@Scissortail said:

The thing I dislike about the Jaded Vet crowd is that it has become this badge of honor. And to wear the badge, you must conform to all the rules of being a Jaded Vet. You can't allow yourself to enjoy a nice Prince Caspian, for that would ruin your Jaded Vet cred. You must dismiss any Tweezer less than 18 minutes, because if they don't stretch it out it's utter shit. Etc etc etc.

And that's all fine in blog posts and forum discussion ... but I went to the Gorge with someone who I'd put in this category, and I actually felt bad for him. He wouldn't allow himself to enjoy the show as a fan of Phish, or of music. He was bound by the ethos of the Jaded Vet. And he, like every reviewer I read afterward, MUCH preferred night 1 to night 2. And you know why? (We all know why) Because they went all Type-2 crazy on Rock and Roll and had a killer segue into Meatstick. Yes, that was fucking awesome, but the energy/flow/awesomeness of night 2 as a whole completely blew away night one if you ask me (or any of my other non-Jaded-Vet crew), Rock and Roll-> Meatstick notwithstanding.

Respectfully, I think you have to be careful about assuming what other people are thinking. That's just as much of a pitfall as people pretending to hate something in order to fit some "jaded vet" archetype. How do you know whether someone really, truly likes that Caspian deep down in their heart, or whether they just plain don't like it? There's a natural human tendency to assume that if you or I love a particular song/show, that other Phish fans must too. It makes us feel better to assume that those who disagree with us are just being inauthentic, because it makes our own opinions seem less subjective.

But Phish is a diverse and eclectic band, and there are lots of aspects to love: songs, jamming, stage antics, overall energy, the community, etc. In other words, there are lots of things that might make someone a fan, so there's more room for legitimate disagreement among people that like the band.

This goes both ways though; just because someone loves 3.0 doesn't necessarily mean that they are being uncritical. or that they're purposefully shutting their brains off in order to like something that they normally wouldn't.

Point is, maybe people are just pretending to like/dislike something, or liking it because they are being uncritical listeners. But that shouldn't be our first assumption when dealing with people we disagree with. Too often around here, it is.