Even now, just days away from this show's 13th anniversary, I can vividly recall the terrific Reba jam -- and then watching sun slip down behind the top ridge of the Columbia River gorge as they desperately held on to the last few moments of Reba...watching the shadow climb up the lawn...and then carefully slipping into Fast Enough for you as the last direct rays of sunlight fell on the top of the lawn.

It was Fast Enough's only appearance in 1998, and it was truly an unforgettable moment.

This is a good show, maybe not as good as the next night, but a good show nonetheless. Page does his thing in Squirming Coil and NICU. Stash is good. The jam is Reba is unusual as there really is no peak and the jam just dies out and FEFY starts up. That's not to say it's a bad version, just different. It's really laid back and Trey plays with the wah effect a lot while the band grooves along. FEFY transitions to When the Circus Comes well. The Antelope set closer is very nice. Mike, Page, and Trey take solos in the Rye Rye Rocco section.
Set 2 opens with an above average Julius which is longer than usual. The follwoing Moma Dance is really good and really funky, as you would expect from a 98 version. Moma Dance also peaks very nicely. Piper doesn't really have a jam, just the long intro, lyrics, and closing coda. I was hoping for this one to be jammed out a la 7/6/98, but it wasn't in the cards. Axilla makes a mid set appearance with the Axilla II style spacey ending, which segues into Bowie. Bowie itself has a long spacey intro and the jam slowly gains intensity and features some nice full-band interplay. Tube comes next, and it's a great version. The jam is initially ambient, but quickly turns into an all-out funk jam. if you're a Tube fan, definitely check this one out. Slave, as always, makes a great closer. Sample in a Jar in the encore slot may leave something to be desired, but it doesn't detract from the quality of the rest of the show.
Highlights of this show- Stash, Reba, Antelope, Moma Dance, Bowie, Tube>Slave.

Like @markah, I was also at this show and I will also always remember that moment in Reba as the sun was setting behind the band over the stunning Columbia river gorge that serves as the backdrop to this storied venue. My mind was completely blown as I realized that THEY WERE JAMMING TO THE SUNSET. One previous review states how the Reba jam kind of fizzles out and goes into FEFY, but it definitely did not "fizzle". The song ended as the daylight did. It was a simply perfect moment and the FEFY that followed was so well placed, so well timed, and so well played, it changed me.

As a side note, this run of shows really did completely change my life, but that is a story for another time.

This is one of my favorite live version of Fast Enough For You. It is played so delicately and patiently it truly lives up to all that the song has to offer in terms of its quiet introspection. Trey and Page's vocal harmonies are top notch. And when Trey's solo begins at 4:00, you can tell it's going to be a special one. His guitar tone is perfect, seems like he can hold any note for as long as he wants. Pure bliss when the guitar solo peaks as the vocals chime back in at 6:45 and then everything quietly dies down into a melodic puddle, which segues beautifully into When the Circus Comes to Town.

Perhaps the most overshadowed Phish show ever. The night before is among the initial LivePhish releases and the next night is a top 10 all-time show. But there is so much to love about this show. Stash through Antelope in the first set is just about as perfect as can be. Reba, in particular, is a stand out version and the "suite" of Reba > FEFY > Circus is just beautiful. The second set features above average versions of Julius (oddly opening the set) and Moma as well as an extremely strong 4th quarter with a 20 minute Bowie, followed by a super-funky Tube > Slave. Several great jams + great setlist and flow makes this one a winner!

4.4 / 5 Solid A Phish.

We already know that night two was one of the greatest shows of all times.

But this, the first night...tour started one show earlier in Portland. 8 songs of story of the ghost. Calif love tweezer. Making it also an alltimer.

Well this night, was one of my own alltime favs as well.
Starting off with coil. Page outro to start the night....best REBA I ever heard at the time. And perhaps since. NICU WAS MIGHTY. and then two personal and gut wrenching ballers before a full fledged face melting Antelope.

This first set is like Boise 99 first set. Except a year prior. Perfect, is what I’ll call it.
It is all there.
Second was an alltimer tooo. Julius is strong. Bowie was one of the best Bowie’s ever. And when the hot spot is Tube you know you are in trouble.
Moma second is massive.

This is a must listen to show.
Making Gorge 98 the best two night stand in the history of that place.

I started listening to Phish in 2013, when jam charts still had red highlights for “essential versions.” It didn’t take long to find the 7/17 2001 on the chart. I have been waiting almost 10 years now to hear a quality recording of that show, and the Gorge 98 box set answered my prayers. However, I completely overlooked this show and it is fantastic. There are so many great versions of phish classics in the first set including Squirming Coil, Stash, Reba and Antelope. They all feature a nice blend of melodic jamming with Trey really pushing the peaks of Stash and Antelope off the edge of the gorge. Antelope has extremely fun and musically great beginning and closing segments as well, which was a nice surprise.

The second set doesn’t stand out to me on paper but I really enjoy every song. Especially the Moma Dance and an underrated David Bowie that goes from laid back grooving to full on rock out and should be mentioned on the jam charts. I’m a sucker for a late 90s Tube>Slave combo and this one delivers. The sound check is also a really nice and fun laid back groove that is worth checking out multiple times. If I could get specific with the rating, I would give this show a 4.4/5. The CD box set was definitely worth the purchase and I can’t wait to download some HD digital files whenever they are finally released.

I really like the setlist for this show, and everything is well played. The Squirming Coil is relatively rare to open a show, and it's a great version. NICU following feels to me kind of like starting the over again, not because of any malfunctions during Coil, but just because it's in such stark contrast to the bona fide opener. Reba is a very nice version which other reviews explain was somewhat choreographed/synchronised to the sunset > Fast Enough for You > When the Circus Comes for a nice, mellow sequence before the set closes with Run Like an Antelope, which has some playful little experimentations in the first segment of the song (a trend which would re-emerge during the first few minutes of The Moma Dance, in Set II.) I think this is probably my favorite late-1.0 Antelope behind 12/30/99. Julius to open Set II is Jamcharted, but I don't hear what's so special about it above and beyond regular Julius territory... The Moma Dance, as I said, though, feels funkily loose in that Mike switches up his bassline during the intro a bit. It's probably the version of Moma truest to its derivation from Black-Eyed Katy that I've ever heard, in that respect. David Bowie has a lengthy introduction but/and peaks pretty hard, Tube is an above-average version, and you get a pleasant Slave to the Traffic Light to wrap it up, followed by a friendly Sample in a Jar encore. Maybe it's to do with the well-equalised recording available on phish.in' for this show, but I don't hesitate to give it 4-out-of-5 stars.

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

The band continues their west coast run with night one at the Gorge. I don't know, maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the excellent sound on the Gorge box set release, or maybe the band was really into the venue's setting, but the band seems to come out with some amazing energy on the Squirming Coil opener. They sound strong and bright throughout the song and it bleeds through on the release. The entire first set seems to carry that energy through. The Stash stays type one but still delivers strong tension via Trey and Page and release via Fish and Trey. This Reba is like day to the Europe version's night; where that one was a trainwreck this is nearly flawless and features a spectacular jam that drifts into a great Fast Enough For You. I didn't even mind hearing When the Circus Comes after that, and then the band delivers it's typical frenetic fury to the Antelope closer. This set is well over an hour but seemed to pass in a heartbeat, and I don't mean that in a bad way. The band was not afraid to be patient and intentional here, and listening to it made me lose my sense of time. This show certainly pulls you in.

Things continue in the same vein with the set 2 opening Julius; the band stretches this thing out as if they have all the time in the world to explore. That makes the Moma Dance that follows all the more surprising; this is the best version of the song yet, ripping with energy and packing a powerful punch at the finish. Piper is jam-less (which still feels mystifying after the Prague version) and Axilla is standard, but at the end drifts off into some ambience, which flows nicely into a haunting Bowie intro. It's crazy that a Bowie like this that doesn't even make it into the jam charts still sounds so damn good, a testament to what a beast of a vehicle this song was for the band during the 1.0 era.

What gets me about this show is how patient the band is, how they carefully explore every corner of the jam in each performance. The Tube is the perfect example of this, the band jumps from theme to theme here but never rushes and gives each one space to breathe. Again, your sense of time gets lost as you ask yourself how they could possibly have covered so much ground in just under 10 minutes. Slave feels like the perfect choice to close out, as this song has always been at it's best when delivered with a patient build (which it does here). The Sample encore is fine but unnecessary; this show has already delivered.

Words like "overshadowed" and "underrated" are used for the reviews on this show, and I'd have to agree. Of the shows in this run I've been listening to, I'd say this is close to the best so far (I'd put just Prague 2 ahead of it really). I imagine the patient, spacious grooves of this show were perfect given their surroundings, and the band and the fans were rewarded by it (particularly in the Reba and Tube) but the band wasn't afraid to show it's rock firecracker energy as well on songs like Antelope and Moma Dance. Just a fantastic setlist too... this one is well worth your time.

I agree wholeheartedly with @capricornholio.

Reba (unfinished) > FEFY > Circus isn’t the most appealing looking sequence, but 1) it really does work/flow, and 2) it was probably sublime in person. Now, if you were to present me with that sequence, I would probably demand that it be followed by a set closing Antelope just to make sure we’re all on the same page heading into Set 2. And sure enough, we get a wonderful set closing Antelope (it’s right and proper place).

Set 2 works well for me all the way through, but the Bowie, Tube, Slave is 45 minutes of Summer ‘98 Phish that I listen to a lot. I knew and revered the Tube from a Live Bait, but with the addition of the Bowie via the Gorge release, I feel confident in saying that 7/16 can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with big brother 7/17.

PHISH, THURSDAY 07/16/1998
GORGE AMPHITHEATRE
George, WA
Soundcheck: Jam -> Dog Log

SET 1:

The Squirming Coil: This has only opened a show 5 times before at the following dates: 6/5/1990, 10/13/1990, 6/16/1997, 7/16/1998, 8/10/2010. This version is solid and a super cool way to kick off the two night run.

NICU: Standard.

Stash: Ripping Stash! Has one initial peak that has the crowd frothing at the mouth and then a second peak that is fantastic as well. Very well executed and lot’s of bang for your buck in the three hole of the first set, we are rolling now!

Reba[1] - Whoa, another big hitter to follow up the previous big hitter! When the jam hits and Trey is playing that coy, quiet pornofunk – dude, it just doesn’t get much more chill than this. Absolutely fantastic, it’s giving me goosebumps listening to this now. There is no big climax in this one, instead they sort of back up into that funky theme that Trey had created when the jam kicked off. Very unique version which I would recommend, and it segues quietly into FEFY! >

Fast Enough for You: Typically great. >

When the Circus Comes: Probably could have used something more upbeat here. Two ballads in a row?

Run Like an Antelope: Page has some cool, low key effects in the intro. Trey gets twangy with a pedal steel effect in the intro too. Other than that, seems like a standard Antelope to me.

SET 2:

Julius: Fairly typical Julius. Perhaps this jam starts mellower than normal and has a nice gradual build to it but outside of that is seems standard to me.

The Moma Dance: Definitely has a nice peak but don’t they all? This seems like a run of the mill version to me. >

Piper: Standard.

Axilla[2] - Standard other than the ending. >

David Bowie: Stays like a half a beat or something slower than your normal Bowie and doesn’t shift to normal until 14:27, very cool! This then leads into the climax, 4 and a half minutes of a thrilling ride. Really strong Bowie would recommend!

Tube: Super rare placement after Bowie – matter of fact this is the only time that they played Tube after Bowie, pretty cool stat! Page lays it on thick while Trey perfectly complements him. Master class in how this tune should be played. Trey then goes on to hit a bunch of loops, while Trey is doing the loop thing Page implements some heavy effects. Once the jam gets turned over to Trey, things seriously get funky, pornofunk strumming to the max. Couldn’t imagine how fun this must have been getting down to this live and this cosmic venue. Killer stop start action in the late 5’s. Fishman is a golden God. Not long after Mike gets a chance to shine in his own spotlight and he throws it down. Awesome Tube, highly recommended! Trey stumbles badly with the outro lyrics. >

Slave to the Traffic Light: Love the heavy synth effect in the intro, nicely placed! Like Bowie, this seems to be played at a slightly slower pace than normal. I really want to love this version as the build up to the finale is so good, but there just isn’t anything of note in the climax out of the ordinary unfortunately. Still, tough to beat this tune to finish the set on the first night of a two night run at the Gorge knowing there is so much more to come.

ENCORE:

Sample in a Jar: Standard.

Summary: Not trying to be a hater, but this show is a bit overrated. Tough to say that as if you were to purely judge this show on paper and the venue, you would think otherwise. While there are certainly highlights, there is nothing here for me that truly gives me that wow factor. As such I would rate it as a 4/5, a good bit lower than the current rating on Phish.net of 4.313/5 (179 ratings).

Replay Value: Stash, Reba, David Bowie, Tube

[1] No whistling.
[2] Contained Axilla II ending.

Trey teased Lazy in Julius. Reba did not have the whistling ending. Axilla featured the Axilla II ending. Trey teased Oye Como Va in the soundcheck's jam. This show was released as part of The Gorge '98 box set.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 4.313/5 (179 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Reba, David Bowie, Tube
TEASES
Lazy tease in Julius