NYS Music 20​14

Tag: Trey Anastasio

  • Albany Playhouse at the Park Sounds Phishy This July

    The Park Playhouse recently announced 2013 Tony Award nominee, Hands on a Hardbody will be featured at the Lakehouse in Albany’s Washington Park this July.hardbody-final-272x300

    The news is of particular interest to Phish fans, as the musical score was written by none other than Trey Anastasio. Anastaio’s score received the 2013 Dramatist Guild Frederick Loewe award for Dramatic Composition, as well as a Tony Award nomination that same year.

    Anastasio is a guitarist, composer, and vocalist for the famous Vermont-based jamband, Phish; but he is no stranger to the classical arts, having his orchestral “Evenings with Trey Anastasio” performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Colorado Symphony.

    Hands on a Hardbody, based on the book written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Doug Wright, focuses on the events and drama that ensues after ten people prepare to win an automobile by being the last one to keep his hand on the car.

    Shows run Tuesday through Sunday, From July 1st to July 26th, starting at 8 p.m.  Seating is free in the amphitheater section, and blankets and low-backed chairs are permitted. Reserved Seats and Premium Bleacher Seats can be purchased on the Playhouse website, or by calling the box office phone at 518-434-0776.

  • Trey Anastasio Band at House of Blues Cleveland, Friday May 23rd

    On Friday May 23rd, Trey Anastasio Band rolled through Cleveland for the first of two Ohio shows leading up to headlining Summer Camp Music Festival on Sunday. Taking the stage shortly before 8pm, the septet certainly didn’t waste any time, jumping right into the reggae flavored ” The Land of Nod”.

    trey anastasio clevelandFresh and tight from the get-go, the band showed absolutely no signs of rust from the three month break. If there’s one thing that’s clear, TAB brings the heat on a nighty basis. Trey certainly wasn’t hesitant in reintroducing the midwestern crowd to the slew of new material debuted back in February. Anastasio also premiered two new originals – “Flying Machine” and “The Song”, while later confirming the band is working on a new album. Master of harnessing energy, Trey and company delivered two high octane sets complied by a mix of new and old school staples. “Magilla”, “Drifting” and “First Tube” provided the closing credits to an incredible night of music on the shores of Lake Erie.

    Setlist – Trey Anastasio Band, House of Blues, Cleveland, OH 5/23/16

    Set One: Land Of Nod, Bounce, Cayman Review, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Flying Machine*, Pigtail, Money Love and Change, Frost, Dark And Down, Valentine, Gotta Jibboo

    Set Two: Sometime After Sunset, The Song**, Night Speaks To A Woman, Shine, Plasma, Architect, Sand, Clint Eastwood, Push On Til The Day

    Encore: Magilla, Drifting, First Tube * – First Time Played (Anastasio) ** – First Time Played (Anastasio/Pollak)

    Download the show from Etree

  • Oversteppin’ Home: Mike Gordon Brings Tour to Tarrytown To Start Final Weekend of Tour

    Mike Gordon kicked off the final weekend of his tour this past weekend, which has been getting some buzz in the Phish community, with a show at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall. Along with bandmates Scott Murawski, Craig Myers, Tom Cleary and Todd Isler, Gordon has been touring in support of his latest studio album Overstep, performing it extensively on this tour with all but three tracks performed at the Music Hall. With the absence of a parking lot and decent weather to hang outside in before the show, a slight delay in the start (possibly due to some last-minute rehearsals with a special guest) seemed to be welcomed by the crowd who quickly settled down and enjoyed conversations with each other in the theater.

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    Eager for the show to start, the audience cheered as the stage was dimmed to a purple and the band made their way out with Gordon’s glowing scarf hard to miss. The first set kicked off with the first track off Overstep, “Ether,” an extended noise/sound effect intro recreated live by Gordon playing around with a speed drill near his bass’ pickup. “Yarmouth Road,” one of the two songs on the album with a reggae feel, was played in its studio fashion with the crowd digging the added 90’s ska interlude toward the end. “Yarmouth Road,” by the way, was first debuted with Phish at SPAC July 5, 2013.

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    There were some hushed mutterings before the show that Trey was backstage and would be sitting in for some portion of the show. This wouldn’t have seemed too far-fetched either as Trey resides somewhat locally in nearby Manhattan. It was obvious though that this was to the crowd at large a big surprise as the theater erupted when Trey was introduced and took his spot between Scott Murawski and Gordon. Murawski started off the Talking Heads tune “Cities” with Trey joining in quite forcefully after resolving a guitar glitch. This one got jammy with Trey and Scott trading solos in a call-and-response and dueling fashion. Trey stuck around to take the lead in the jam section of one of Gordon’s new tracks, “Tiny Little World,” to close out the first set. While some people were chatting during the intermission about what Phish song they’d like to hear if Trey were to come back out in the second set, they would soon find out they would have to wait until July to hear live Phish from the source.

    Not only was the music a focal point of the show, but both sets also flaunted a high-tech display of lights and projections that took advantage of the smaller stage setup, different that what would be practical at a large-venue Phish concert. Gordon and Murawski both sported custom-made guitars that would light up with LEDs at times during the show while the stage was dark giving a vague effect that they were being played by ghosts or while cast in front of psychedelic patterns. Gordon also debuted a crowd interactive instrument, the “EEL” as he called it. A MIDI controller that spanned the width of the stage, this strip resembled an oversized keyboard that the lucky front row could tap on when Gordon’s band triggered it on. Its sound sets (i.e., piano or Hammond Keys) were controlled by the band’s audio engineer and changed periodically while the audience was tapping away. One of the times the EEL was active was during “Peel” in the first set and again at the open of the second set – we have a short video excerpt of this in “Peel” later on. Gordon also incorporates something else a little different for a jam band type show: MIDI triggers on his and Murawski’s mic stands which allowed them to play a sound or an effect tapping it with their hand. All of this combined added an interesting twist to the experience of the show.

    Gordon’s stop in Tarrytown, and his whole tour for that matter, was a pleasant bridge in the gap between Phish’s NYE show and the start of their summer tour, July 1 at the Xfinity Center and their three night run at SPAC July 3-5. It gave fans a chance to see another side of Phish: one free of large crowds, potentially questionable weather, and ultimately the creativity of Gordon separate from his role in his native band.

    Set I: Ether; Cruel World, Yarmouth Road, Different World, Pretty Boy Floyd, Spock’s Brain, Face; Peel, Cities^, Tiny Little World^
    Set II: Long Black Line, Crumblin’ Bones, Barton Hollow, Angatta, Spiral, Jumping, Traveled Too Far; She Said She Said>Tomorrow Never Knows>Are You a Hypnotist?>Tomorrow Never Knows>She Said She Said>Traveled Too Far, Say Something
    Encore: Soulfood Man>Alphabet Street

    ^with Trey Anastasio

    Download the show here

  • Phish is my Sunday Kind of Love: Night Two at Madison Square Garden 2013

    Phish at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, December 29, 2013 for their second night of a four night run gave new meaning to the term “Sunday Funday.” After dusting off the first night, fans had a better idea for time management with security check points, transportation plans and guessing songs for the evening.

    The new layout of MSG still left much for guests to explore, especially still gathering thoughts on the latest sky walk addition. 2013 was a momentous year for the band and its dedicated fan base, as they celebrated their 30th anniversary together in style from summer and fall tour, coast to coast and now to New Year’s weekend. The crowd was very excitable after the first night and eager to keep climbing the peak of the run.

    phish sunday 2013“The Moma Dance” was a funky start with rippling guitar riffs from Trey Anastasio, just enough to get the heart pumping before heading right into a rowdy “Rift”, with a long withheld, endearing cheer during the musical pause at the five minute mark. “Roggae” was light and sweetly powerful, climbing easily with a blissful touch down. “Sparkle” was a youthful moment in the show, bringing a steady singing volume from the crowd with merry go round like joy. “The Line” off their upcoming album, Wingsuit, had reflective and mature lyrics with beautiful harmony. Another new song, “555” featured rising vocals from bassist Mike Gordon with an outburst or two from drummer Jon Fishman. Everything took a turn towards the funk during “It’s Ice”, when Page McConnell took the reins for a solo, it was overheard, “No big deal, Page is breaking it down.” The set stayed funky for a soulful “Gumbo” and the set ended with one of the highlights of the run, “Walls of the Cave.” WOTC had deep bass notes to start from Gordon that had the Garden shaking with this set closer as Anastasio jumped with delight from the crowd after his strong solo finish, it was a good sign for the night ahead.

    “Down with Disease” is a classic second set opener and this one was no different with its odd, space odyssey bursts as Gordon slapped his bass with Chris Kuroda’s lights going in full blast, exposing the many wide and grand dance gestures of the crowd. Madison Square Garden holds so many Phish memories that sometimes they almost blur together so as DWD starts, you can’t help but look around to see if fans are starting to float up given the previous NYE stunt. With no hesitation, Phish dove right into “Carini”, 15 minutes of pure concentrated dark energy with echoes and screeches resembling a psychedelic spaceship complete with audience woos. Lightening up the set, we slipped into “Waves”, a very consistent buildup with Gordon bringing new ripples thanks to a power drill. “Twist”: you are either for ‘Woo’ or no ‘Woo’, but either way it’s happening. “Twist” was still hot after this year’s Fall Tour and had some hard hitting notes from McConnell with a slight “Oye Como Va” jam emerging from Anatasio’s rhythm pattern as it echoed the song. Phish jumped into a brief non-jam, but still fun, “Golgi Apparatus”, where everyone was happy to have a “ticket stub in their hand.” Fishman hits the familiar tempo of the cymbals to cue the eruption of “David Bowie” as the set closer, sending glowsticks flying in almost perfect match, the slow building Bowie jam hitting hard with the bands predictable peaks . The night ended with the main marsupial of 2013, “Possum”, a playful encore with Trey joking, “Thanks everyone! We’ll see you tomorrow night. Don’t move, just stay right here.”

    phish sunday 2013Another night secured with pure Phish filled delight as concert goers cheered on their way out of the Garden. The boys from Vermont had performed a wide array of music, showcasing new and old favorites venturing into lighthearted fun with the audience and to the dark corners of their instruments. With the New Year just ahead, a great resolution for any fan is to never miss a Sunday show.

    Setlist:
    Set 1: The Moma Dance > Rift, Roggae, Sparkle, The Line, Stash, 555, It’s Ice, Gumbo^, Walls of the Cave
    Set 2: Down with Disease > Carini > Waves* > Twist > Golgi Apparatus, David Bowie*
    Encore: Possum
    * Mike on power drill
    ^ Long Tall Glasses tease by Trey