I differ with @waxbanks here. I had a great time at this show. That might have had something to do with the fact that I got shut out (still the only time that happened to me) the previous night, after enjoying the blowout on 11/27. So maybe just being in the building was enough. The Limb->Catapult->Kung>Maze action is fine first-set fare, enough to keep things interesting anyway. Fall 98 wasn't the most consistent tour in terms of delivering across both sets, especially towards the end. And while I agree that most guest sit-ins don't usually improve the show, it was still cool to hear them do Layla.

I had hopes with the Roses set two opener that something juicy would materialize, it being only the seventh time the band had played it at that point, and with the Island tour monster still fresh in the collective memory. It wasn't to be, but they did take the Simple for a long, spacey ride. Not the most engaging jam, but they more than made up for it with the Bathtub Gin.

Let me contextualize this a bit: I remember getting into Boston early on 11/27 after a long drive from Halifax, Nova Scotia (where I was in University at the time) and staying at a friends place who had just gotten the tapes from the UIC run. He put on the 11/9 Bathtub while he played the Ocarina of Time, which had also just come out (am I dating this ok?). It was overcast, cold, and we had just scored mail order tickets to all four nights at MSG. That Gin was smoking, confirming for me that the song was still the holy jam grail at this point in the band's history. Anyway fast-forward to the end of 11/29 and they delivered another gooey, glory-gem of a Gin, and I soaked up every minute. The YEM was icing on the cake, even if the encore was kind of anti-climactic for the end of tour.