re: For those of you that say you hate space music/ jam bands

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I don't listen to jam bands really at all but my friends do and two years ago I had the chance to see WSP and Phish pretty much back to back (w/in two wks of each other). Phish was much more engaged and generally an overall stronger performance. They also played much more improvisationally and seemed technically superior. I'm never going to be the guy following either band or listening to bootlegs in my car, but I was struck by the differences in two bands that I'd regarded from afar as pretty much interchangeable.

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funny, i had a similar experience in '97. saw phish blow everyones' heads off on a thursday evening, then saw WSP in the same venue two nights later....it was like watching a "starter kit" jamband by comparison. personally, i admittedly had great times seeing WSP when they were still playing clubs & didn't have any delusions of grandeur. once they started playing the big venues 'tho, it's like they started "acting" like a jamband but didn't have the goods to pull it off. the way their songs are constructed just aren't jam-friendly IMO....hell, when jimmy herring joined, i thought things might change for the better, but even HE seems stuck in a rut when soloing within their framework, and i KNOW he's more than capable of delivering the goods. oh well, i do like those first three studio albums 'tho...