LBC, thanks for a solid, unbaised review of the show. Pretty refreshing to see, here on .net, people reviewing the shows w/o bias one way or the other.
Just to throw in my two cents regarding the in-attendance-or-not review opinions, I think the idea that only those in attendance can truly review a show is bogus. I, for one, think a review of a show I was at is biased toward being overly positive, since I've never had a bad time at ANY phish show. Couple that w/ the fact that all sorts of other outside factors weigh into my general outlook of the show; who I was with, what we experienced getting to the show, (i.e. was it a sweet road trip from another show, or was it hell-on-earth just to get there on time) what we consumed before/during, etc. That being said, reviews are there for one obvious reason; for those of us who WEREN'T able to be there, and want to know what we can expect when we give it a listen. I couldn't care less what someone else thought of a show I was at, 'cuz I WAS THERE! I already have my own opinion/experience. I'd like to know what those whose opinions I respect about this band/their music thought...and if I listen to a show that I think is just 'ok', a review that tells me how EPIC it was for you & your buds that night doesn't really tell me about music quality. I understand the qualifying factors for a memorable show experience may have made it awesome for you as a whole, and that's great. Its also great to be able to revise my view of a show when I see someone else's perspective, and/or they open my eyes to things I wasn't aware of. I dunno, I guess I just think show reviews are (IMO) about the musical performance, and the only outside factors that should be considered are those that CONTRIBUTED TO said performance/song selection...i.e.- A song played may not be a personal favorite in phish's repertoire, but noting that they played it because of show locale, venue, weather, etc., may make it more relevant,funny,unique, etc....and having been to enough shows to understand the significance of this, I can appreciate it more even if I wasn't there, 'cuz I know how cool it woulda been to be there, ya know? Who doesn't get the chills listening to the '98 show w/ 'Terrapin Station' encore?!! Ya can't tell me the whole "Dude, what song is this? Is this...IS THIS...HOLY F**K DUDE, TERRAPIN!"-vibe isn't f&&king palpable when you listen as the crowd figures it out and the cheering escalates to a seething roar of recognition & appreciation...ya aren't there, but it still gives ya butterflies every time you listen to those opening notes & the audience reaction and love it 'cuz its so sweet and ya know being there woulda been SICK. Now, doesn't that mean you DON'T have to be there to "get it"?! Peace y'all, have fun. I'm off to listen to MPP2, and I'm stoked!