LawnMemo

The Daily Ghost

The Daily Ghost #4 06/20/1997 Archa Theater, Prague, Czech Republic

Download Link 6-20-1997 Ghost

Background (Set: 2 of 2-Song: 2 of 8-Show Gap: 1)

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Very excited for this week’s Daily Ghosts!

The Prague Ghost!!!! Oh wait, the other Prague Ghost…nonetheless, this version is no slouch.  The first stand alone Ghost, no segues in this clip.

 

Who wants the funk?

The tempo starts pretty slow and immediately the first thing I hear is Gordon hammering the bass line.  The funk is definitely present in the composed section of this Ghost.  Shortly after, Page answers with some serious crunch and a slow paced groove solo.

Barely any pause and by 3:10 we are already into the Jam.  Page and Gordon are working on finding a direction with Trey throwing some funk grooves out there.  Slow, patient, and funkness.  Nothing really materializes until about the 4:42 mark.

At this point Trey plays a very easy funk groove and Page has faded for a bit allowing Gordon and Fishman to find the direction.  It gets broken down to almost nothing and sure enough Trey starts singing some “oooooohs”.  They are in no hurry to move away from the funk, this serious 1997 funk!  Page had continued in this section with that crunchiness.

Some Groove….

At about the 6:00 mark Page moves to the piano.  Time for me to get excited…Funk>Page Piano=LawnMemo Joy.   The Funk moves into a great direction here.  Gordon finds a great bass line and Trey moves to some serious wah wah action.

From 6:28 – 8:10 Fishman pushes the tempo ever so slightly and it makes all the difference.  Trey moves into full solo mode while  Page provides fantastic melodies.  Gordon is destroying his bassline complementing, then leading at perfect times.  All four band members are completely in sync in this section, some great stuff.  I am dancing in my review chair over here.

At 8:11 Gordon repeats a bassline a couple times, Fishman and Page respond by pushing the tempo even further.  8:45 and Trey’s “ahhs and oohs” are back, while he is in full solo  mode.  Fishman is pushing harder and we are really moving!

 

Destruction…..

9:25 and Trey has moved a bit away from his soloing and BOOM here come the CACTUS.  He is destroying Prague!!  Gordo is slapping the bass so hard I feel it 15 years later.  Trey must have felt those slaps like steroids, because at the 10:05 mark he answers the bell.  Trey RIPS into a solo.  He and Gordon are two men on a mission. Fishman and Page with great backing roles during this section.   This is pure FIRE!  It sounds like 50 people are on stage.

Talk about big finish!  And then wham, they stop on a dime…Time to smoke a cig after that woooo!

Final Thoughts

This version may only be 11 minutes long, but this Ghost has a path.  The Funk runs deep for the first 6 min…We groove for the next 2:30….Then we light the world on fire.   The “other Prague Ghost” has it all though.  I love this Ghost.  Maybe, I think higher of it than most.   I have listened to it 5 times while writing this…time for number 6

Score: 8.2

Things stay this hot all week!  See you tomorrow!