@bertoletdown said:

It doesn't make any sense to me either, which is why I didn't write that.

Let me come at this from a slightly different angle.

Everybody's experience of the show is subjective. It is a function of not only the music, but countless factors including but not limited to the reviewer's age, relative health, mood, experience with Phish, seats, sound in his/her seats, appreciation for the setlist, substance intake or lack thereof, neighbors, and attitude. Anybody who has seen Phish 20+ times knows that sometimes you float on air out of a show convinced it was the Best Ever Ever and when you listen again it's... not. Anybody who has seen Phish 20+ times knows that sometimes you leave a show thinking it was lacking in one way or another and when you listen again it's better than you thought it was.

I agree 100% with what you write here. But a good reviewer should be able to step back and look at it objectively. I personally had a blast at the NYE run but I could objectively say that is was not the best shows musically. I just happened to be with a great group of friends. But if you weren't at a show you don't even have the full picture. Maybe it makes you slightly more objective on one what part of the show experience but you don't have the full show experience.

Either way, thanks for the reviews. I do enjoy them I was just surprised to learn that some of the reviewers were not there. Off to sleep, KC tomorrow!