Dear Mr. Kevin Shapiro;

"Sir, what you had there was what we refer to as a Focused, Non-Terminal, Repeating Phantasm, or a Class 5 Full-Roaming Vapor... . a real nasty one too"

I am of course referring to the second set. This second set should absolutely be an official LivePhish release, get with the freakin program.... Star Lake 98 is cool (although Vernon Downs would've been way better).... But all of us are dying (albeit at different rates), and someone's going to pass away without hearing this Ghost>Free which, if I were a lawmaker, would carry federal charges and no jurisprudence sentencing discretion.

That night, there was NO Dana, only Zuul! Trey's Languedoc proton pack harnessed this demon into a containment unit (aka the best Free you'll ever hear, if anyone has another, please let me know)... in a way that Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler couldn't do, even crossing streams. All fans were covered in ectoplasm (aka rank humid midwest summer grime) that an end of show rainstorm took care of.. (Side note, grew up across the street from Rick Moranis' cousin, met him at his Bar Mitzvah)...

Remember it being pretty darn hot out. Slow out of the gates, HOWEVER.... from starting with Bowie... SWEET SASSY MOLASSY! The Possum sets the tone for the rest of the evening - our boys reach into the pouch of this deceased marsupial and bring out a jam that starts a bit slow, then becomes pure mayhem.... Each time you think the jam is peaking, it KEEPS going.. Trey gets BEND crazy and throws on his bridge pickup while piercing the venue on his 24th fret (I think I suffered permanent hearing damage from this one...) easily ranks in my top 5-10 ode to roadkill. Setbreak time... Hit the mist tents, I was a sweaty hot mess...

Ok.. now let's get to the REAL part of why this show is a 5/5 in my book... The house lights go down... Trey comes out, takes a big wipe of his nose with his sleeve... and the FUNK SIREN echoplex/delay glissando A note down an octave, thus alerting all of central Ohio to the presence of paranormal activity. A specter was loose in the venue. Who you gonna call? Peter Venkman this apparition was summoned from the netherworld of another dimension, a true wraith. Such an entity cannot be completely explained with words, one must hear it to "understand" it. Possibly one of the best second sets I've ever witnessed. The Ghost>Free is what dreams are made of. Trey was having some equipment issues during Ghost, which I think might have pissed him off a bit - to the benefit of everyone in attendance. This jam is a MUST HEAR. INCREDIBLY tight transitions, sinister jamming into lilty delays with a HUGE LONG D chord strumming buildup to the emancipation of the Poltergeist summoned by the band... the Ghost was then FREE... and 14 years later, BY FAR STILL the BEST Free I've EVER heard. Then Trey invites some wookettes to dance the Fleshpole, and announces Big Cypress. Joel (you tapers know him) and I look at each other knowing exactly where we'd be that December, without question. The Fire was ... well... FIRE. Trey basically owned this second set... Then the rain comes down, which brought thunderous applause from a sweaty, grimy yet blissed out packed house.

In summary, Ray Parker Jr. would be proud of this second set, as he would not be afraid of no Ghost. Who you gonna call? Trey Mother F*cking Anastasio (and possibly Ernie Hudson)

BUSTIN' MAKES ME FEEL GOOOOD!!!!