Well first of all I think it's silly not to factor in the first sets. I understand the reasoning somewhat, but it seems to me like a more honest answer would be 'with so many songs and bustouts, it would be too much work.' The way I see bustouts is actually more like the 'recording vs. live factor' that's outlined later in the disclaimers ... ie, being there for Shaggy Dog might be more exciting than listening back to it (which is somewhat the point of this list, right? to establish which shows are worth revisiting the most? as opposed to who had the best time?). Especially if they end up playing Shaggy Dog five times on the second leg. Now if say, the crowd reaction, the song itself, the performance, a possible segue (like, for example Tube-> Psycho Killer-> Tube) creates something that makes for good listening back .. that should factor in.

More to the point though, in disregarding first sets we're completing overlooking some great jams. The 6/8 Roses, the 7/1 Fee (one of the highlights of the tour). Frankly I'm surprised that official .net nerds signed off on this truncated summary (who collecitvely voted on this list anyway?). What happens when you want to start comparing the above to previous 3.0 shows? Do we rule out 8.7.09 I? 11.17.97 I? Why are we giving Phish a pass on the first sets and telling them they don't matter?

I'm being a bit facetious and ultimately just nitpicking as well; this list is great and I agree with much of the above in terms of second sets. A few exceptions:

I think 7/3 is among Vermont's finest. The Sand-> Golden Age sequence may be the best jamming of the tour. And in terms of fourth quarter filler in this day and age, I'll take a Bug Fluffhead Wedge over Cavern, Julius, Suzie..

I'd also take some issue with the 7/6 praise on the strength of the Sally. It's a great jam and one of the better sets of the tour. But better than the 7/3 Sand or Golden Age? The 7/1 Fee? The 6/15 Birds? The 6/23 Light? The 7/8 Piper? The 6/7 Carini? It's just not in my top 5 jams is all.

And I think I prefer 6/28 to 6/29, and 6/22 to 6/16.

My two cents!