I try not to overanalyze shows to the degree highlighted here, but can see how it might be fun for others. That is just not me, my personality, and my 17 year relationship with Phish.

Weather you do or not, one thing is for sure ... some shows are better in person than on tape and vice versa. I've been at shows that just blew my mind, that for whatever reason don't translate as well as others into recordings.

I'd site 12-6-97 as a good example. Easily the best rated "non-festival" Phish show I've ever been to, but I can never get the "holy shit and I am going to lose my marbles" experience from the tapes. In fact, I rarely listen to it ... though I might now.

Conversely, I find myself listening to 8-14-10 much more than 8-15-10 (last year Alpine) even though 8-15 blew the socks off the prior evening. I can't tell you why ... song selection, jam type, etc?

I like @patper's comments best, not everything translates through to a recording. It never ceases to amaze me how much livelier the music sounds in person.