Show Review

With the continuous debates back and forth about Trey Anastasio’s recent efforts since he closed the curtain on Phish a year ago, and now that he’s gone ahead and changed his band lineup yet again, we thought it might be fun to send three different writers to his tour opener in Boston. Not for in-depth critiques, and unnecessary over-analyzing for a band basically playing their first show together, but just quick and honest impressions from three varying viewpoints. If we wanted a cohesive take, we didn't get it. Looks like the agreeing to disagree continues...

70 Volt Parade: Trey Anastasio (g), Tony Hall (b), Les Hall (k,g), Skeeto Valdez (d), Ray Paczkowski (k), Jennifer Hartswick (v), Christina Durfee (v)

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by Dan Bliss:

For those following the recent reviews on Trey, the general consensus has been the shows are hit and miss. For every mind bending shakedown, there’s a dud soon to follow that leaves you wondering what direction he’s going in. So for the tour opener, anything was game.

Harborlights has always been a favorite venue of mine, as it’s right on the bay with a great view of the skyline. The scene going in was fairly restrained - as is typical of most Trey shows, what I like to call Phish-lite - and the band didn’t waste any time opening with “Cayman Review.” That lifted the set from the start, and the band as a whole came out solid, hitting high notes with a tight “Drifting,” equally strong “Burlap Sack and Pumps” and a “Mr. Completely” closer. “Night Speaks” launched another strong set that featured a hot “First Tube” closer that book ended a technically sound showcase of new material. The “I Am The Walrus” closer was a fitting encore.

The new band was pretty solid tonight; consistency on a nightly basis is going to be the key for this band. Conversely, I feel Jennifer Hartswick’s talents are being wasted behind the mic and she should pick up the horn again. In the end, I came away pleasantly surprised having thoroughly enjoyed the show.

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by David Boffa:

So far, there are two parts to Trey Anastasio's career: "Before Surrender to the Air" and "After Surrender to the Air." Since 1996's jazz oriented foray into the non-Phish realm, Trey has been on a mission to find a musical fulfillment that Phish was not providing him. Thus, the "After Surrender to the Air" years are marked by musical confusion and experimentation, his work with Oysterhead the most prominent example of this. Even last year's Seis De Mayo, a jumbled instrumental mix of originals and reworked Phish songs, exemplifies that Trey is still frantically trying to search for the top of his musical Everest.

When I saw Phish last summer at the Tweeter Center, it was clear Trey was as lost as ever: his playing was sloppy, the set meandered from one noise jam to the next, and he even questioned whether the fans liked the Fishman song/vacuum solo or not (a staple of Phish sets for years.)

The one aspect that stood out with Trey in this new lineup tonight is the complete lack of contribution from the complimentary players. Almost every song traversed into a jam section, and every jam section was invariably a guitar solo over structured themes that shunned any attempts of improvisation. The concert debuts of "Sleep Again" and "Spin" further signified that the Trey of the future comes with backers who acquiesce all control to him. A muddy version of "Burlap Sack and Pumps" and the experimental "Goodbye Head" were throwbacks to his earlier work and were glimpses of brilliance in an otherwise straightforward and uninspired collage of standard rock tunes.

The question remains whether or not Trey has found his musical niche with the 70 Volt Parade. From what I can tell, he seems destined to be forever pigeonholed by his work with Phish and anything else will seem like Trey with a bunch of guys who play his tunes. Time will tell if Skeeto Valdez, Ray Paczkowski and Les and Tony Hall can bring to Trey's music what Fish, Page and Mike did. While it is still way too early to make any claims to this effect; the effort to do this on Thursday evening, whether by design or otherwise, was entirely non-existent.

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by Brian Piccolo

Going into something with high expectations is never a good thing. Regardless of whether it's a new movie or a rock concert, unreasonable expectations generally lead to one thing...disappointment. This was the case last August after leaving Mansfield, MA for Coventry, VT to watch my favorite band's farewell performance. The Great Woods shows of a year ago were fabulous and left me salivating for Coventry...36 hours later, I was disappointed. So, going into Trey's only Boston area performance this summer with his new band, I set my expectations very low.

The break up of Phish, including the Coventry disaster and the canceling of the Zooma tour had left a bad taste in my mouth; not too mention, a plethora of bad press and reviews over the past year. Needless to say, I was skeptical. Well, what a difference a year makes. Leaving the harborside venue, (one of the best in the northeast, I might add), I felt rejuvenated and excited - Trey and his new band had exceeded my expectations. The new Trey band doesn't have the the McConnells, Fishmans, Gordons or even the Grippos and Lawtons, but what they do have is a cohesive group of musicians coming into their own, behind a fiery redhead guitar icon from Vermont.

“Cayman Review” set the stage for the evening and immediately got the crowd moving in delight. A solid “Drifting,” a new incarnation of an old favorite, “Burlap Sacks and Pumps” and a jumping “Money Love and Change,” were highlights of the first set. A mind numbing “Mr. Completely” to close the set and a raucous version of “Night Speaks” to open the second solidified it for me, that Trey was indeed back! Throw in a “First Tube” closer and a great rendition of the Beatles “I Am the Walrus” as an encore, and I was content.

The band also offered several new songs throughout the course of the night as well as the old TAB staples. “Dark and Down,” and “Tuesday” were highlights of this new repertoire. Could this be a sign of great things to come from Mr. Anastasio's latest project? Only time will tell, but one can only hope that Trey's new "parade" continues to perform at this level and continues to exceed fans expectations.

Photos by Adam Foley, taken at the recent 70 Volt Parade Bonnaroo performance