@PhishMarketStew said:

Show of Life just feels really emotionally manipulative, like the songwriting doesn't earn the feelings that it's attempting to express. .

Trey sings this straight from his heart. Life is not always easy. There is struggle and strife. We all find ourselves here on this journey "that i call life" lol thats from some song i cant think of the name right now but yeah what your calling "emotionally manipulative" is maybe just the feeling of those lyrics synching in, making you think....

well for me atleast

"Its no easy road
this struggle and strife
we find ourselves
in the show of life

What's on your schedule?
What's on the plan?
Do you ever ignore
what you don't understand?"

Of course we all ignore what we dont understand! Hes talking about our faults that we know we have and can. We ignore a little to much these days. Apathy is become a style and if thats true we'll never see a band like Phish again.