@waxbanks said:

@ColForbin said:

Does this mean I think Phish should hang it up and quit playing? No way - there have still been moments in 3.0 that live up to the best of what 1.0 and 2.0 have to offer. But for me there are way fewer, and that's where my disappointment (after the fact, not in the moment) with the direction of the band comes in. Maybe it's unfair to the band and myself as a fan to feel this way, but I'm not going to pretend I don't. And I know I'm not alone.

Again (and more pointedly) -- your evaluative language is directed at the music, but it's really referring to your own feelings. It's not particularly important that you're disappointed with the band's direction: the point is that (again with the aspirational talk) we could all instead just work on not being disappointed at all.

What is with the use of the pronoun "We"? It appears you have your enjoyment of Phish rationalized and all worked out. As you write later, "That's the whole point for me, at this point (in my own fandom)."

While your process/outlook may work for you, it clearly will not work for everyone. There is only so much music I can listen to (only so many books I can read at one time, etc.), with so many possibilities -- I do not feel this desire to simply take whatever is being played and be happy with it. (That is different, of course, than being happy that a band I love and has meant so much in my life is playing at all.) Decisions, approach to improvisation, song choices -- if they don't appeal to me and what I enjoy listening to, then I am not going to gloss it over and simply focus on that one moment out of three hours.

I actually enjoyed sitting at home listening (watching) the second night of Virginia. Looking back, I think there are more musical highlights than Bonnaroo (a show I attended). But that doesn't erase my (unfulfilled) desires and wants from the music this band has been creating for my 18 years of fandom.