Trey Tour Kicks Off
2.25.2011 (Michael Stein)
Trey kicked off his solo tour on Saturday with a benefit show for Vermont Flood Relief efforts in Burlington. From all reports, Trey’s band was far more patient and focused on jamming than last tour. He ditched the acoustic sing-along for two sets of electric work, and included the horns in the jams far more than last year. And Trey even debuted two two tunes! I wasn’t able to make it to Vermont, so I asked another fan, and reader of Phish Thoughts, Jonathan Tran, to do the honors. His review is below and links you over to the “Reader Reviews” page. If anyone is interested in writing a review for one of the upcoming TAB shows, please shoot me an email at mrminer@phishthoughts.com.
I: Cayman Review, Simple Twist Up Dave, Liquid Time, Gotta Jibboo, Snake Head Thumb*, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Money, Love and Change, Magilla, The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Drifting
II: Acting the Devil, Alaska, Clint Eastwood, Push On ‘Til the Day, Sand, Let Me Lie, Valentine, Winter Queen*, Tuesday, Windora Bug, First Tube
E: Hey Ya!, Show of Life
*debut
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TAB @ Higher Ground, Burlington, VT: 10.1.11 / by Jonathan Tran
2.25.11 - Pittsburgh (Michael Stein)
Trey and his solo band opened their tour with an inspired effort Saturday night in Burlington, where the band played the 750-person Higher Ground for a show that was only announced two weeks ago. With proceeds benefiting Vermont flood recovery efforts TAB threw down a musically relevant show that only foreshadows good things to come this tour. Before you wonder any longer, yes, Trey decided to drop the acoustic first set in favor of two electric. And, yes, this was a welcome move by just about every fan in the room. Also of note was the return of improvised horn parts (instead of leaving stage) during jams, which was absent from last February’s winter tour. In short, all signs pointed towards “Go!” on the first night of Trey tour.
With the energy already at a peak before show time, the band came out firing with the up-tempo “Cayman Review” followed by the ever-requested “Simple Twist Up Dave.” It seems as though Trey’ has decided that TAB tour is where “Liquid Time” will stay, and the band crushed the tune last night. The uplifting jam fit the Irene recovery vibe of the evening and this lesser-played song went over as well as anything with the crowd.
The fireworks came out next as the band grooved into “Gotta Jibboo.” This version veered away from recent Phish versions and turned into a full-band dance showcase with Trey comping Ray’s clav and organ parts, while Russ and Tony held down the low end. The presence of the horn section throughout the jam seemed to push Trey further into the groove, all the while filling space with well placed musical accents. The debut of “Snake Head Thumb” came next, and was also well received by the attentive Burlington crowd. A “Stealing Time”-“Steam”-“Ocelot” mash-up, this gritty blues number developed into a hard-edged jam that fits Trey’s current guitar style. I could see this song making it to the Big League, and it would be a welcome first set addition…READ ON HERE!
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Anybody have links to the show? Doesn’t seem to be on etree…
Damn, I know the next night deserves all the hype, but damn the 11/16/97 Timber is a great jam too…
jtran, thanks for making me feel even more bummed about missing Burlington TAB 😉
but I’m most appreciative of the review!
no AUDs of the show have surfaced yet…
Great review JTran!
Nice review Jtran. Got me excited to listen to some TAB.
Hey, that’s neat! Just noticed that, right around 8 minutes in the Bethel Halley’s Mikey G lays down a little bit of A Love Supreme bass line and messes with that for like, 30 seconds…
Nice J-Trazzle!
Really enjoyed your review JTran!
Awesome review, Jtran
I only have one question:
Were you wearing the AC flatbrim while writing this piece??
Really good work!
I’m glad I’m gonna check T.A.B. out this year!
nice write up Jtran
TAB is so still on my no see list after hearing them last year bet have my fingers crossed the new found creativity and energy of Phish may encourage Trey to once again play some challenging music in this side project
looking forward to spinning some of these, see if we’re getting some changes for the positive.
always nice to get some new tunes worked out on TAB too.
no acoustic is def a start
have a good one kids
going to be an exciting one at work.
There were at least three tapers in the room, so there ought to be an AUD up somewhere soon. Great show, it felt to me like Trey was still in “on tour Rock Star mode” – he really really wanted to play his guitar, so there was jamming aplenty. The Cayman opener just got a huge dance party started. The first set was high energy all the way through; the second set felt a little more disjointed to me, although the Sand was a massive, oozy dark goo-funk fest, and the Windora Bug took it waaay down into bugworld; although I heard some grumbly comments around me, I loved it.
Great review JTran!
I know it’s been said but Russel Wilson and Wisconsin is the real deal
yes sir, MIA
that game was like a dream come true. good weekend for WI sports
Good morning BBers!
@MiA: Yes…The Badgers are the real deal. Rose Bowl might be in their grasp; but a long way to go still.
What a great WI sports weekend!
Jtran. Nice work my friend. Loved the write up!
good stuff, jtran. wish I could catch some TAB this fall.
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palmer, you’ll have a blast at the ND/UM game. big time college football games are the closest thing to going to shows that I have found. the lot scene is different, but it’s similar in a lot of ways too. sounds like you have a pretty stellar weekend ahead of you there!
“Snake Head Thumb” – A “Stealing Time”-”Steam”-”Ocelot” mash-up, this gritty blues number developed into a hard-edged jam
Jtran
I like how this sounds. Would like to hear this one asap.
and I’d like to say WTF to the Allman Brothers on their tired pricing for this upcoming run at the Orpheum in Boston. $65 I can live with, but that’s the rear balcony price. $95 for the mezzanine and $150 for the floor? pffft
@willowed
there’s a link to a smartphone video from the crowd on one of the last pages from the prior post.
ha ha.
tiredtieredchecking it now
great writeup, jtran! you’ve got me pumped for thursday here in asheville! thanks, man!
Nice job jtran.
T3- yeah, i’m fired up. We will be in the ND alumni section apparently.
When a said i’ve never been to a “real ” college football game i meant legit D 1 ball.
@JTran: Thanks for the review; well done.