LawnMemo

The Daily Ghost

The Daily Ghost #48 07/04/1999 Lakewood Amphitheater, Atlanta, GA

(@KernelForbin Remaster)

Background (Ghost Position: Set 2 of 2 – Song 2 of 9-Show Gap: 4)

It takes a while for Ghost to appear in 1999, but when it does, one of my favorite segues ever takes place.  At the site of the legendary Lakewood Disco Ghost of 1997,  this Ghost is the second set opener.  Of course, the fantastic segue into Slave is included.

1999-07-04mo2

Composed Section (0:00-5:08)

Hey 1999, Trey has some loops for you!  A nice slow build from Mike and Fish starts us off while Trey wanks away.  The crowd wasn’t exactly sure what Ghost was in 1997, but they sure as heck know what it is now!  The crowd gives a nice cheer and the intro has a great feel to it.  There is even more cheering from the audience at 1:48, while the band grooves the beginning section.

This intro section before the vocals is a bit longer than usual, and when the vocals finally come in, they are a bit rough.  The solo section gets real slanky.  Gordon comes popping in, and this solo section has a bit more than most.  Very nice.  The pause gets a couple loops before an awful drop in.  First Ghost in 7 months?  Yeah, not pretty!  Ouch fellas.

Trey came to Play (5:09-8:36)

A note from Trey rings long and starts the jam.  It seems like they might go into a couple of sectioned off measures, but instead go right for the gusto.  At 5:20, Trey moves right out in front.  He begins to solo, and is followed by some beautiful Page chords.  Mike drops into the empty spaces wonderfully.

At 5:46, Fish changes up the beat radically, yet the rest of the band stays in the same space.  As Fish actually picks it up, the rest of the band takes it down.

At 6:14, Trey begins to repeat a lick he used from one of the earlier Ghosts.  He is playing beautifully and each note is so clear and powerful.  With the fast paced beat from Fish, and counter balance from Page and Mike, this opening jam section really settles in beautifully.

At 7:13, Page sprinkles in some breathtaking rain drops and really finds himself.  Page finds just the perfect space to bring the light.

Right around that mark, Mike also finds some fantastic rhythmic balance to Trey’s soloing and Fish’s beat.  At 7:40, it sounds like Fishman is going to drive the jam down, but again this is not the case.  Things move back into the groove, and Trey keeps going.

Soon after, the jam sounds like it is going to break down, but again it finds the groove.  I love this.  They poke and probe but don’t leave for a space they don’t need to go.  At 8:15, they are back into the groove as strong as ever.  Trey continues to play extremely well.  I really love his sound and the way he is approaches this section.

The Space Tunnel (8:35-13:50)

The jam does actually start to break down around the 8:35 mark…and then picks back up for a couple of seconds.  At 8:58, Page picks a melody out from Zeus and drops it for a quick second.  That little melody from Page is incredible.  More of that!

Starting at the 9:10, mark while Mike climbs up his bass scales, Trey starts to repeat a dark toned lick.  The jam begins to move towards that extra terrestrial, death march, darker tone.  Just the way I like it!  As that happens, Page starts to provide the lighted path to walk on.

The band is deep into another dimension.  I feel like I am walking down a dark space tunnel, with no end in sight.  Page provides just a small beam of light, that lets you know there is a way out.  It also feels like someone is right behind me with a staff, or sword or something, pushing me forward.

At 11:20, the march pauses for a bit.  Fish picks the beat up a bit, and Page injects more light into this tunnel.  Just as we all start to get a look around and begin to head more happily toward the light, something happens..

As I stand in the middle of this tunnel, a sound that doesn’t belong there starts to lurk.  Mike has suddenly turned into a giant space alligator.  He is coming for us!  That sound is incredible!  Analogies aside, at about 12:20 this jam is awesome!  Fish’s beat is outstanding and provides both power and direction.

Being chased by this angry space alligator, Trey leads us to safety.  Starting at 12:15, he not only gets us to the end of the tunnel, while Mike slithers behind, he glides us there.  Heck he floats us there.  His playing is absolutely beautiful.  The contrast between Mike and Trey in this section is one of my favorites.  Absolutely stunning.

At about 12:55, Mike becomes louder and it seems like he might catch us.  He is too late and the familiar confines of Slave enter at 13:28.

Now I love a good segue…but this segue, this is what it is all about!!!! Infused perfectly with the scary Mike bass sound, it comes out of nowhere.  It is brought slowly and patiently.  I just listened to that about 100 times no joke.  So perfect, so out of left field.  You place two of my favorite songs back to back, and bring them together in a unique transition…Standing Ovation from LawnMemo.

Make sure to listen to the Slave by the way.  Great version!

Final Thoughts

So I shed a tear for the end of 1998 Ghosts.  Don’t worry 1999 is no joke either.  This first Ghost is unique and really shows some clever playing by the band.  The different textures and ultimately one of my favorite segues ever make this a standout version.  Only 13:30 minutes long means nothing.  This is a beauty.  From the 12:15 through the Slave segue we hear what amazing Type II stuff is!

Score: 9.0