One of the more popular sections this month has been Jesse Jarnow's From The Touring Desk, as he takes to the road with Phish. However, as with most any piece on this site that offers an opinion, there are some readers who respectfully disagree. Here is one such example, as the following exchange percolated on E-Mule in response to Jesse's story which can be found at http://www.jambands.com/summer00/7-10-1.html Feel free to weigh in yourself.

From: Steve (tylrsdad1@aol.com)

In the article dylan 2 phil 0 Jesse says every lineup of phil and friends save the april 99 incarnation has been extremely musically immature- you guys might want to get out a scorecard and go over some of the lineups with him- Warren Haynes is musically immature? I guess Warren or some of the other talents that Relix and chat sites have been raving about didn't hit any of his "pivot points." I know the rest of you know better- going to a show tomorrow night- will test out this concept. I don't know how I've lived this long and seen and enjoyed so many shows without knowing about pivot points. Thanks for the secret information. Steve

Jesse's (jesse@jambands.com) Response (which originally appeared on E-Mule):

I would like to post - for the record - that the above is a misinterpretation of what I wrote. I *do* believe that every lineup of Phil and Friends except the April 1999 version has been musically immature. However, I do *not* think that the musicians who have participated in them - least of all Warren - are musically immature. Far from it. I think, with a few exceptions, Phil has generally surrounded himself with extremely talented musicians.

My comment was in regards to the way the bands have worked as a whole. That's to say, they're not really bands in the sense that they haven't had time (nor have they been allowed time) to develop a group dynamic. One of the reasons why the Mule is so good is that they've been playing together for a damn long time. They know how to react to each other, what kind of players the others are, etc..

I think Warren is a damn fine guitarist -- the very opposite of immature. But, putting a group of sophisticated players together doesn't necessarily equal a band. I think that, if Phil ever were to develop one band, Warren would make a wonderful addition to it.