January 18, 2013

Phish: Star Lake 98

Phish: Star Lake 98

There is only one full pro-shot video show available in the Archives from Phish's Summer 1998 tour. On August 11 the Vermont quartet performed at the Star Lake Amphitheatre in Burgettstown, PA. Now available as the Star Lake 98 2DVD -set (an audio only version can purchased through LivePhish.com) viewers can get up close to the band who are obviously enjoying themselves.

The show at Star Lake was an exceptionally good one. It was the first time (and last) that they kicked things off with Bob Marley's Trenchtown Rock. They dug out Little Feat's Time Loves a Hero for the first time since 1988. Set II opener Runaway Jim is a monster with a big explorative jam, with a running time of 35:08, with guitar player Trey Anastasio throwing in a snippet of the West Side Story classic Maria.

Reba takes sometime to settle into a groove, with the band struggling at the start of the composed section. The Sloth sounds a bit rushed, but they make up for it with an in-your-face Ginseng Sullivan and a deep Maze. Bittersweet Motel gets the biggest cheer from the crowd, thanks to the "halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh" in the lyrics.

The trouble with archival releases using screen feed coverage is that the camera is quite often still lingering on a band member while another is taking a solo, until the director finally wakes up to find that the action has moved on.

Set 1:
  1. Trench Town Rock[1] >
  2. Julius
  3. Wolfman's Brother ->
  4. Time Loves a Hero
  5. Bittersweet Motel
  6. Reba
  7. The Sloth
  8. Ginseng Sullivan
  9. Fee
  10. Maze
  11. Sample in a Jar
Set 2:
  1. Runaway Jim[2]
  2. Meat >
  3. Limb By Limb
  4. When the Circus Comes >
  5. Down with Disease
  6. E: Wilson >
  7. Golgi Apparatus
[1] Phish debut.
[2] Maria (West Side Story) tease.

Star Lake 98 is released on JEMP Records. Buy it from Phish Dry Goods.

» phish.com

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