Enjoyed your review NickNels ... a little less cynical than I might have gone for, but honest and revealing nonetheless
These days, if I have good seats and my Phish crew there is a 90% chance I am going to enjoy the show. 5 or 6 years ago I might have been disappointed because I used to compare shows and its place in history. I was chasing bust-outs and best evers. Between Biscuits and Phish I probably ruined a few shows for myself that really weren\'t that bad.
When Phish went away I realized how lucky I was just to be going to shows in the first place (Phish or otherwise). I think at that point I really started enjoying almost every show I have gone to (muscial excellence or not).
When I went to Arizona this point really hit home. They just have a terrible music scene out there...let me rephrase that. They have some talented musicians, but not many national touring acts coming through there and 1/100 of the music I am able to see in the suburbs of New York.
It would have been really difficult for me to hate on any of these shows because I was just enjoying myself too much. So take my ratings with a grain of salt I guess...I rated them in the moment vs. comparing them to any other Phish (or any band) show.