the most unique and bizarre things the band ever did. Truthfully I think the '94 third set is the weakest because you can almost feel the fatigue in the band. The '95 third set has that thrilling YEM and the '96 third set has some thrilling full band improv…but '98 is the most appropriately Halloween-y to me for how ‘spooky’ and out there it is.
For some reason that 10/31/96 set just really gets me pumped and energized…It’s got Halloween set written all over it…unlike any of the other sets on halloween…Sanity…Forbin/Mockingbird (mockingbird dies because this is halloween…head of david byrne or some crazy shit like that) and then close with a Highway to Hell…
I also had the tape for that first set for sooo long in my car that I new every little jam or intricacy from that set…So that could have played a factor in it.
And if we are considering the Live Phish releases… 1998 comes with an extra set from a great show 
This is true.
That aside, I still likes 1998 the bizzest.
Remain in Light wins for best costume…
'95 for my fav Phish sets.
Remain in Light gets very boring to me after once in a lifetime! In fact I got bored at times at Rosemont and skip through alot of the White album. Loaded always gets palyed from start to finish and i was not bored one bit that night during the set.
Yeah baby! Sing it!
After Once in a Lifetime? I think Houses in Motion is the best song on the record. I’m with you on the White Album and Quadrophenia. The Phish sets at Rosemont are jams, tho
^^^I kind of agree with Bigb on that one. As much as I love Remain in Light, I always skip the last 3 tracks.
Why are you the way that you are?
Honestly, every time I try to do something fun… or exciting, you make it not that way.
I hate… so much about the things that you choose to be.
wtf?
You guys and your fucking “I turn off Remain In Light after all the fun, peppy songs.” Grow a pair and enjoy the dark psycho/socio-commentary, maaaaan.
I was just clowning around Hank.
Those are lines from The Office - Michael to Toby.
Nope. Mike sitting in a chair during “The Overload” says it all. 
I agree with B - and as much as Quadrophenia was nailed musically, I’m just not a big fan of the album.
Loaded is the tits.
14 cause that is the show that got me into phish. I heard the YEM and was hooked, put in the first disc. Icculus… ok this is wierd… then the Divided Sky came on, and it happens to be the cleanest, best version they ever played in my opinion, furthered the hooked-ness. People talk down on this show cause they compare it to 10/31/1996, but if you just consider it as a show and compare it to other shows its pretty fucking sweet.
its not on halloween but i actually prefer the dark side show to all halloween shows…
Monday, November 2, 1998
E Center, West Valley, UT
Set I: Tube, Tube Jam -> Drowned -> Jesus Just Left Chicago, Driver, Bittersweet Motel, Limb by Limb, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Sample In a Jar
Set II: Down with Disease, The Mango Song, The Moma Dance, You Enjoy Myself, Harpua > Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon: Speak to Me -> Breathe > On The Run, Time > The Great Gig in the Sky, Money, Us and Them -> Any Colour You Like -> Brain Damage -> Eclipse > Harpua
Encore: Smells Like Teen Spirit
Show Notes: Driver was dedicated to Wendy and Lisa, and Bittersweet Motel was dedicated to the folks at The Dead Goat Saloon (the site of the open mic night appearance by Trey and Mike one night earlier). The Moma Dance included teases of The Rolling Stones’ Monkey Man. The Harpua narration picked up where the December 6, 1996 Harpua ended; Jimmy hitched a ride from Vegas to Salt Lake City and the driver was playing Dark Side of the Moon. All the Dark Side songs were debuts except for Great Gig (last played July 5, 1994, or 331 shows) Speak to Me (piped through the PA on Halloween, 1994) and Breathe (never played in its entirety but seriously jammed on October 25, 1995). Smells Like Teen Spirit also debuted at this show, although it was teased during Harpua on May 9, 1992.