Sorry, but to @jadedforbin:

within your 'review' post, all that can be measured with objective CERTAINTY is point number two: the song lengths were not super extended....

i've listened to phish since i was a little kid, and i waited until this year to post reviews: there seemed to be a bit of room as some really great writers took breathers....

there are other reviewers whose opinions i value greatly, as i think they are level-headed, fair, AND passionate: in this section of phish.net, @philbombs77 comes to mind - and others. if i can't hit a show, but want to know if i should spent the money on the board, it's cool there are places to turn.

given Llama's history, i'd argue that Llama, in its original format, is the biggest bustout by far; much more interesting than Landlady (don't get me wrong, that was cool, too....)

and OIAL was cool, but having been at 31/96, it almost hurt to hear.... again: not that it mattered, but are you going to listen to that version often?

this show is easily a number five if you were there (and thought it was that great).

but this is an Event show.

for that reason, more than anything else, it's in its own category.

and so there is nothing 'easy' about this show.

and i don't understand the East Coast bias thing. i simply don't know a single fan who 'knocks down' shows because of venue or locale played. you might be able to argue that, say, some awesome summer 97 show in texas with a souped-up gin and additional drummer is 'less-known,' but look at the ratings for this show alone: approaching 400.

had this happened at Watkins, would there be that much of a difference? both stands sold out....

This show was awesome. But to go crazy over a Keyboard Army or something - which is cool enough - (fyi: this would destroy a show's rating in some 95 or 97 shows) is to miss the point. What impact would a Kung have had; or, more interestingly, a KDF.... Would one less 'bustout' mean anything?