Just yesterday, Trey shed some light on the band’s early 2012 plans by announcing a his first ever symphony tour. Hitting four cities over the course of a month beginning on February 9, Trey will focus on his fourth current project, and it seems that Phish will remain quiet for at least the first quarter of the year. Trey will perform in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Denver and Los Angeles, with seemingly plenty of time has been factored in for rehearsals, as each date will feature Trey with a different local orchestra. Scott Dunn, however, will be conducting the entire tour. Despite the ho-hum reaction from much of Phish’s fan base, these shows promise to be unique musical experiences that illustrate diversity of skills possessed by our red-headed Jedi. After annihilating a monstrous summer with Phish and having completed work on his first Broadway musical, “Hands on a Hardbody” with Amanda Green, Trey carved out time to play with the Trey Anastasio Band while also heading into the studio with his solo outfit. Now, as our jack-of-all-trades gets ready to implode Madison Square Garden in a highly-anticipated year-end bash, he has his sights set on a more placid project in the new year. When Phish came back in 2009, all band members said they wanted to leave space in their lives for other endeavors, both musical and familial, and thus far, that is exactly the path they have followed.
9.12.09 – Carnegie Hall (B.Slayter)
Trey first opened this chapter of his career in September of 2008, before Phish came back at Hampton. On September 26th, backed by Orchestra Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee, Trey debuted “Time Turns Elastic” (in its proper setting) while also playing a first set or orchestral pieces, with the only rearranged Phish piece being “Divided Sky.” The following year, in 2009, Trey appeared in Baltimore and New York City for orchestral performances that featured far more Phish material and solo compositions. The second came on September 12 at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic—a phenomenal night of music that ended with a standout orchestral translation of the Phish opus, “You Enjoy Myself.” The New York Times hailed this ground-breaking performance as:
“that rarest of rarities, a classical-rock hybrid that might please partisans from both constituencies. Set amid a generous group of popular Phish songs — gentle, string-cushioned ballads like “Brian and Robert” and “Let Me Lie,” as well as the audacious, intricate instrumentals “Guyute Orchestral” and “You Enjoy Myself” — the new piece [“Time Turns Elastic”] could hardly have gone wrong.”
Trey’s upcoming, four-show tour will allow him to take the next step step down this cross-cultural career pathway, one that he has taken to notable enthusiasm. As Phish continues to mature together, they will also continue to mature apart from each other. Whether the time apart has taken the form of the Mike Gordon Band, the Trey Anastasio Band, a new child, or simply time-off, the guys of Phish seem to have a solid understanding of what they want out of life these days, and they are doing everything within their power to grow in many directions at once. For most of their lifetimes, these guys have dedicated themselves to Phish, and it’s only natural that their musical interests would diversify over time. But for every musical experience that band members have away from Phish, they bring back new approaches, styles, and ideas to the main stage to push forth the development of our favorite quartet.
9.12.09, Carnegie Hall (Ben Slayter / Slayter Creative)
Those fans hanging onto rumors of winter or early spring dates, however, will have to stash those hopes away for the time being, as it now seems that the earliest we will see Phish come 2012 will be the late-spring, and likely not too much before the beginning of a potential summer tour. The band has previously stated that 2012 would be a light year of touring, specifically because Page is having a child, and this may be the start of such a schedule. Speculation seems pointless now, however, as we still have the biggest stand of the year coming up in just one month! But while we ready ourselves for a return to Madison Square Garden, tickets will go onsale for Trey’s four-show 2012 Winter Tour. The details are as follows:
Tickets will be available through a real time presale beginning Thursday, December 1, at 10:00 am ET and ending Wednesday, December 7, at noon ET at treytickets.rlc.net. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, December 8, for Denver and Los Angeles, and Friday, December 9, for Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Visit Trey.com for further details.
To promote giving this holiday season, Phish Thoughts is giving away two free copies of the hotly-anticipated 7-disc box set release of Hampton and Winston Salem ’97! All you need to do to win a copy is submit a description of your favorite jam from the three shows in 500 words or less. I will select the five most creative, interesting, and engaging entries, assign them each a number, and draw the two winners out of a hat! Let’s add some creativity to the contest. The winners, and likely the top five entries, will have their pieces posted next Monday.
All entries must be submitted by this Friday, December 2, at 5 pm Pacific time to mrminer@phishthoughts.com.
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From Cash or Trade.org: New Years Ticket Giveaway!
“Thank you, fans, for setting the standard for face value tickets and fair trade. To demonstrate our gratitude, we will be selecting seven members who participate in our “New Years Eve Ticket Giveaway” and will be them two tickets to one of the following events: Phish, Furthur, Widespread Panic, Sound Tribe Sector Nine, Umphrey’s McGee, Yonder Mountain String Band, or Moe. Visit CashorTrade.org to enter!
Cash or Trade.org
Thank you for taking a stand against ticket scalping and continuing to “Embrace the Face!” ~ Brando and Dusty
