Okay everybody....I'm not going to try and defend my diatribe here....I knew I'd be attacked for it. You're actually being pretty nice about it....JoyJoy, I didn't intend on lecturing you....again, my point is that we're all nostalgic (I'll include myself)....it's difficult to seperate the facts from our own personal experience.

Obviously there's some disagreement about what constitutes a "peak" for a band. To me, a band only has one peak, but your points are well taken. I won't try to push my argument further.

bertoletdown, you cracked me up with your sarcasm....I deserved it, I guess. Point taken.

I think, personally, I lost a lot of respect for Jerry Garcia over the years because he was such a selfish pinhead. If you listen to Ratdog and Phil Lesh & Friends, it's obvious that it was Jerry who was holding the band back and no-one else. Maybe I'm grinding an axe and not being as subjective as I think I am. I don't know.

Scooterpie, understand that I was a classic Deadhead snob for years, looking down my nose at Phish as upstart punks who had no respect for their elders (musically). I thought Phish was fun, but overly goofy and punky.

I have come to understand that Phish has consistently performed at an extremely high level throughout their careers. Even during the rough period, they cranked out some classic shows. The Dead were far more inconsistent, with far more lackluster performances. They were sloppy, unfocused and lazy, in spite of their more aggressive tour schedule. I'm speaking musically, mind you.

I disagree about the emotional thing. Phish has brought me places consistently emotionally that the Dead only rarely did. The Dead were very dark. Phish goes there, but there is a joy and exhuberance (spelling?) to them that the Dead usually lacked. Trey's playing, in particular, is transcendant. Fish is a better drummer than Hart or Kruetzman, only Lesh holds his own, I think.

Anyway, we could go round and round. I'm happy to have the debate, it's great fun for me.

I think, in the end, my only point is that I think older fans (of the Dead or Phish) are defensive of their own memories, which take on mythical stature as the years roll by, and we (I include myself) overestimate how great those times were, because our emotions cause us to lose objectivity. Then, we argue because we're intelligent and we construct what we think are logical arguments to support our feelings. This process creates division among us. Everybody's experience with are it personal and just as valid as the next person's. Part of the fun is sharing those experiences. I certainly didn't intend on raining on your joy, joyjoy. Please forgive me for that.

Peace.