jmc

Let $x$ be the number of band members in each row for the original formation, when two are left over. Then we can write two equations from the given information: $$rx+2=m$$ $$(r-2)(x+1)=m$$ Setting these equal, we find: $$rx+2=(r-2)(x+1)=rx-2x+r-2$$ $$2=-2x+r-2$$ $$4=r-2x$$ We know that the band has less than 100 members. Based on the first equation, we must have $rx$ less than 98. We can guess and check some values of $r$ and $x$ in the last equation. If $r=18$, then $x=7$, and $rx=126$ which is too big. If $r=16$, then $x=6$, and $rx=96$, which is less than 98. Checking back in the second formation, we see that $(16-2)(6+1)=14\cdot 7=98$ as it should. This is the best we can do, so the largest number of members the band could have is $\boxed{98}$.