LawnMemo

The Daily Ghost

The Daily Ghost #84 07/30/2009 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO

(AUD Download @KernelForbin Remaster)

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

After a set 2 opening Mike’s Groove, we find Ghost.  An awesome start of Mike’s Groove, Ghost, Wolfman’s Brother. The segue from Weekapaug has not been included.

2009-07-30mo (1)

Composed Section (0:00-3:38)

Trey starts things off, Mike and Fish follow shortly behind.  The pace is average and controlled during a short intro jam before the vocals kick in.

The solo section breaks out the funk.  Page gets into it and then Mike comes in throwing down some serious funk.  I dig that solo section.  Nicely done with a bunch of energy.

The lead in is sloppy once again, with the vocals unmistakably off.  The pause is normal length.  The drop is much better!  Probably the best we have seen in 2009 so far.  Thank you Phish!

CACTUS (3:39-6:44)

Trey’s guitar begins to whine as the jam begins to break down.  Things settle down extremely fast.  After a fill by Fish at 3:55, the jam finds a nice groove.  Fish gives a minimal beat and Mike grabs on from there.

Mike takes a hold and dominates this initial jam section.  First at 4:08, he lays down a powerful tone on all the empty space.  Then he changes his tone and it is more of the Gordo show at 4:28.  Adding the slight popping effect is just 100% bad ass.  The rest of the band moves to back up mode as Cactus takes over.  Careful, Cactus is about to get sharp…

Power and precision from Mike Gordon.  Sometimes when you play less notes they are more important.  He lays down the awesomeness, and Trey starts to solo on top of that bass line.  Page is branching into space to give this jam some extra texture.

Around the 5:18 mark, Fish starts to lay down a death march beat.  Mike follows suit shortly after.  At 5:31, Trey forgets how to play guitar.  I think a random Wook just jumped on stage, stole his guitar, and played a note.  That was ugly.

Luckily that Wook was escorted off the stage, Big Red comes back strong.  Trey finds a powerful murky tone, and starts to march on top of Gordo’s death march.  By the 6:00 mark, this is one powerful evil march.  Page engages his tractor beam and tries to summon some of his alien friends to march at Red Rocks.

Scarlett Johansson Mermaid Ocean View, Mr.T, and a Shark (6:45-10:19)

I already have no idea where I am and we are only 3 minutes into the jam.  Around 6:45, Mike brilliantly lowers his volume and creates space for Trey.   Mike could sense that Trey was finding himself and gave him room.

Mike Gordon = musical genius.  Trey solos nicely on this quieter groove.  Nice and controlled as Fish gives him all the fuel he needs.

At 7:15, Page switches up and begins a journey through the ocean.  His lighthearted flowing melodies remind me those scenes at the bottom of the ocean.  Beautiful mermaids that look like Scarlett Johansson and the most brightly colored fish.  Each melody Page sprinkles in, seems to put me further into relaxation.  Life is good, and this band is great.

Combine Page’s melodies, with Mike’s murky seaweed bubble popping sound, and I am in the Coral Reef.  The best part is I am swimming (and staring at Scarlett) with a Nugget Nectar in hand.  Dear Type 2 ghosts….I love you.  You make me think of the craziest stuff.

Trey is certainly leading, doing a pretty good amount of soloing, but he is controlled.  I get a good dose of everyone in the band on my ocean swim.

So I am just swimming by, not a care in the world.  Then…it starts at the 9:00 mark.  I can hear something coming…Shhhh…is that???

BEOW BEOW BEOW BEOW BEOW

Gordon brings a Great White Shark to this oceanic bliss.  I was going to post a gif of a Great White Swimming but then I found this.  I am not passing up Mr. T punching a shark in the face.

So lets change it.  So we say a Great White is swimming at the 9:00 mark, then Mike punches it in the face.  Ok, much better.

Just another example of the musical intellect of Mike.  The jam was going perfectly but starting to space out a touch.  He changes the tone and just kick starts the whole thing.  It is within the construct of the jam, and the band doesn’t miss a beat.  #LetMikeLeadTheWay

Fantastic interplay breaks out between Mike and Trey.  Trey working over the
top of the BEOW power of Mike.  Page and Fish provide the background needed for this jam to work wonderfully.

Red Rock and Roller (10:20-14:18)

At the 10:20 mark, Trey holds a nooooooooote.  Mike BEOWs all over the sucker.  Trey releases that note and picks his playing right up.  Page is also able to key in on that noooooote and finds his mark into this jam.  Want to make a jam awesome?  Play a noooooooooote.  It always works!

The jam builds from that moment.  Everyone is locked in and doing their part to get this jam to the peak.

After a touch of machine gun, Trey starts to use a building lick to get things moving.  Mike then counters with a beautiful run through the scales.  Then Trey wisely starts to hold some notes and we keep moving up!  Just a beautiful patient build.

By the 11:14 mark we are flying.  Mike is blasting away and Page is laying fantastic melody after melody.

At the 11:45 mark, Trey starts to let some notes float away and slows things up just a bit.  Around the 12:05 mark, the jam has slowed down a bit and everyone stops and surveys the scene.

Trey starts to climb things back up and Mike runs with him.  Then they back off and instead wait for some rhythms.  At 12:29, Page finds it, he lays down an awesome lick as glue for the jam to build around.  Man crush on Page is in full effect here.

If Page was a women’s gymnast he would do this…

Instead of a rip your face off peak, we get a true rock and roller.  Page hammers the lick home and Trey, Mike, and Fish rock on top of it.  Each measure more powerful than the last.  I am smiling from ear to ear.  I love these powerful moments.

At 13:03, Trey really finds it.  He gets a super high pitched tone that mates with Page’s lick perfectly.  SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!  Controlled, yet a complete beast.  Mike works up the scales and Fish adds the last bit of cherry on top.

That tone from Trey was the perfect way to end that rocker.  Trey, you had me at hello.  At the 14:02 mark, Trey comes off that high pitched tone and gets to a more conventional one.  Fish starts to slow things up from there…

Funk Outro (14:19-18:02)

By the 14:20 mark, we move to the conventional Ghost fade out…Or do we?

Heck NO!!! This is Red Rocks!!!

Trey lays down a funk lick and this dance party is just beginning!!! Get all the dance room, get all the ice cream, get all the legal weed!!!  Grab yourself a dance partner and the boogie woogie!

Mike and Page get things rocking and then it sounds like Page wants to go into a Suzy Greenberg solo.  He just goes nuts as Trey lays funk lick after funk lick around him.  The band gives Page all the space in the world and he rocks a big solo.

Then….the band stops except for Fishman and Page…

At 16:20, Mike comes back in playing the bass lick to Windy City!!! (I love this tune).  It fits perfectly here and is completely bad ass in my opinion.  I am dancing so hard right now.  So many Ghost outros drift into nothing, this one grabs you by the balls.  Page and Mike go at it for a bit.

It gets a little sloppy around the 17:00 mark for a little.  Then Mike and Fish lead the way at the 17:30 mark.  They THROW DOWN, and this Ghost ends with full force!  Page gives it one last touch of piano before it ends.

AWESOME

Final Thoughts

I am a huge fan of this Ghost.  Lots of different themes, and each executed wonderfully.  Gordon is a beast and locks down the early section.  Then a blissful ocean swim before the awesome Mike BEOWs.  The peak section is unique and rocks, and the ending is fantastic.  I love the Windy City teases at the end.  Killer.  Not sure what else you want in a Ghost.  It doesn’t have that ONE defining peak or Type 2 section that would give it the highest of scores, I guess.  Still it deserves a great one.

Score: 9.3