@safetymeeting said:

"But if you attended the show and had your face melted clean off your skull and you want your experience validated in flowery, gushing prose, or feel that objective descriptions of a given performance might somehow diminish your experience, the Phish.net recap may not be your bag."

I like this. I'm glad phish.net did not do recaps after 8/8/97.

I like reading Miner's page. He'll give you that unadulterated "I was in attendance" review. His verbal maelstrom sometimes makes me laugh, but his enthusiasm is inspiring.
But the review process will never be void of subjectivity, it is subjectivity. The recaps here though, aren't brimming with "show-glow." There's genuine effort to step back from the night, and see how it fits in deep melange of Phistory.

::proceeds to rant for some reason::

I for one, have a much better perspective of how the SBIX, and UIC, and Dick's went down than I did immediately after. They were great shows. My opinion of each song hasn't changed much, but there is so much to be said for the difference between experiencing a show and listening to it elsewhere or after.

While there, you feel the immediacy of something coming from nothing, witnessing and engaging in the process of creation. Hell, I like watching webcasts for a hint of that feeling that it is happening NOW. What's more, I get a special kick from playing along. I mean what a world where Phish is 2000 miles away and I can play a whole set with them in real time (1st set N1, minus mfmf...can't play that shit haha). That shit is too fun, and has me feel more connected to the band that I do at a show, because sometimes I just with I could be playing too hahah.

Really though, I hear Phish best when I don't have any distractions, and that includes seeing the band as well. Yeah, I love to watch the webcasts, and I love Kuroda's work, but the visual element, while an enhancement to the experience, changes how I hear things. Listening to a show with my eyes closed means my other senses don't blend too much into the experience.