@LightsWentOut said:

I have been embarking on a No Spoilers Summer Tour which means that I have not been reading any kinds of show reviews or recaps until I have had a chance to listen to the show (or attend, as I was fortunate to do at both Austin and Dallas). It has been an enlightening experience. Last few tours I would often read the recaps/reviews as soon as they were posted and I found that my interest in actually listening to shows from start to finish waned incredibly. I would listen, but skip the poorly reviewed songs or even go so far as to only listen to the big jams or whatever else sparked the community's praise. I was definitely being biased. This time around, I listen to the entire show, from soup to nuts and I must say that my connection to this tour has increased immensely compared to previous tours and, perhaps more importantly, my enjoyment has increased (which is saying a lot, because I loves the Phish from Vermont). This a a round-about way of saying that don't let these "recaps" rustle your jimmies too much.

That's great! The relationship to the music should be an intensely personal one. What I...or any other reviewer/recap writer has to say is irrelevant. What you think about the show is the only thing that matters. I listen to every show in its entirety either as it is happening or multiple times after before I even consider reading the opinions of anybody else (in game chatter from friends notwithstanding). I recap shows because that is part of the service we at phish.net want to provide to those who desire such things. I always make them personal and subjective...because that's all I have. It is an incredible challenge to be objective where The Phish is concerned. There is so much shared history. But that is necessary to give the proper frame of reference for a given performance.

I am against skipping the bad to get to the good in all its forms. The bad is what allows the good to be appreciated to its fullest. I have a greater appreciation for the mountain tops I visit because I have stood in chest deep 35 degree water with a pH of 12 holding a magnetometer over my head so it wouldn't get wet and be rendered useless.