NYS Music 20​17

Tag: Trey Anastasio

  • Phish Break New Ground on December 29 in Push for 17 in 2017

    The members of Phish returned to Madison Square Garden for an unprecedented 15th time in 2017 on Friday, December 29, 2017, and while the first set showcased a few stumbles along the way, the band showed it’s still pushing brand new boundaries heading into its 35th year.

    With biting winds and the repetitiveness of yet another MSG jaunt, fans filled the sideways, bars and restaurants of midtown Manhattan, pre-show prepping for an unpredictably wild night. Off the bat, the band slid into the slinky intro of “Cavern,” typically a set closer. While Trey Anastasio mixed up a few lyrics, he set the tone for the evening. A lengthened “Blaze On” followed that fell into jazzy ambiance before bassist Mike Gordon leaped into his song, “555.”

    phish december 29 2017“I Always Wanted It This Way,” keyboardist Page McConnell’s tune, stretched out from 1980s-like quirkiness into a vast yet quite dark jam. “Martian Monster” and “Heavy Things” saw the band have a little fun, notably the interplay between Anastasio and McConnell in the latter. “Destiny Unbound,” somewhat of a rarity, injected a breath of life into the crowd. Stretching to nearly nine minutes, this version of “Destiny” is longer than all in recent memory, but it was clear the band hadn’t practiced it much prior.

    “Ocelot” slowly turned into a jam that featured Anastasio’s slinky fretwork, built up to a peak rife with tension. A little bit of his old school bravado from the mid-1990s was on display, dancing runs of notes up and down with little abandoned. While some fans are growing a bit weary of The Garden, Phish doesn’t appear to be among them. Launching into the set closing “Walls Of The Cave,” Phish was set to send us all to the restrooms and beer lines with a little extra pep in our steps. Anastasio had a little trouble with the intro, but he was pushed by excellent drum work by Jon Fishman, who was quietly the most important piece of the band in the set. With his extra effort rubbing off on Anastasio, Phish set “WotC” into orbit with a frenetic finish, capped off by incredible lighting from Chris Kuroda, who has incorporated seemingly every house light in the building with his rig to make for quite a stunning visual component.

    The tone was immediately set when the first strums of “Sand” echoed through the sold out Garden. Anastasio quickly made use of his new toys on his completely redesigned guitar rig. Designed by Custom Audio Electronics, the set features new cabinets and a wide array of new options for Anastasio to incorporate.

    With the “Chalk Dust Torture” that followed, the band unleashed a jam that quickly became the highlight of the night. After the typical song portion, Anastasio bullied his way into a quiet jam that really felt forced and out of place. It seemed as if they simply decided they’re going to launch a completely separate segment, which really should be titled “Chalk Dust Torture->Jam” on the official setlist. That was quickly forgotten, as the quiet melodies bled into an Allman Brothers-sounding jam. Gordon and McConnell continued forcing Anastasio to enter new territories before dissolving into what can only be described as a siren-sounding jam.

    The execution of the segue into “Ghost” was as smooth as it gets. Almost contrary to the jam before it, this “Ghost” was led in force by the rhythm section. Gordon and Fishman landed on a smooth groove, to which McConnell responded with wavy synth runs to give the jam a dreamy finish.

    “Backwards Down The Number Line” may not be everyone’s favorite song, but no one can argue that it’s about as fun of a Phish song as there is. The previous 41 minutes was Phish showing us that nothing gets stale with this band. The following eight minutes was them telling the crowd how it’s as important to the show as the band is. When Anastasio sang the closing “you decide what it contains” lyric, the people on the Chase Bridge went into pure bliss. A very quick “Simple” gave way to the drums of “Split Open And Melt.” This “Melt” was the perfect cap to a show that took a left at every right hand turn. The middle segment was eerie, haunting and quite strange. It was a dissolution into some ambient work by McConnell and Gordon, before Anastasio brought the song — and set — to a close. It was the most improv heavy “Melt” since the SPAC, 2013 version.

    For the encore, that bravado of Anastasio resurfaced. “Julius” may have been about the only predictable part of the show, but it gave Anastasio one more chance to show he’s most exciting and innovative guitarist in rock and roll today. The rocking finish was coupled with Kuroda lighting the Garden in some of the most impressive ways of his career, and that’s saying something.

    Tonight Phish goes for No. 16 at the Garden. If the first two nights are foreshadowing tonight, we are in for another gem.

    Setlist via phish.net

    Phish, December 29, 2017 Madison Square Garden, NY, NY

    Set 1: Cavern > Blaze On, 555, I Always Wanted It This Way > Martian Monster, Heavy Things, Destiny Unbound, Ocelot, Walls of the Cave

    Set 2: Sand > Chalk Dust Torture[1] > Ghost > Backwards Down the Number Line > Simple > Split Open and Melt

    Encore: Julius

    [1] Unfinished

    Phish, December 29, 2017 Madison Square Garden, NY, NY

  • We Can’t Allow Fear to Ruin Our Live Music Experience

    We’re so tired of our senseless fight

    The one thing we can all do right

    Is come together

    —    Trey Anastasio

    I’m not even sure where to begin; my mind is spinning out of control trying to wrap itself around the news of yet another massive tragedy on American soil.

    The headlines read something like “50 Dead, More Than 200 Injured in Las Vegas Mass Shooting,” and I still cannot process this. A 64-year old man from the 32nd floor of a resort hotel mowed down concertgoers attending a performance by country music superstar Jason Aldean.

    Human beings who went out to smile, dance and engage with like minded people were destroyed with clicks of a trigger.

    This is not OK.

    In fact, as I sit here at my desk with tears streaming down my face, all I can envision is being in that field, bobbing my head in tune with the melody, only to have that moment  of zen blown up and turned into a bloody mess of fear, terror and horror.

    Music is a unifying force in our world. Since the dawn of time, humans have trekked all over the world to enjoy to take in one of the oldest and most pure forms of art. Its subjectivity is what makes it so unique and uncanny; whatever music you love, it’s the best, and no one can take that from you.

    This guy has now taken that elation away from so many. But unfortunately, I view this act of terror as one that will ultimately lead to all sorts of arguments on gun control and all that comes along with it.

    I’m not talking about any of that here. I am talking about not allowing a monster to instill fear into people, and thus making people all over question whether to attend the concert they have tickets to next Friday night. We escape the mundane when we go to a show.

    We leave our problems at the office, the stress of daily life at home, when we go out and dance.

    Yet, now people are growing wary and scared of going into large crowds because a coward of a man destroyed the lives of so many.

    What used to be a unifying force — music — is now linked to what is creating a divide, and I am here to tell you that we must fight that with all our might, will and passion.

    Always be vigilant when in public. Take note of things that seem out of place. Try to keep things safe in whatever way you can.

    But don’t you dare skip that concert. Don’t throw away your tickets and definitely don’t stop seeing your favorite music live.

    If you do allow the fear to take over your ways, you allow people like this man to win.

    Take a stand. Go buy concert tickets. Enjoy the show.

    Be part of overcoming terror, and not succumbing to what those horrendous people want.

    We need to rise up and come together.

  • Trey Anastasio Band Fall Tour with Halloween Show

    Trey Anastasio will bring his solo band on a six-night fall tour in Las Vegas and California in late October where the tour includes a Halloween show at the Wiltern in Los Angeles.

    Trey Anastasio continues to keep his solo band busy. With four shows already scheduled in mid-September in Northern New England and New Brunswick, he recently announced a string of shows out west in October and November. The tour kicks off with two nights at the Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas on Oct. 27 and 28. It continues on Halloween at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, only the fourth time the Trey Anastasio Band has played the holiday, the last time being two years ago. He hits up the Observatory OC in Santa Ana, California the next night on Nov. 1. After a night off to travel north, he finishes up his tour with two nights at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California on Nov. 3 and 4.

    In addition to those dates, he also has a pair of orchestral dates in late September in Nashville and Atlanta.

    Tickets for the fall tour are currently available through a realtime pre-sale, which ends Wednesday, Aug. 23. They go on sale to the general public on Friday, Aug. 25.

    Trey Anastasio Band Tour Dates
    Sept. 15 – Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival, Fredericton, NB
    Sept. 16 – Thompson’s Point, Portland, ME
    Sept. 17 – Grand Point North Festival, Burlington, VT
    Oct. 27-28 – Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV
    Oct. 31 – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
    Nov. 1 – The Observatory OC, Santa Ana, CA
    Nov. 3-4 – Fox Theater, Oakland, CA

    Trey Anastasio Orchestral Dates
    Sept. 27 – Shermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN
    Sept. 29 – Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta, GA

  • Phish Layers the Garden with Jimmies                     

    On the second Sunday of the outstanding Baker’s Dozen run at Madison Square Garden, Phish once again left its mark in the building and reminded us why we should never miss a Sunday show.  When they opened with the classic, “The Curtain With,” the audience knew that they were in for an extra tasty treat.  On Night 8, the band showed patience, confidence, and, of course – a sense of humor.  Launching into a short but sweet first set “Runaway Jim” the band brought smiles to faces as the first donut reference of the night was revealed. Phish has magically decorated all their sets with delicious toppings during the Baker’s Dozen, and they continue to please the crowd with the lyrics we know and love.

    phish jimmies bakers dozen

    Unlike the outrageously raging Saturday night, the quartet took the “slow and steady wins the race” approach on Sunday.  The unexpected Junta jam “Esther” poked its head out for the first time since 2015.  A hush filled the chapel and the people looked happy as the boys eased into two more slower tunes in “Home” and “Brian and Robert.”  After a straight forward “Nellie Kane” Trey Anastasio led into an unforgettable “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent> Fly Famous Mockingbird” while Chris Kuroda took the lights on a legendary adventure in “the World’s Most Famous Arena.”

    A spine tingling “David Bowie” finished off the set highlighted by Trey’s exceptionally tight guitar playing.  The first set may have been slow, but it certainly wasn’t dull as several bust outs and sought after trophies were obtained by the ravenous audience.  During the set-break, it was clear that fans had made the right choice in buying tickets to the Garden rather than staying home to catch up on Game of Thrones.

    While there was no mention of “Jimmies” in the set two opener, “Drowned,” there was certainly enough improvisation to write home about.  Clearly the MSG residency has done something to the Vermonters as they are playing with a Nectar’s-esque level of commitment.  The ambient and mind-altering “Song I Heard The Ocean Sing” that swam its way out of the “Drowned” jam was the perfect addition to an already stellar second set.  Dialed in, Page anchored the jam with some incredible synth play and Gordon acted as the lift-guard and threw in a floating bass line to build the jam up.

    phish bakers dozen

    After two songs and almost 40 minutes, the crowd was left speechless, but thankfully Phish did all the talking during what will be known as the “Baker’s Harpua.”  The never-ending tale of Jimmy and his cat’s unfortunate fate has not been narrated since 1997 at the Garden, but this time around Trey, Mike, Page, and Jon sat down to tell us a story about the universe.  Donuts have covered mid-town Manhattan as fans anxiously await the details of the next flavor each night.  During the historic version of “Harpua,” Phish let us in on a little secret by informing us all that the entire Universe is just a donut!  In the expansive narration of Jimmy and his comrades, Trey consistently made the connection between current events and what is happening in Jimmy’s world.  The insanely entertaining story that was told on Sunday night will not just go down as one of the greatest things to happen during the 13-show run, but possibly one of the best renditions in Phishtory.

    The band made it clear that they were not ready to head back down to planet Earth as they remained in outer-space for a cosmic “Also Sprach Zarathustra.”  The crowd seemed perplexed and were still trying to wrap their minds around the “Harpua” story when the spacey and instrumental jam morphed into a familiar and grounding “Golgi Apparatus.”  While I am not at liberty to assume how Trey writes his set lists, I imagine there was some thinking behind the second set on Sunday night.  The band went from a water and ocean theme to explaining the massive and mysterious universe before looking into a microscope and focusing in on one of the smallest elements of a cell, the Golgi body.

    Under the light, they couldn’t get anything wrong on this particular night as they settled on yet another a cappella song, “In The Good Old Summer Time” to finish off the amazing set.  Phish acted as our genie and granted us the third wish of the night by debuting the Jimi Hendrix classic “The Wind Cried Mary.”  While die-hard fans were hoping to hear the recognizable “Izabella” by Jimi, we got a slow and fitting “best-of Hendrix” tune instead.  The Garden screamed Mary as smoke billowed and couples embraced during the well-executed cover.  The “Jimmies” night of the Baker’s Dozen run was a huge success and solidified the second Sunday as another classic Garden performance for the band that knows it best.

    Setlist courtesy of Phish.net

    Set 1: The Curtain With > Runaway Jim, Waking Up Dead, Esther, Home, Brian and Robert, Nellie Kane, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > David Bowie

    Set 2: Drowned, A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Harpua > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Golgi Apparatus, In The Good Old Summer Time

    Encore: The Wind Cries Mary[1]

    [1] Phish debut.

  • Trey Anastasio Brings Acoustic Phish to Troy

    The Capital Region of New York has long been stomping grounds for Phish fans. The Times Union Center, formerly known as the Pepsi and Knickerbocker Arenas, has hosted the Vermont boys several times over the last 20 years. SPAC has become a summer tradition for three-night runs and Mike Gordon has played The Egg in Albany multiple times, most recently in November. Troy, NY is now on the map for phans as our fearless leader Trey Anastasio made his second stop of his three-city solo acoustic concert series there on Friday, March 10.

    trey troy
    photo by Dave DeCrescente

    Having played at The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall with the Vermont Youth Orchestra in 2001, Trey told the sold-out crowd of 1,200 that he had been “dying to come back ever since.” The intimate venue, built in 1870 is a stark difference to the mega arenas and amphitheaters in which we congregate for Phish. It proved to be the perfect intimate setting for an evening with Trey, who played 22 songs straight through with a two-song encore. The vast majority of the songs were from the Phish catalog, punctuated with side-splitting comedic tales and tidbits from the Grammy-nominated guitarist’s career. A world class musician and captivating story teller, he is now the Garrison Keillor of the jam scene.

    Kicking things off quickly with “Strange Design,” “Blaze On,” “Mountains in the Mist” and “The Wedge,” he paused briefly to discuss the venue, acknowledging the acoustics of the “legendary room.” Every single movement he made across his guitar sounded as if it were in high resolution – crisp and clear. Next up was “Shade,” and then with some apprehension, a wealth of nervousness and true humility, he told a tale of a birthday letter sent to him from friend and lyricist Tom Marshall during his time spent in Washington County, NY. Despite a tough situation, this letter gave way to the creation of “Backwards Down the Number Line” in which he played after acknowledging one fan’s birthday in the crowd.

    From there he went into “Twenty Years Later” and “Tide Turns” and put the crowd in stitches with a story about a Vermont snowshoeing excursion with Les Claypool and Stewart Copeland, setting the stage for “Rubberneck Lions,” a song he says is his favorite the trio did as Oysterhead.  He then switched guitars to something bigger and boxier for “The Inlaw Josie Wales,” a song that sounded angelic and sweet in this form.

    Sandwiched between two stories involving bandmates Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman, he played a beautiful rendition of “Free.” This was then followed by “Kill Devil Falls,” and “Wolfmans Brother” in which the audience lent their voices as a loop pedal allowed him to layer a jam on top of his own chords. He then performed “The Line,” and then whistled his way through “Lizards.”  “Guelah Papyrus,” “Wading in the Velvet Sea” and “Lawn Boy” preceded a touching and tear jerking “Summer of ’89,” dedicated to his wife of 22 years, Sue, who listened to the song from the audience that Trey says documents their relationship. Then as if to say “enough of the mush,” Trey delivered the always dark “Carini” followed by “Chalkdust Torture” to close the set.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BRev_4gBm7K

    After a standing ovation, Trey returned to encore with David Bowie’s “Rock n’ Roll Suicide” and ended the evening with “More,” the third track off Phish’s 2016 album Big Boat.

    As we picked our jaws up from the floor and embraced our neighbors with hugs and emotional high fives, our hearts overflowed with love and gratitude for this man who has provided so much joy in our lives. The Collar City has a whole new glow and meaning to those of us lucky to witness such a special evening.

    Setlist: Strange Design, Blaze On, Mountains in the Mist, The Wedge, Shade, Backwards Down the Number Line, Twenty Years Later, Tide Turns, Rubberneck Lions*, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Free, Kill Devil Falls, Wolfmans Brother, The Line, Lizards, Guelah Papyrus, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Lawn Boy, Summer of ’89**, Carini -> Chalkdust Torture

    Encore: Rock n’ Roll Suicide†, More

    *Oysterhead song
    ** dedicated to wife, Sue
    † David Bowie cover

  • Trey Anastasio Acoustic Solo Shows coming to Troy, Northampton, Portsmouth

    Trey Anastasio has announced three solo acoustic evenings in the Northeast, his first solo acoustic performances since 2015.

    An Acoustic Evening with Trey Anastasio will bring the Phish front man to Academy of Music Theater in Northampton, MA on March 8, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY on March 10 and The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH on March 11. A real-time presale begins Wednesday, January 25 at 10am ET, and ends Thursday, January 26 at 5pm ET.

    Trey last performed at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in 2001 with the Vermont Youth Orchestra. Solo performances are rarities for Trey. He last performed acoustic in New York City in 2015, Atlantic City in 2012, Newport Folk Fest in 2008 and opened solo shows in 2011 and 1999 with acoustic songs. This marks the first time Trey has performed a string of solo acoustic shows.