@grupp92 said:

Well, I was trying to come up with a good analogy for seeing a Phish show, that might capture some of the disparity in opinions and critiques of one show from one guy, versus another guy. I live in San Diego now, so I spend time body surfing on waves in the ocean. I watch tourists try to catch waves, either solo or with friends or on boogie boards - it is not innate. You have to plan it - watch for a wave with power behind it, and then try and catch the sweet cresting cradle of the Pacific. And a dude standing right next to me might miss out, claiming the wave was "a dud" even though I rode that sucker in the tube and then all the way to shore.

Along those lines, I can stand next to a dude when the Forum is on Fuego, full of energy, with golden hose pouring from the stage and bouncing around that amazing room - but he might be tuned out, spaced out, tripped out, not receptive, not digging it - and he misses my wave. Taking into account how you listen, what you expect versus what you get, how you analyze it and in what context, how long you've tried using your vocabulary to speak about Phish - these things all matter. I like critique! I like to THINK. I like to share in the groove, too.

I like the analogy, as I have been thinking about something along similar lines, but to a different end.

I used to live in a ski town, and would hear how visitors would describe how awesome the skiing was after a recent storm.  The Orwellian like adage "any skiing is good skiing, just some is better than others" holds true, and yes it was good.  But with the aid of seeing the mountain over a long period, and really seeing how magical the place can become, from a comparative point of view, maybe that small little storm didn't really quite get to that threshold of transforming the place in to magic.  In this analogy, it is the exuberant visitor that is having a better time than the jaded local with marginal conditions.

In that vein, the enjoyment is all internal - makes me think of "Zen mind, beginners mind," and the newb is the master (case in point, my first show, which flipped the switch for me is in the bottom 2% of shows I've seen rating wise.  It still flipped the switch).  But as far as comparative critique, recognizing the difference between those moments that truly stand out vs those small storms or average-great shows (or insert your analogy here) is key to seeing the greatness when it makes that transcendent jump.

Or maybe, can I still have fun?