Great discussion! Having first seen the Dead in 1973, and continuing to see bands like Further as recently as June of this year, I have been, and always will be a huge Dead fan.

When I picked up a copy of "Pictures of Nectar" in the early "90's, I was immediately hooked, and went out and bought "Lawn Boy" and "Junta" within a few days. Ironically, it has been years since I have listened to any studio Phish albums, but I have continued to listen to live Phish since my first discovery. For GD studio albums, I still listen to "American Beauty" and "Workingman's Dead" occasionally, but usually it's live Dead I listen to.

The bands are so different musically, but I embrace both bands sometimes to the point of scary obsession. I accept this, and my family seems to accept this "as just the way I am, like it or not".

I was never able to understand the arguments I have heard over the years about the superiority of one band vs. the other, and I am just very happy to have both of them, and I will generally attend any and all of the few West Coast Phish shows, and any Dead-related show here in the Bay Area.

It's great for our planet to have been blessed with both of these phenomenal bands!