@andrewrose said:

Thanks for the recap. I have to admit that 2014 is the first year since the 3.0 return that I've felt out of the loop and not entirely enthralled with what transpired in the land of Phish. Part of that is for personal reasons, and I didn't go to any shows this year, which let's be honest can have a huge affect on how we perceive and listen. So what of that perspective?

I'm not infatuated with 2014 Phish.

Now, am I going to try and get to some shows this summer under the assumption that Trey's been doing all this Jerry-training? Absolutely.

I'm squarely in your camp, Andrew. Other than a few moments, such as the Mansfield Hood, the Randall's Chalkdust, the Dick's Simple and of course the Halloween set, I found myself cringing at a lot of what I heard this year.

For me, and I've stated this before, if the playing is sloppy and singing is poor and the flubs abound....the jam rarely saves it for me after that. I'm more of a jazz purist and I attach a great deal of value to clean, cohesive and flawless execution. When it's not there, well, I get just as much of a thrill as anyone from the type 2 explorations, but it doesn't make the show more listenable after the initial flush.

To me, the Halloween set was the easy winner for the year. Just a brilliant gambit in both conception and execution. It was truly exciting. However, after that, I'd rather listen to late 2012 or most of 2013 over what they did this past summer and fall.