Eppy, who's always got something thoughtful to say, weighs in on the pluses and minuses of jam bands:

Really, if you're indie, there's no reason not to like jambands. Well, aside from the music, of course. But there are a host of things the indie mentality values that the jambands scene has in spades. A non-corporate business structure: check. A community-based promotion and distribution model: check. No sell-outs: check. Being totally "for the kids": check. Bands form organically, make the music they want to make uncompromisingly, get signed and distributed by independent labels, tour relentlessly in largely non-corporate venues, build up a fanbase through hard work, get written up in grassroots publications as well as independently-owned ones, and maybe find wider fame and success. What's there to complain about? They've acheived amazing popular success without much of any compromise to either the mainstream or corporations. Jambands constitute probably the largest independent music movement in our time. Why wouldn't you want to emulate it?
Well...because the music's bad, right?

Me personally, I either really like jambands or I hate them. There's not a lot of in-between for me. A good jamband (and even one of my favorite bands — The Flecktones — can go that way from time to time) takes something that works, gives to a crowd that wants it and both the band and the crowd feed off of each other's energy in a big ol' feedback loop. Jambands get in trouble when they keep a groove alive for too long, losing the crowd as they go.