•7/16/98 Reba ended without whistling
•7/16/98 Axilla ended with the Axilla (Part II) instrumental ending

The Gorge Amphitheatre is a natural open-air venue perched above the Columbia River Gorge with stunning views of the river and surrounding canyon. July 16 and July 17, 1998 were Phish’s third and fourth of 22 shows between 1997 and 2021 at The Gorge and each visit was a multi-night engagement. The two-night stand in ‘98 was sold out, tickets were general admission and cost $27 including camping at The Gorge’s onsite campground.
July 16th highlights included a rare The Squirming Coil show opener, Stash, the only Reba > Fast Enough For You thus far and Run Like An Antelope set I closer. Set II launched with a swinging Julius followed by The Moma Dance > Piper – the first such combination of four to-date including another at The Gorge ’99. A syrupy Tube > Slave To The Traffic Light and Sample In A Jar encore brought night one to an end as the crowd made its way back to the campground to prepare for another night under the stars.
The band returned to the stage on July 17th and opened with a summery pairing of Makisupa Policeman > Ya Mar. Gumbo hit next with a deep funky groove, and Divided Sky ushered in the sunset. Set II was a nonstop four-song sequence of 2001 > Mike’s Song > Weekapaug Groove > Character Zero – a set-long improvisational masterpiece that flowed over the crowd and out into the high desert. Past performances at this venue were impressive but this segment sealed the legend of Phish at The Gorge. From the extended, mind-melded 2001 to the double-jammed Mike’s Song and shifting Weekapaug Groove, this was absolute peak Phish. 57 minutes had expired by the time Character Zero took form to bring this groundbreaking set to a close. The Punch You In The Eye > Rocky Top encore provided a spirited epilogue to a transcendent doubleheader.
The ‘Gorge ‘98’ box set captures two idyllic nights of must-hear Phish at a breathtaking venue recorded by Paul Languedoc to multitrack, mixed by Jon Altschiller, and mastered by Fred Kevorkian. Some of the soundcheck was included at the end of the first show for a peek backstage. This collection is the band’s first archival CD release since ‘St. Louis ‘93’ (2017) and ‘The Baker's Dozen’ (2018) and is a great way to celebrate the magic of Phish at The Gorge.

The Gorge ‘98 PRODUCTION CREDITS
•recorded by Paul Languedoc
•Mixed by Jon Altschiller with Additional Engineering by Danielle Warmanz
•Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering
•Post-Production by Kevin Shapiro
•Technical Assistance by Ben Collette

The Squirming Coil (Anastasio/Herman/Marshall)

NICU (Anastasio/Marshall)

Stash (Anastasio/Marshall)

Reba (Anastasio)

Fast Enough for You (Anastasio/Marshall)

When the Circus Comes (Hidalgo/Perez)*

Run Like an Antelope (Anastasio/Pollak)

Julius (Anastasio/Marshall)

The Moma Dance (Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/Marshall/McConnell)

Piper (Anastasio/Marshall)

Axilla (Anastasio/Herman/Marshall)

David Bowie (Anastasio)

Tube (Anastasio/Fishman)

Slave to the Traffic Light (Abrahams/Anastasio/Pollak)

Sample in a Jar (Anastasio/Marshall)

Gorge '98 Soundcheck Jam (Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/McConnell)

Dog Log (Anastasio)

All songs copyright Who Is She? Music Inc (BMI) except for: *BMG Bumblebee