Excellent review. Having both streamed and also given the official SBD a re-listen, I've gotta say that I really enjoyed the Piper a ton. True, it wasn't that long, but it gets to where it's going in a hurry and Trey gives some great weird dissonant noise effects.

I do feel, though, that I think we might be past having to say things like this: "Every show is a blessing because for so long I never thought I'd ever hear them play again, and now they have been playing for as long as they've been broken up."

I 100% agree with this sentiment, and I am thankful for each and every Phish show. But we use this as a way to "forgive" the band for playing shows that we think are subpar. I don't think that the band owes us anything, because they don't, but I do think that we should expect great things from them every night, and we should continue to call them out for not delivering that greatness, as we always used to. Our expectations have always been high and have fueled the band throughout their career. Remember what Trey says in Bittersweet Motel: we don't just allow the band to piss in our ears, we go on the internet and we discuss that it was a bad show. We push the band to be great and when they deliver, we reward them with even more energy and love than we have on a regular night.

Phish has shown us that they're capable of doing things above and beyond our expectations in the 3.0 era. Let's respectfully, lovingly, and encouragingly hold them to that. And before you call me ungrateful, I want to clarify, I think every show is a blessing and I will continue to go to as many as I can to catch that magic. But I will also continue to lovingly criticize the band when I think they fall short of their admittedly high standard.