@FACTSAREUSELESS said:

@lumpblocked....I definitely enjoy your writing and your takes most of the time but I think you went a bit far with this. In all my years following bands and music scenes I truly have never come across a band that does more to connect with their fans and provide value than Phish. Now, on this tour a couple of issues have repeated themselves in ugly fashion (the ticket lottery and the live streams). I get it and I agree with you.

However, your language in this piece is not respectful. Your personal attacks on the band to try and shame them over this is unfair; certainly you don't speak for me or many other fans with such vitriol coming from your keypad.

I've only paid for one webcast this tour. I expected choppiness and I got it. I'm not happy about this either. I agree it needs to be dealt with. All I'm saying is that you could have made your point with less rancor. These guys are musicians first and foremost and I'm certain that these management issues have been delegated to other people. Perhaps the greater Phish entourage is what you meant by saying "Phish", but no matter, we can find more civil ways of communicating our frustrations, I think.

My clarifications aside, I certainly agree with you wholeheartedley that enough is enough. Don't promote the thing if you can't deliver. I think they should change services and run a couple of free events to beta-test it and then come back with the paid service after that.

Blog is mine, not lumpblockclod's.

And not the staff's either, it should be mentioned. I'm throwing myself on the grenade to some extent but I stand behind what I wrote. It was meant to be bracing, but I don't think it is uncivil and I don't think it is rancorous. If it's poorly received in the wake of a great show, I'm a hundred percent willing to take the heat. The band works too hard at what they do and their product is too important to be trusted to amateurs. The band deserves better but it appears that they are both the only ones capable of addressing the issue and at least somewhat unaware that the problem exists.

I'll be in the band's corner until I die. Tough love is sometimes called for.