Trey Anastasio Band- Pabst Theater 2/5/14

photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch

photo courtesy of Julie Piwowarczyk

Some artists, when you have seen them numerous times, don't come across as new acts anymore, but rather old friends.  Such is my relationship with Trey Anastasio, the prolific guitarist from Phish.  Having been a fan of Phish since my high school days, I've had a chance to see the Burlington, Vermont quartet perform over twenty times.  As a solo artist, this was my fourth Trey show.  I recall seeing his first ever solo tour in 1999 at the Oscar Meyer Theater in Madison, followed by a performance at Alpine Valley in July of 2001, and then again at the Pabst Theater in February of 2010.  Trey's show last evening at the Pabst Theater, however, may have been his finest hour as a solo act and bandleader.

First off, when reviewing the Trey Anastasio Band, we must remember that this is not Phish.  While the guitar work is similar (obviously), Phish is a quartet whereas the Trey Anastasio Band consists of a three piece horn section, a bass player, drummer, keyboardist and Trey on guitar and lead vocals.  Long spacey jams common at Phish shows are replaced with more tightly-knit rhythm and blues arrangements that provide more funk and soul into the music than you'd normally see from Phish. As one of my concert companions put it, if Phish, Galactic and Sly and the Family Stone had a baby, it might sound like this. 

Trey and his band loved playing the Pabst and went to great lengths to praise the venue during their band introductions:

“I want to tell you with all sincerity this is one of my favorite rooms to play. This is from a personal request. I don’t always get involved with the whole tour booking thing... I just kinda go where they tell me, but I did ask to play here because we all love this place. It’s beautiful.”
This is a band who has a blast playing together and the honest energy and enthusiasm they have is clearly transferred from the performers to their audience.

Here are my show highlights:
-The entire first set was the best I've ever seen Trey and his band play.  The song selection was great and the band was tight and having fun.  "Valentine" (off of his most recent 2012 release, Traveler, was a great crowd energizer, along with the beautiful "Drifting" and horn-heavy "Burlap Sack and Pumps."  However, a real surprise was the Ana Tijoux cover "1977" which was sung by Trey's striking trombonist, Natalie Cressman.  The set closed with a spot-on rendition of "First Tube," normally a tune reserved for the second set of Trey's performance.  

-The second set opened up with a bundle of energy with "Corona" flowing into "Night Speaks to a Woman," a classic track from Trey's self-titled solo debut in 2002.  The bluesy new tune, "Sometime After Sunset" played well with Trey's excellent guitar work.  The finish of the set was also stellar with a terrific cover of Gorillaz's "Clint Eastwood," and the classic Trey Anastasio Band tune, "Push On Til the Day."

-The encore featured a brass-infused version of "Sand" from Phish's Farmhouse LP, followed by the Led Zepplin cover "Black Dog" which featured trumpet player Jennifer Hartswick on vocals.

Setlist (from phish.net)

Set 1: Traveler, Valentine, Alive Again, Drifting, Magilla, O-o-h Child, Cayman Review,Burlap Sack and Pumps, Dark and Down, Small Axe, 1977, Money, Love and Change,First Tube

Set 2: Corona, Night Speaks to a Woman, Alaska, Pigtail, Sometime After Sunset, Last Tube, Architect, Gotta Jibboo, Scabbard, Clint Eastwood, Push On 'Til the Day

Encore: Sand, Black Dog

photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch