The reason it was suggested @Lonesome_sparrow was making a straw man argument is that he/she started their post with the question "Why is it that the consensus seems to be that Phish has to stretch everything out ad infinitum in order to have successful jams?" ...not to belabor the point, but I think that's where you raised a few hackles, because the review at the top of this page did not suggest this. Regardless, you seem like a thoughtful guy, and though I'm sure your intent wasn't to stifle criticism of the band, when you say things like "I mean really if you want to do it differently by all means get up there and give it a go yourself", that might irritate some folks who feel they can love and support the band but still express a preference for shows with more improvisation.

Certainly, if the jam from Ghost from the show in question had been stretched out longer, it would have been more successful, since as it happened, there was no jam whatsoever in the song. The second set of opening night at UIC was pretty much universally loved, all the jams were successful, the songs were not stretched out "ad infinitum", but they were expanded upon in a number of creative and unique ways. I'm happier with a show like that than with a show like Wednesday, when improvisation is bypassed in favor of goofy, good rockin' fun. I have nothing against goofy, good rockin' fun, but it's not my favorite thing about Phish performances and never was. I'm not looking for endless 30-40 minute jams, but I am looking for them to improvise and expand on the structure of the tunes often, and I think when they do loosen up the results are generally pretty awesome right now.