I don't post in here often at all, but I'd just like to say to those miffed by the Bonnaroo set:

1) Have you never heard a PHISH festival set/show before? (Please check out the history of the band, and adjust your disgruntlement accordingly - HA!)
2) Are you seriously *telling* the band how it should play? Really? Because, that's hilarious ... really! Think about it! HA! (And, I'm not saying we shouldn't be critical, but some of this isn't criticism, per se, but merely wishful thinking about what *you* would do in *your* band, but this ain't *your* band!

I thought that PHISH did nothing different than any other band I'm a fan of and who have played at Bonnaroo -- MMW is my case in point: Great sets, and well played in there times at the fest, but in terms of an MMW performance they don't measure up overall. I can't speak for a lot of the acts, but I certainly expected PHISH to play as they did. Same thing with just about ANY festival performance by either of these bands. Listen throughout PHISH's career to festival sets, which are similar to opening sets for Santana: They give the audience a taste without bombarding them. That's the way PHISH have ALWAYS played festival sets. I can't think of one single festival set that stands above a regular show for me ... maybe I'm not thinking clearly, but I don't think PHISH ever go wild when they aren't playing only to Phans. For me, MMW behave the same way.

That said, this Bonnaroo show has plenty of tiny gems. The Tweezer jam is actually quite insightful and patient -- the devolution to quiet where the start of Free rises up sounds pretty cool to me! The Tweezer jam is my favourite section of the show actually ... and why can't The Gambler sit between Axilla and Possum? Have you ever listened to this band before? HA! PHISH aren't known for flow ... maybe some of the time, but most of the time it seems to be about counterpoint and juxtaposition -- listen to their catalogue of music!

Anyway, while I might always *want* PHISH to play like "PHISH" when they do a festival gig, they just don't ... this is not new behaviour for the band in this time of 3.0 ... this is pretty standard fair for the band when playing an event like that. At least in what I've witnessed live and heard in recordings (I've listened to everything from '93 to present, and then of course a smattering variety of earlier gigs).

Listen to the '96 NO JazzFest set for an example: Pretty standard overall, with a couple of cool nuggets thrown in ... that's the way a PHISH festival set has always gone, it seems to me ...

This coming weekend is going to soar, I think ... while I've certainly been listening along, Worcester was my first live show in 12 years, and I thought there was some of the most patient playing I've heard from the band in this 3.0 era ... first chance I really had to see the band in that time, and I am certainly going to make an effort to get back in the yearly PHISH groove!

But yeah, the biggest thing is to simply enjoy yourself when you're there -- that's what I learned in Worcester and had a great time! Stop trying to guess the band's intentions, or placing your own warped perception on those intentions, and *listen* ... a whole world will open for you ...

Just some thoughts from an old(er) guy ...