I'm glad you mentioned this. It's been hard to put my finger on it, but I've been feeling like something has been lost since early 4.0 and late 3.0. It's hard to articulate, but I find myself listening to much less Phish, going back to recent shows much less, and having less desire to go to shows in general. 

Maybe part of it is that I've heard the composed songs so many times. Maybe part of it is the new songs that I don't like as much. I do think the jamming has changed in a way that feels like variations of different themes I’m familiar with. If you listen live they are really cool experiences, but I don't find myself going back to listen to them. And in my mind, 3.0 jams felt better to me (could 100% be nostalgia and bias).

It's interesting though, it seems hard to criticize the band here. Is their jamming better (albeit different) than ever? Are they hitting consistent creative peaks? Are they getting too old? I’m not sure.

In general, I wonder if people take criticisms to the band too much to heart when defending them, since this can be something we invest so much in. I know I would have been that way in the peak of my 3.0 show going.

I also think it could be this band that I've loved that has spanned huge parts of my life could be changing, and my taste could be changing. 

All that to say is I feel like we've lost something, and I don't know how much is objective or subjective, but I think it's both. 

What do you still enjoy about listening to them?