You know what, people?

Somehow the first generations of Phish fans were able to build an online infrastructure for shared fandom and discussion---from the first Phish email list to the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.phish to Phish.net itself, still going strong--and they were able to talk about shows, and discuss/critique the music honestly with the shared understanding that we're all committed enough to this weird band to spend our time following (and opining upon, lol) their every mood.

They--we--didn't have our every conversation about a Phish show hit with a torrent of whining because every single review did not mechanically spit out the equivalent of "It's all Hood, man!" We were able to compare and contrast different jams, complain about a show's problems and celebrate what went right about it.

If you are the sort of fan who simply CANNOT STAND to see anyone say ANYTHING about a Phish show that honestly and realistically describes the music, then I hate to say things like this but listen: Phish.net recaps are not for you.

Do you hear that? Phish.net recaps are not for you.

Phish.net recaps are for fans both old and new who love Phish and enjoy talking about the band's music. These recaps are for people who enjoy debate, want to have their ears opened to things they missed, and yes, take some satisfaction in accurately pointing out problems and indeed complaining about them.

If you want some sort of "1984"-style safe space where every single show is lauded as perfect, where no historical perspective whatsoever is allowed into the conversation, where it's somehow a problem to point out with unquestionable accuracy that, for instance, the composed section of a song was horribly butchered on a particular evening, let me suggest:

Go look for that safe space somewhere else.

That has never been what Phish.net is about.

Phish.net is for fans with varying degrees of knowledge about the band--though yes, it's predominately people, like Sunday recapper @bertoletdown, who are experts who know the history of this band inside and out and who bring historical perspective that simply can't be faked.

If you need to live in an echo chamber of Phombies who mutter "last night was epic" under their breath as a mantra, and can't handle an honest and fair recap....

Go somewhere else.

HTH,

Jeremy