KV sounds a little like the band goofing around at soundcheck. Fans have sought and cherished and celebrated that kind of comic looseness since Phish began.

I think it's a total success on its own terms. Anyone who disagrees still has his/her Hawkwind LPs to listen to, I guess, so no harm done.

I think the tension between our fannish collection/conservation activities and the band's business of transient moments and heightened experiences tends to produce distortion when we talk about it all. Like all their live music, KV isn't meant to last, it's meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a joke to boot. If it 'holds up' on tape, that's a bonus -- and kind of a miracle. For the band, I think the majesty of the thing is in the months they spent elaborating and concealing a big project. Sneaking around. (Mike's talked about their work in exactly those terms.)

No great songs in there? Phish aren't a 'great songs' kinda band. Listened closely to 'Sing Monica' or 'Jibboo' or 'Friday' or 'Sparkle' or 'Dog-Faced Boy' or 'Waste' or 'Tube' or 'Heavy Things' or 'First Tube' or 'Suzy' or 'Sleeping Monkey' or 'Saw It Again' or even 'Tweezer' or 'Weekapaug Groove' or 'Piper' lately?

Anyway, I don't think it's bad or boring music. Everyone in the room had a stupendous time, right? I laughed my ass off the first time I listened, and have returned to it with pleasure and gratitude since then. Some uplifting stuff in there. And it's a great fucking joke.

Anyone who's angry about a project like this is stupid, but I assume/hope almost no one actually was or is. Hopefully the people who were disappointed will get around it and take it for what it is. Most everyone in the community will smile and dance and then shrug and move on to the next strange beauty, which is one of the reasons for Phish's art. No harm done.