@joechip said:

I'll keep it brief: I think the Pine Knob Bowie deserves a more enthusiastic description than "mostly fine".

Thanks for the kind words everyone. And Joe, you're right. I did take some heat about my curt comment on this Bowie from one of the working group folks, too. I actually have a great deal to say about it.

The "mostly fine" remark was a summation of my opinion that this Pine Knob Bowie begins with several amazing minutes, just harmonically beautiful and intense minutes, during which I thought the version was going to soar to new heights and become one of the greatest Bowies in Phish history (or at least 3.0). But then Trey started to lose focus -- as I hear it -- and even flub here and there, and employ what I believe is the Digitech pitch shifter in a way that makes me very sad. There's a minute or so in this Bowie's jam where, to me, it just sounds like poop. So by saying this Bowie was "mostly fine," I was copping out of having to explain how disappointing I found it, given how awesome the first several minutes of its jam segment are, and how poor -- or meh -- the rest of it is, in my opinion.

@Monticello23 DTE/Pine Knob is probably my favorite show of the tour, all things considered, so I think I agree with you there. But because the Bethel2 GoldenGinTeca by itself is so great, I highly recommended that show for download, too. I can understand why you'd rank Charlotte, Blossom and Portsmouth higher than Bethel2, though, because they are more consistent and fun shows, in my view as well, than Bethel2, start to finish. But each lacks the awe-inspiring peak that Bethel2's GoldenGinTeca provides. Two more cents.