PHISH, SATURDAY 04/04/1998
PROVIDENCE CIVIC CENTER
Providence, RI
Soundcheck: Jam, Shafty, Roggae

SET 1:

Tweezer: Lots of patient funk in the early going on this one, dominated and led by Mike. There is a bit of stop/start action in the last minute. This a strong way to open the show but in terms of what came before it the year before, it doesn’t come close to matching up. It is highly rated jamcharts version. But I think if you listen carefully and in comparison to what came before it in the recent past and what was to come in the near future (Copenhagen, Barcelona, Alpine) you will agree that this Providence version is nowhere near what should be considered a highly rated version. This one is good and sets a nice tone to open the show but outside of that it’s overrated by what I am seeing on Phish.net. This segues into Taste. >

Taste: Solid yet unspectacular. Nonetheless, this is a good follow up to Tweezer. Really good start to this show.

Bouncing Around the Room: Standard.

Funky Bitch: Standard.

Ginseng Sullivan: Standard.

Limb By Limb: Standard.

Lawn Boy: Page seems to chuckle upon this one starting up, perhaps taken aback on how excited the crowd was in hearing this one start up.

Character Zero: Standard.

SET 2:

Birds of a Feather: Great start to this jam – it’s super groove oriented – 4 headed beast, all parts being equal. Nice loops help cement the background and this stays in the same consistent pocket for a long time, all the way through about 11 and a half! This is a head bopping good time. It essentially takes a beat or to at this point to take a breather but then the band basically starts up a similar groove that is just as groovy and they ride that for another two minutes. At 13:28 the ending coda is coming into play. The second time they played this song, and this version goes down into the history books as one of the best ever, easy all timer and highly recommend. This segues into 2001. >

Also Sprach Zarathustra[1] - Amazing ambient space to open this one up. They give it a ton of room to breathe. You can hear that Die Die Die effect come into play at the 2:33 mark on the Live Phish recording. I believe this was the first time for that. The first and only climax starts at about 12:30.15:32 sees the same effect that was prominent in the latter stages of that epic Twist from Nassau – I guess it’s not so much an effect as it is a vocalization. This version of 2001 is awesome, and many consider it to be the best ever played. Highly recommended and easy all timer. >

Brother[2] - Unbelievable version, they jam it way, way out there! Easily the most jammed of any played. This gets very, very heavy and psychedelic in the 7 through 10 minute range. That had to be a white knuckle ride for many in attendance that night, WOW! Highly recommended and the best Brother ever.

Ghost: Little surprised that this version doesn’t get a bit more love. Workmanlike in nature, solid body of work. But at the 12 minute mark, this sucker gets into HOSE type of territory. Trey is killing it! Up, up, and up. This goes on for over two full minutes! Really great stuff. Then they get to the comedy relief with the I Can’t Turn You Loose stuff, guess they didn’t get enough of that back in Philly 6 months ago. From there things are fast, loose and bordering on rudderless until Trey guides them into Lizards, cool segue! ->

The Lizards: Good stuff, love this placement.

David Bowie: Wish I had to say more about this one but it’s pretty standard issue. Some issues with the second to last trill. Pretty solid climax after that though! Good cap to an epic set.

ENCORE:

Harry Hood: Good body of no work but no true climax to speak of unfortunately.

Summary: As solid as the first set started, after the first two songs in really got average from there. No replay value from where I am sitting and listening and as such the weakest set of the run. But that second set is a total barnburner. Amazing Phish!

Replay Value: Birds of a Feather, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Brother, Ghost

[1] Unfinished.
[2] With short instrumental reprise.

In a nod to the previous show, Trey said "Carini's gonna get you" in Lawn Boy. 2001 contained a Long Train Runnin' tease from Trey and was unfinished. Brother included a brief Dave’s Energy Guide tease and was followed by a short instrumental reprise, which was announced as the “radio-friendly version.” Trey contrasted this with the normal version, which was deemed un-radio-friendly due to its length. Ghost, which Trey jokingly remarked was also not radio-friendly because it is long and slow, included an I Can’t Turn You Loose tease. This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 4.606/5 (464 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Tweezer, Taste, Birds of a Feather, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Brother
TEASES
Dave's Energy Guide tease in Brother, Long Train Runnin' tease in Also Sprach Zarathustra, I Can't Turn You Loose tease in Ghost