, attached to 1997-06-24

Review by Miguelito

Miguelito My friend and I were recently discussing the evolution of Ghost and this show came into our discussion. The version here is indicative of how quickly the tune became a showstopper. Closing out the second set, this Ghost feels fully developed. But the show itself is excellent and I'd venture to say is pretty underrated. I don't know how big this venue was but it sounds like there are no more than a couple of hundred people there and the recording is crystal clear.

The first set has three standout tunes. Melt to open, a phenomenal Runaway Jim with a Gypsy Queen jam, and funkified Free. The latter two are examples of songs the band regularly jammed out and along the way they seemed to have forgotten about them or have lost interest in taking them places. Too bad too because here they're both quite interesting versions. The Melt opener rages, getting mean and nasty just the way I like 'em.

Plus we get Vultures, a tune I'll never complain about hearing. Sadly, Guelah is aborted. Trey makes some comment about just wanting to get the Paris lyric in there.

In addition to the aforementioned Ghost, we get a lengthy Wolfman's Brother to open Set II. This Wolfman's is funky but of the higher energy and speedy variety, and is one of my favorite takes. The Reba that follows is well-played, and then we get short versions of both Twist and Piper, both in their infancy. Wading is a nice breather before the fireworks in Ghost. As with Wolfman's, we get speedy, energetic funk that just builds and builds and I like how the set is framed by the same type of jam. I can't recommend this version enough. The Loving Cup encore is pure icing at this point and caps a great, underrated show.


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