Trey Anastasio Band, 10/12/11, Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ

Trey Band, 10/12/11, Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ


This mid-week show had been floating around in the realm of possibilities, but because I had no desire to fight rush hour traffic and stay out really late in the middle of the week, there was no way I was going unless an unprovoked ticket fell into my lap. A few days before the show, an unprovoked ticket fell into my lap. What are ya gonna do?

First, you get stuck in traffic. Then, you get stuck in traffic. Rt. 3 out of the Lincoln Tunnel on a rainy Wednesday night- you do the math. But at the end of all that traffic there is a Trey Anastasio show, and these days he's been delivering. These Days, as opposed to Those Days, with Phase Puddle Trey from many years back, out of the way, that is. I saw an NYC show during that state, and was actively upset by the terribleness of it all. However, Spring Tour 2011, brought with it rave reviews, and I wanted Trey Band to redeem itself.

It did. Tenfold. Awesome show. Lots of love, lots of energy, and a really happy crowd. The show itself was 93-95% Awesome, 5-7% Wank. The kind of Wank that makes you sit down and conserve some energy, or time out a pee-break. They totally lost me with a couple of songs, but other than that-- AWESOME!

Trey was dancing, running around the stage, and acting like a freakin' kid on Fun Dip. And of course, shredding the fuck out of the guitar. His talent will still melt your face, even after all these years. These Years, as opposed to Those Years. It's adorable to see him genuinely enjoying himself and embracing his ability to entertain people again. I'm really glad to see him smile.


Highlights: Burlap Sack and Pumps -> Money, Love, and Change. Alaska, Magilla, SMOKING Cayman Review. Then I got tired, but the end of the set picked back up and Push On 'Til the Day (which I believe was meant to inspire us to drag our asses through setbreak and the rest of the show) filled me with spirit. Set II rocked, and they did the Gorillaz's Clint Eastwood, which was outstanding and blew the fucking roof off the place. Righteous groove. -> Mr. Completely, sick. Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing-- got the whole room moving. A rockin' First Tube closed out Set II. Encore featured a beautiful Ocelet and, annnnnnd, a fucking BRILLIANT Zep's Black Dog, with Jennifer Hartswick on screaming vocals. She rules.




Speaking of the band-- just an unbelievable lineup. The horn section (Hartswick on trumpet, Natalie Cressman on Trombone, and Russell Remington on Sax & Flute)--- was vibrant and sweet. Ray Paczkowski on Keys was soulful and a shit-ton of fun to watch. Tony Markellis (Bass) and Russ Lawton (Drums) layed down a locked-in & killer rhythm section. Great sound.



We tried to sneak on the floor but were totes denied. The balcony was still cool-- first time I've been up there. However, the sound towards the bottom is much better than the sound at the top. Yah, I know, duh-- but it was a noticeable difference. I like feeling the ROCK in my sternum and that didn't happen til we moved down for Set II.

Trey Anastasio Band redeemed itself. I'm so so glad that they did. I am also very glad that this unprovoked ticket fell into my lap-- thanks, Leeeza (all the way from VT! Great to hang in the Jerz!)! Trey Anastasio Band, 10/12/11, Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ: 8.8 HUZZAHS!!

Set 1: Burlap Sack and Pumps > Money, Love and Change, It Makes No Difference, Gotta Jibboo, Alaska, Magilla, Cayman Review, Shine, Snake Head Thumb, Pigtail, Liquid Time, Small Axe, Push On ‘Til the Day
Set 2: Simple Twist Up Dave, Acting the Devil, Clint Eastwood > Mr. Completely > Plasma, O-o-h Child > Goodbye Head > Sand, Sultans of Swing, First Tube
Encore: At the Gazebo, Ocelot, Show of Life, Black Dog

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW: haven't seen it up yet, but check http://bt.etree.org for copies that will surely pop up.

Phish, 10/23/10, Amherst, MA

Phish, 10/23/10, Mullins Center, Amherst, MA


I didn't put in for any Phish Fall Tour Lottery or even try and buy during onsale this year because 1) MSG is right around the corner, and 2) Quite honestly, I've been feeling sentenced to getting a YEM and Prince Caspian at practically every show I've been to since their return in '09, therefore 3) If I hear YEM or Caspian more than one more time this year (this includes the 2010 portion of the MSG run), Trey is in serious danger of getting bitch-slapped. With plenty of other Fall Tours on my list, Phish didn't feel obligatory, which is kind of an odd feeling. If a ticket came my way and the mood struck me, I'd take it from there.

The rest of this review will be presented in Haiku verse.

Mark's extra Amherst
for a round-trip adventure,
was a decent deal^.

Amish Sammiches,
Mark learns all about Sea Salt,
eats a Snackers bar.

Lot traffic totes blew.
No more waiting- make a right!
We'll walk to The Phish!



A first set moment:
B.B.F.C.F.M., YES!
Weird vibes from the crowd?



Fishman saved the set,
running around and screaming.
TweezeStick Reprise, whaaat?!





Big My Friend x 2,
a fun Maze and Harry Hood,
Shine A Light was nice.

His silver hair glowed.
My intestines were bouncing,
Mike was showing off.





Caspian and YEM,
Oh, The Phish, how you mock me.
*cold slap of my palm*




HIGHLIGHTS in glorious Technicolor!
Set 1: Meatstick, Party Time, Golgi Apparatus, Kill Devil Falls, Tweezer, Lawn Boy, Sparkle > Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, HYHU > Love You > HYHU, Possum > Tweezer Reprise

Set 2: Down With Disease > My Friend My Friend > Prince Caspian > Halfway to the Moon > Boogie On Reggae Woman > Maze, Wading in the Velvet Sea > Piper > Harry Hood > You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Shine A Light

SLIDESHOW AND HI-RES GALLERY



^ and there was Alice Cooper Karaoke (which is itself, too many syllables to deal with putting into a Haiku right now) on the ride back!

7/1/06, GRAB (and Phil Lesh), PNC (Garden State) Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ

you know what's great? i've noticed that less people read my concert reviews than read my inane ramblings. what's worse? what does that say about me? but more importantly, what does that say about YOU?

regardless. after picking up the affable lauren simms and forcing her to go to amish market with me, we headed down the parkway to exit 117- the (pnc) garden state arts center. once there, parked and baked in the hot hot sun. oh, and drank beers. some guys pulled into the spot across from us and proceeded to play God Street Wine's '$1.99 Romances'. it was a good spot. it was a really good spot.

we slowly made contact with the people we were meeting up with in various stages of travel. what made things a little difficult is that we just missed out on parking in the first lot- so i didn't get to park anywhere near: mattypie or 4dice. however, we were in the same lot as loughrey and we were able to snag the spot next to ours and reserve it for brett and his friend zeke. when they finally showed up (something about getting lost and ending up in camden- sounds fun, eh?) brett pulled a sandwich about the size of his forearm out of a cooler and ate the whole damn thing. for fun we put some meat on the pavement to see if it would frizzle. it started to sweat.

eventually loughrey lumbered over to us and... well, first we drank more... and then we motivated to walk over to the main lot, but by the time we got there everybody wanted to go in. unfortunately i didn't get to hear any of the benevento russo duo set, but i did see them at moe.down a few years ago and they were great. also, it doesn't hurt that both the guys are hot. joe russo actually kinda looks like mike ouweleen. dorks unite!

they were selling daquiris & margaritas for $8 and something called "the guitar" for $13. it looked like a twist of the two. i had a lemon italian ice for $4. we climbed up the stairs and found a nice spot on the lawn. phil lesh was playing. meh. joan osborne sang. that only made me angry. there were a *lot* of deadheads in the crowd. like, a **lot** of them.

but then, the set i went to see- GRAB. mike Gordon, joe Russo, trey Anastasio, & marco Benevento. i was really hoping to see a mixture of phish tunes, trey tunes, and sick jams. trey basically apologized upfront and said, "thanks for being patient with the new tunes". so, yeah, we got a nice tease for a little bit but i don't think he played any full phish tunes? i can't remember. mike sounded great. and the B&R were awesome too. they did some great harder jamming, they are definitely still learning to play together, but it was a fun set. some of the spacier trey tunes were a little lame- but altogether, way better than any of the trey solo shows i've seen in years. (the tsunami benefit doesn't count, that was a moe. show- trey was a special guest).

so, altogether- maybe 7 HUZZAHS? i dunno. i was somehow expecting more. to be blown away maybe.