"it's safe to say there was a sense of collective unease" -- No, this is your bubble talking.

I agree that none of the Dick's first sets matched the better first sets from the end of summer (or Bend2 for that matter), Saturday's being especially clunky, but the dismissal of the Wolfmans through Fuego, LxL through Wingsuit, and Sunday's entire 2nd set sounds awfully sour. Most of the people I talked to on site caught some off moments and lack of flow in the first sets but also praised the improvisatory stretches in the 2nds, and moreover, were having such a good time that we deferred deep criticism until we got home and had a chance to listen again. I haven't made it through everything but so far I find conventional wisdom to be overwrought as usual. Go back and listen to the Chalkdust, especially the last 5 minutes, and the Piper-2001-Tweezer, all 3 insanely great (but they aren't 15+ minutes so why bother, amirite?). Try out the Fuego, the most jammed out and exploratory version under 12 minutes yet played, not at all like the other shorter versions. Roggae, Ghost, Bathtub, and 7 Below all hiding in plain sight.

And then, the Harpua -- it took everything to a whole other level. At least on that we can agree. One of my favorite concert experiences ever without question.

I respect this reviewer's high standards but I don't agree that s/he should be in a position to write the first draft of history. The scene in Denver was not feeling uneasy. That does not mean people were unaware of how Friday and Saturday compared to the best of 2015; I doubt many will put those shows in a top 10. Nothing to be uneasy about unless you have a iffy sense of phish history or a strange sense of entitlement. Colorado itself was too busy having fun to get grumpy about merely good shows.