I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: September 21, 2021] Trey Anastasio

I was quite surprised to see that the last time I saw the Trey Anastasio Band was five years ago.  It didn’t feel that long at all.

Even though Trey plays some Phish songs, a TAB show doesn’t feel like a Phish show.  Mostly because there’s a horn section, but also because of the general feeling that TAB conveys–more grooving, less jamming.

But really, I went last time and I went this time because I never get up close to the stage at a Phish show but I knew I could get up close here.  And I did.

The show was supposed to start at 7 and with my work commute I decided to head into Philly right after work.  This allowed me to swing into Federal Donuts and then get to The Met in plenty of time.  I managed to get one of the evening’s (cool) posters and took my place right behind the people who were up at the fence.  Incidentally the guy in front of me was hilarious about his personal space.  He didn’t want anyone standing next to him while he sat on the floor and when someone squeezed past him to get to the fence he more or less shooed the guy away.  He never raised his voice, but he was a pretty intense.

Trey didn’t go on until 7:30. which meant that I stood there for about an hour.  But whatever–it’s better than being caught in traffic.

Then the band came out.   Last time I was on the right side in front of keyboardist Ray Paczkowski.  And last time, Trey came over to us and pretty much waved right at me.  So I picked the same place for this show.  It was actually a little better this time because Paczkowski’s kit didn’t block out percussionist Cyro Baptista (who I could not take my eyes off of).  I enjoyed many of his percussive instruments (some of which are home made).  There was one that was a series of small drums, activated by a pedal that he smacked with his hand.

But I had a clear, unobstructed view of Trey for the whole show and it is always neat to see how much he smiles and has a good time playing.

On the far side (sometimes blocked by tall heads) was the same horn section as last time: James Casey on saxophones (and flute!), Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet and Natalie Cressman playing some tremendous trombone.  Russ Lawton played drums–including a duet between him and Baptiste.  The newest member of the band was Dezron Douglas who was filling in for Tony Markellis (who died in April)–he kept the low end tight and funky (as appropriate).

Last time, Trey played a lot of covers.  This time there were no covers.  It was all his own songs or Phish songs.

I actually don’t know Trey’s solo music all that well, so most of it was new(ish) to me.  It was just enjoyable rock with lots of jamming solos.

There were also a lot of songs that he didn’t play last time–twelve songs to be exact.  But what I enjoyed most was that he played from all over his career. Songs from various solo albums–three from his early self-titled release and four from his pandemic-created new album (which is really great), Lonely Trip.

I enjoyed watching Cyro play the washboard and later the plastic spinning tube.  I enjoyed the wonderful solos from all three horn players.

The addition of flute in “Heavy Things” was absolutely inspired.

The crowd was very much into it (I’m always surprised that TAB shows don’t sell out immediately–where are the Phish heads?) and I gather that the die-hards know all of Trey’s music very well.  I was a little bummed that the first Phish song they played was “46 Days” only because I’d heard that live in Atlantic City this summer, but it sounded good and is a fun song to play (I assume the TAB players have a limited Phish knowledge base).

None of the songs were super long–many around ten minutes.  And the soloing is from just about everyone–Trey certainly (and effortlessly), but also the horns who each take a turns showing off their chops.

I’ve heard “Everything’s Right” countless times, but it is a delightfully joyful song and a good way to start a second set.  In fact Set Two was a lot more fun for me with three Phish songs and a great version of “Ghosts of the Forest.”  Second sets tend to songs that stretch out more and while there were no 25 minute epics, “Everything’s Right” and “Sand” both eclipsed 14 minutes, including the aforementioned drums duet.

For the encore, Trey came out with an acoustic guitar and played two songs.  We got the tour debut of the sad but lovely “When the Words Go Away” followed by the Phish song “More.”

Then the band came back for a few more Phish songs, including a flute-filled “Heavy Things” and a rollicking “Magilla.”  Like last time, they ended with “Push on Til the Day” with Trey doing some ripping ending solos. The song ended, he took off his guitar, bowed and that was that.

But on the way out, he reached out to a guy a few feet from me who handed him something.  I have no idea what, but that crowd interaction was pretty cool.

In recent days, trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick caught COVID, so Trey did the show without  the horns.  Then Russ Lawton caught it too, so he did a show without the band–just a solo show. The next night Jon Fishman took over the drums.  Which I gotta say is pretty cool–1/2 of Phish.  I’ve never seen Fish up close (the other three I have seen solo), so that would have been a fun treat (no offense to Lawton, who was pretty amazing).

 

2021	2016
SET ONE	SET ONE
Corona (Trey Anastasio song) (6:27) ¥	Sand (Phish cover) (11:18) Pƒ
Mozambique (Trey Anastasio song) (3:47) ¶	Sometime After Sunset (Trey Anastasio song) (5:39) ©
Cayman Review (Trey Anastasio song) (6:58) ∇	Mozambique (Trey Anastasio song) (3:43) ¶
46 Days (Phish cover) (9:32) P⊗	Magilla (Phish cover) (2:59) Pℵ
Valentine (Trey Anastasio song) (6:12) ¥	Gotta Jibboo (Phish cover) (10:25) Pƒ
Lonely Trip (Trey Anastasio song) (6:59) ⇔	Pigtail (Trey Anastasio song) (6:29) ¥
Gotta Jibboo (Phish cover) (11:03) Pƒ	Curlew’s Call (Trey Anastasio song)  (9:38) ¶
Evolve (Trey Anastasio song) (6:32) ⇔	Cayman Review (Trey Anastasio song)  (7:30) ∇
Money, Love and Change (Trey Anastasio song) (10:05) ∇	Ocelot (Phish cover) (9:12) P√
SET TWO	Valentine (Trey Anastasio song) (6:06) ¥
Everything’s Right (Phish cover) (14:45) P∑	Tuesday (Trey Anastasio song) (5:50) ♦
Simple Twist Up Dave (Trey Anastasio song) (11:39) ¶	SET TWO
Spin (Trey Anastasio song) (10:36) ♦	Drifting (Trey Anastasio song) (7:39) ∇
Ghosts of the Forest (Trey Anastasio song) (live debut by TAB) (5:21) ∞	Night Speaks to a Woman (Trey Anastasio song) (10:21)∇
The Silver Light (Trey Anastasio song) (4:23) ⇔	Delta Lady (Leon Rusell cover(4:29)
Twist (Phish cover) (7:13) Pƒ	Simple Twist Up Dave (Trey Anastasio song) (9:30) ¶
Sand (Phish cover) (14:11) Pƒ	The Song (Trey Anastasio song) (5:06) ©
ENCORE	Feel It Still (Portugal the Man cover) (3:11)
When the Words Go Away (Trey Anastasio song) (Trey solo acoustic; live debut by TAB) (4:11) ⇔	49 Bye-Byes (Crosby, Stills & Nash cover) (4:42)
More (Phish cover) (Trey solo acoustic) (4:51) Pß	Last Tube (Trey Anastasio song) (10:40) ∇
Heavy Things (Phish cover) (3:56) Pƒ	Architect (Trey Anastasio song) (7:18) ¥
Magilla (Phish cover) (3:04) Pℵ	Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz song) (7:43)
Push On ‘Til the Day (Trey Anastasio song) (8:40) ∇	Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song) (8:35)
	ENCORE
	The Parting Glass [traditional] (3:02)
	Heavy Things (Phish cover) (5:08) Pƒ
	Push On ‘Til The Day (Trey Anastasio song) (10:23) ∇

Pℵ = PHISH=A Picture of Nectar (1992)
Pƒ = PHISH Farmhouse (2000)
P⊗ = PHISH-Round Room (2002)
P√ = PHISH-Joy (2009)
Pß = PHISH-Big Boat (2016)
P∑ = PHISH-Sigma Oasis (2020)

∇ = Trey Anastasio (2002)
¶ = Plasma (2003)
♦ = Shine (2005)
¥ = Traveler (2012)
© = Paper Wheels (2015)
∞ = Ghosts of the Forest (2019)
⇔ = Lonely Trip (2020)