Today we have two reader reviews of Trey’s show in Chicago last Sunday. Denver downloads will be posted as soon as possible, and before long Trey will be wrapping up his tour this Saturday in the Bay Area! Stay tuned for all TAB downloads as they become available.
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2.27.2011 TAB @ The Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL – Mike Thong
2.25.11 (M.Stein)
…I was charmed by the well-played acoustic arrangements of Phish’s canon. Some songs were played on an alternately-tuned second guitar, and some called for a capo. An interesting moment occurred during “Dirt.” Toward the end of the song Trey’s bright disposition became rather sullen and contemplative and it remained that way through the end of “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan.” It was almost as though some painful thought or unspoken dedication had taken place…Read on here!
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2.27.2011 TAB @ The Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL –The Real Guy Forget
…The floor was densely packed tight, leaving little wiggle room for elbows to send off last minute tweets and texts. The lights dropped at 8:28 and with little fanfare Trey was atop his stool strumming the opening notes to Backwards Down The Number Line. As plenty of audience recordings have proved, the crowd was eager to participate, showering Trey with chorus like waves on a sandy shore. It appeared Trey might have been thrown a curve, as he tried to realign his lyrics with the audience’s refrain, eventually leading to building finish and a large crowd eruption to greet the Bad Lieutenant…Read on here!
On the second night of Summer ’98, Phish dropped this monster sequence, melting many faces in the process.
Today we have two reader reviews of Trey’s show in Chicago last Sunday. Denver downloads will be posted as soon as possible, and before long Trey will be wrapping up his tour this Saturday in the Bay Area! Stay tuned for all TAB downloads as they become available. *** 2.27.2011 TAB @ The Riviera Theatre, …
I: Backwards Down the Number Line, Theme From the Bottom, Farmhouse, Gumbo, Kill Devil Falls, Halley’s Comet, Dirt, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, The Wedge, Let Me Lie*, Water in the Sky*, Wading in the Velvet Sea*, Heavy Things**, Liquid Time**, Hey Ya!**, Push On ‘Til the Day^
II: Gotta Jibboo, Ocelot, Valentine, My Problem Right There, Cayman Review, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Clint Eastwood, Money, Love and Change, Small Axe, The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Night Speaks to a Woman, Ether Sunday, First Tube
E: Sultans of Swing
*w/ Jen and Natalie, **acoustic, w/ full band, ^electric, w/ full band
Nestled in the shadow of Pittsburgh’s Three-Rivers Stadium, Trey and his Classic TAB line-up rolled into Stage AE on Friday night and laid down an impressive show that was arguably the best of the tour so far. Upon walking in around the scheduled show time, I was surprised to see the place packed from wall to wall considering that it was one of the few shows to not sell out beforehand. Trey came onstage around 8:30 pm and opened his acoustic set with Backwards Down the Number Line. Everyone was in good spirits and as Trey sang the final part of the song, the crowd joined in by providing the backing lyrics of “All my friends, Backwards Down The Number Line.” The sing-along continued throughout the first set and included well-played versions of Gumbo, Farmhouse, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, and The Horse > Silent in the Morning…Read On Here!
2.27.2011 The Riviera Theater, Chicago, Illinois FLAC Torrent (via etree), Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Links I: Backwards Down the Number Line, Theme From the Bottom, Farmhouse, Gumbo, Kill Devil Falls, Halley’s Comet, Dirt, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, The Wedge, Let Me Lie*, Water in the Sky*, Wading in the Velvet Sea*, Heavy Things**, …
I: Backwards Down the Number Line, Gumbo, Farmhouse, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Talk, Driver, Theme From the Bottom, Down with Disease, Heavy Things*, Liquid Time*, Let Me Lie*, Show of Life**, Push On ‘Til the Day**
II: Night Speaks to a Woman, Valentine, Cayman Review, Alaska, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Gotta Jibboo, Goodbye Head, Mozambique, Clint Eastwood, Money, Love and Change, Magilla, Sand
2.25.2011 Stage AE, Pittburgh, PA FLAC Torrent (via etree), Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Links I: Backwards Down the Number Line, Gumbo, Farmhouse, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Talk, Driver, Theme From the Bottom, Down with Disease, Heavy Things*, Liquid Time*, Let Me Lie*, Show of Life**, …
Trey kicked off his solo tour in style over the weekend, playing three shows with a notably more diverse song selection, precise guitar shredding and some surprise covers in Portland, Albany, and Boston. Though I’ve only been listening along on tape, the band sounds well-practiced and as tight as ever. With Trey on point, the band seems to come together quite readily.
Trey’s current two-set affairs carry a different contour than ever before. Flooding his first-set solo segments with Phish songs, Trey has given favorites from “Theme From the Bottom” to “Carini” the acoustic treatment. More easily garnering momentum with pieces that fans have an attachment to, Trey has allowed his song structures to shine in a stripped down setting, and they’ve been translating to stage better than I would have imagined. Though many classics inevitably turn into mass sing-alongs, at least the show has energy from the beginning—something that wasn’t guaranteed with an acoustic opening set.
Towards the end of the first half—in his opening two shows—Trey brought up part, and then all, of his band to accompany him while still playing acoustic guitar, a rarity for Red. But some legitimate highlights have emerged from these segments, including the return of “Liquid Time” in Portland and “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” in Albany. These portions have concluded the opening sets, prepping the audience for the full-on electrical barrage.
2.18.11 C.Green)
The buzz of the first couple shows has not only come from the obvious and power-packed jams, but also from some brand new and old-school covers. The moment of tour that everyone has been talking about is TAB’s take on The Gorillaz’ “Clint Eastwood,” a lamping groove from the band’s debut album that actually fits TAB quite well. With Jen Hartswick rapping in lieu of Del tha Funky Homosapien, the band pulled off a surprisingly proficient cover of the creative hip-hop nugget. Trey has also dipped into contemporary culture during the end of his acoustic set in Portland, playing Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” a comic funk-rocker from Andre 3000’s half of the 2003 double-album “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.”
Bringing older covers like “Ooh Child,” “Sweet and Dandy” and “It Makes No Difference” back into the mix, Trey has been switching things up early in his tour, and the word from the road has been nothing but glowing. Not only spicing up setlists with creative covers, Trey has also delved into his past catalog, reviving songs such as the ska-laced “Acting the Devil” and “In the Wee Wee Hours,” both unplayed since 2002, and “Black” unplayed since 2005. He has even made a backwards conversion, adding a Phish staple, “Ocelot,” to his solo shows. Including all his heavy hitting staples from TAB history, Big Red has quite a base of songs to choose from when forming his one electric set, and, albeit early, he’s been doing a great job.
After three shows, (only two considered in this mini-armchair review), Trey seems to be off to a smoking start to his cross-country tour. Altering format and clearly having fun, the band has already thrown down some fierce jams and must-hear moments. Check out the first two shows below and some audio clips below.
Acoustic Set: Theme From The Bottom, Cavern, NICU, Bug, My Friend My Friend, Horse > Silent in the Morning, Gumbo, Suzy Greenberg, Kill Devil Falls, Water in the Sky*, Spin**, Liquid Time***, Hey Ya***^
Electric Set: Cayman Review, Mozambique, Gotta Jibboo, It Makes No Difference, Acting the Devil, Alaska, All That Almost Was, Words To Wanda, Push On Til The Day, Birdwatcher, Sand, Wherever You Find It, Plasma, Tuesday
E: In The Wee Wee Hours, Dragonfly
Notes: *with Jen Hartswick and Natalie Cressman
**with Jen Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, and Ray Paczkowski
***with all of TAB
^debut. Outkast origianal
Acoustic Set: Free, The Wedge, Prince Caspian, Backwards Down The Number Line, Limb by Limb, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Guelah Papyrus, Buffalo Bill, Joy, Halley’s Comet, Wading in the Velvet Sea*, Black**, Valentine***, Devil Went Down To Georgia***
Electric Set: Money Love & Change, Done Done It, Ocelot, Clint Eastwood^, Night Speaks to a Woman, Sweet & Dandy, Ooh Child, Windora Bug, Birdwatcher, Sand. Drifting, The Way I Feel, Push On Til The Day
E: Cayman Review
Notes: * w/ Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman
** w/ Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman and Ray Paczkowski
*** w/ TAB
^Debut, Gorillaz original
Source: Busman Bsc1 (Hypers)
2.18.2011 (Chris Green)
Trey kicked off his solo tour in style over the weekend, playing three shows with a notably more diverse song selection, precise guitar shredding and some surprise covers in Portland, Albany, and Boston. Though I’ve only been listening along on tape, the band sounds well-practiced and as tight as ever. With Trey on point, the …
After Phish finished at Shoreline in 2000, Trey’s motor kept running. Continuing to write new material, he soon needed an outlet to play it and booked a spontaneous solo tour for the Winter of 2001. For a backing band, he looked to his his trio from the Spring of 1999. Pulling his rhythm section of Tony Markelis and Russ Lawton back together for his second tour ever, this time Trey added a three-piece horn section as well. Dave Grippo (alto sax) of Giant Country Horns fame,) young Jen Hartswick (trumpet, tuba) and Andy Moroz (trumpet) formed the Burlington-based trio that spiced up Trey’s jams all tour long. Adding a genuine fusion dynamic to the band’s rhythm-focused grooves, this initial horn lineup meshed immediately with the Trey, Tony, and Ray, forming, in my opinion, the best-ever incarnation of The Trey Anastasio Band.
Winter 2001 Poster
To his Spring 1999 staples of “Sand,” Jibboo,” and “First Tube,” Trey added new songs such as “Push On Til the Day,” “Burlap Sack and Pumps,” and “Drifting.” Trey ditched his acoustic set in favor of two electric throw-downs and the band hit the road in February for a slate of ten shows (adding one more on the spot in Atlanta after an unexpectedly high for the first.) Starting in the Northeast, the band wound their way south, finishing with a fierce four-pack in Asheville, NC, Columbia, SC, and two at The Fox in Atlanta. Spicing their sets with new covers, this version of Trey’s band featured musical conversations rather than Trey simply shredding over a thick groove. As opposed to the horns of modern-day TAB who have more composed lines, Grippo, Hartswick, and Moroz improvised right along with Trey through the fiercest and most explosive escapades, upping the onstage dynamic considerably while bringing an entirely new element to Trey’s jams.
Philadelphia 2010 (B.Ferguson)
So many musical passages stood out on this tour, but if one jam shined as the quintessential TAB 2001 excursion, it was “Sand > Quadraphonic Toppling” from Columbia, South Carolina. Delving deep into fusion psychedelia, the band threw down an extended series of textured dance grooves that were spiced considerably by horn improvisation. And then evoking memories of Big Cypress, Trey led the band through the abstract “Quadraphonic Toppling,” playing—and looping—the song’s minimalist melody himself.
Trey’s sextet existed for just a blip in time, playing only the winter’s eleven shows together. When Trey emerged with his band for the summer of 2001, he had added Ray Paczkowski on keyboards for the first time, as well as a fourth horn player, Russell Remington, on tenor sax and flute. The following summer, this lineup only grew, as Trey went on to explore Afro-Cuban grooves. But for a spontaneous stretch in the winter of 2001, Trey was discovering the power of his solo act, and his shows contained a palpable energy, bringing a buzz to the scene. Phish was done—for the moment—but Trey’s solo career was beginning to heat up.
I: Llama, Uncle Pen, The Divided Sky, Guelah Papyrus, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg, Stash, Rocky Top, Golgi Apparatus
II: The Landlady, Runaway Jim, You Enjoy Myself, Fluffhead, Cavern, Tela, Buried Alive, Reba, My Sweet One, Good Times Bad Times
E: Contact > Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, The Squirming Coil
Source: SBD
After Phish finished at Shoreline in 2000, Trey’s motor kept running. Continuing to write new material, he soon needed an outlet to play it and booked a spontaneous solo tour for the Winter of 2001. For a backing band, he looked to his his trio from the Spring of 1999. Pulling his rhythm section of …
