Trey Anastasio Band Finishes Strong In Denver [review]
TAB Brings Heat To Denver's Fillmore Auditorium
By Eric Frank
November 17, 2015
Trey Anastasio closed out his 13-show fall tour with a two-night run at Denver's Fillmore Auditorium – and he did it in rather epic fashion. The energy in the room was as palpable as the sweat that would eventually come pouring from our collective face, and the band knew it. They were in full control of it. This incarnation of TAB is about as good as it gets, displaying both the deep type-II jams of Trey's 2001-2002 bands, and a polished cohesion perhaps not seen from any of Trey's previous bands. TAB showcased a wide variety of tunes from its vast and ever-growing repertoire and did so in a way that created two vastly different experiences.
Friday's show got going with the warm-hearted "Drifting" off of Trey's 2002 self-titled solo album. After the quick warm-up, the band launched right into fan favorite "First Tube". A rowdy finish to the tune spread ecstasy throughout the audience and set the mood for the rest of the night. There would be energy, and plenty of it.
The first set's song selection would continue with a tasteful blend of old school crowd-pleasers, balanced cover songs and tracks from Anastasio's newest effort, Paper Wheels. Friday's show would explore the deepest and darkest depths of the band, the rhythm section providing the fuel to a well oiled, seven-headed funk machine. Although "Money, Love and Change" would showcase a tasty extended jam, my personal highlight of the set was an up-tempo and particularly nasty "Last Tube". Raunchy and unapologetic, this tune rises from the ether and spills mercilessly onto its audience, soaking up the bizarre and spewing forth uninhibited excellence.
The second set saw plenty of extended jamming, starting with the heavy-hitting "Alive Again". The fun would continue in "Plasma", "Gotta Jiboo", and "Sand" as Anastasio seemed determined to give Denver what it wanted; a no-holds-barred, unapologetic dance party. The encore saw yet another Phish tune in "Ocelot", complete with a Trey/sax duel with bandmate James Casey. Closing out the night was a gut-busting rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused" which showcased Jennifer Hartswick’s exquisite vocal command. Round one, complete.
Set 1:
Drifting, First Tube, Cayman Review, Soul Rebel, In Rounds, Acting the Devil,Money, Love and Change, Flying Machines, Spin, Sometime After Sunset > Last Tube
Set 2:
Paper Wheels, Alive Again, The Song, Plasma > Liquid Time, Frost > Gotta Jibboo > Goodbye Head, MacArthur Park, Sand
Encore: Ocelot, Dazed and Confused
While Friday's show explored the profound realities within the deepest realm of the band's inner eye, Saturday night brought a decidedly different feel. Saturday's show was one of rejoicing, of celebration and of culmination – perhaps a fitting notion for the tour-closing performance. If Friday brought the rage-face, Saturday brought ear-to-ear smiles.
That sentiment was felt from the get-go with George Harrison's "What is Life?", a new cover debuted on this tour. Following a quick and mild "Speak To Me", the band busted into a high-energy version of the old Phish-favorite, "Magilla". After some impressive traded solos and a tight ending, Saturday's first heavy jamming would show itself – perhaps surprisingly – in "Pigtail" off of Anastasio's Traveler, released in 2012. "Dark and Down" came next, suddenly turning the night into a hard and wailing, no-fucks-given shred-fest from Trey, only to give way to the manic yet somehow introspective "The Land of Nod". An up-tempo "Burlap Sack and Pumps" included an inspired solo by saxophonist James Casey with Trey providing a dark, dissonant landscape from which to traverse, not unlike his role during Page's frenetic organ solo in Phish's "Maze". Next up was the newer cut "Bounce", a composition that starts on the softer side but quickly shifts into high gear, providing a funky clav-breakdown that busted into a climax worthy of the first-set highlight."Night Speaks To A Woman" would close out an impressive first set.
The heavy-hitters of the second set are what you'd expect them to be; a "Simple Twist Up Dave" that was borderline out of control and which saw a Trey Anastasio utterly in the zone, a "Mr. Completely" in which Anastasio orchestrated flawless key-changes and a Jen Hartswick breakdown, and a "Push On 'Till The Day'' as good as this seasoned Phish/TAB fan has ever witnessed. This feel-good show ended with "Show of Life'' as its all too fitting encore, but just when we thought the lights would come up, TAB had one more surprise for us; another treat from the Zeppelin catalogue, "Black Dog".
Set 1:
What Is Life, Speak to Me, Magilla, Pigtail > Dark and Down, The Land of Nod,Lever Boy, Valentine, Burlap Sack and Pumps, It Makes No Difference, Bounce > Night Speaks to a Woman
Set 2:
Invisible Knife > Simple Twist Up Dave, Let Me Lie > Tuesday, 49 Bye-Byes,Greyhound Rising, Mr. Completely > Architect, Shine, Clint Eastwood > Push On 'Til the Day
Encore: Show of Life, Black Dog
With shows this good on a tour this consistent, we see no signs of aging from the 51 year old Anastasio. As Phish now prepares for its New Year's run and subsequent "Riviera Maya" event, we fans have a lot to look forward to from Big Red and should feel lucky to have a man as dedicated to his craft as Trey Anastasio.