@play_it_leo89 said:

Sadly, I feel this sort of action is representative of a lot of the current fanbase. A distinction that seems to be becoming more and more important, I think, is the difference between Phish's fanbase and the Phish fan community. An action like this isn't something that would have been cheered on in the Phish fan community of old (think: 90s). And while it is fantastic that a lot of that community is speaking out about this, I fear that a lot of people will still find the video 'high-larious' and think they can score 'h3tty' points by doing the same. Because that's all it's about for a large percentage of the fanbase - looking cool to others. Look back at pictures and videos (I'm thinking specifically of the Rift promotional video) and you'll see very quickly that NOBODY looked cool then, or cared whether or not they did. It was always about the music, first and foremost, the live experience. THAT was the community. Now it's about "cred," as you said, and who can bitch and moan the most. It's not 'custies' vs. 'noobs', because either one can fit in either scene.

Community = about the music, about the experience, about the band, about each other
Fanbase = about themselves, about looking cool, about making the funniest 2nd post, about who can find the newest way to insult one another and talk about the reasons why the band currently 'sucks'.

Ok, just my 2� ... getting off my soapbox now.

I think this "Cred" you speak of is by far the biggest problem in all aspects of our lives. You can't get a good loan without cred, sure as well won't get hired without a laundry list of your past accreditation. People are always on guard worrying about what proves their worth or what could discredit them. We rely on someone's word rather than see things for ourselves. Instead of keeping the video to between friends, the cameraman decided the world could get a laugh at this guy if given a window into our world. Anyone from outside our Phamily watching that video wouldn't be able to understand the true positives and negatives of such a thing. When they view it the guy is an over indulgent law-breaker, off his rocker at a "The Phish" concert. When we view it we think of the douche that would put such a video on Youtube and the possible troubles that could potentially return to the man on the screen. The scene has more positives than negatives, and we must always remember that we will always have undesirables to weed out.

@PYITE
Have you ever had an experience at a concert that made you feel more at home or a part of something bigger than yourself and your generation? Was it more than when you had that feeling at your confirmation or what have you?