Review of the 5/22/00 Ghost

This Ghost is one of my all-time favorite jams and my favorite Ghost. The band starts it off with a nice, long intro and moves quietly through the verses. The jam begins in a very laid-back manner. Trey doesn't do much during the first segment of the jam, which allows Mike and Page to really lead. Mike quickly locks into a funky groove and Page explores many keyboard effects like a mad scientist and uses them to dramatic effect. These are the type of sounds that crawl into your head through your ear and stay there for a while.

The jam picks up at about 10 minutes when Trey joins in over Mike's continuous groove. Only for about 2 minutes of this 27 minute jam do we hear some of the typical rocking, pentatonic playing from Trey found in many Ghosts. Trey starts playing a simple, pretty progression at about 15:45 and the rest of the band follows suit. Great trill from Page at 16:25. Trey alters the progression slightly and expands it, but keeps the same feel. This uplifting passage chugs along for a while with each band member adding color, but Mike's playing is especially amazing. Around 20 minutes into this jam is one of my favorite performances by Mike ever. Simply beautiful.

The band slowly builds to a brief moment of tension. It's over quickly, but Trey plays an emotive riff here that always gets me. This peak is relatively tame for Phish standards, but it is very effective as it resolves the previous 20 plus minutes of jamming. At 24:30 the band enters a beautiful, ambient outro and Mike further solidifies his claim to MVP of the jam with some more gorgeous work. Trey plays sweetly here as well.

Phenomenal jam.