Trey has never debuted a batch of songs as varied as the ones he’s unveiled on this tour. The Birdwatcher sounds like a TV theme song from the ’60s, while Liquid Time has that Early Rock feel made famous by Del Shannon. Show of Life is tender as fuck while All That Almost Was is a gem of a rocker. Having such variety among the new songs helps plug in the holes between the Classic TAB jam vehicles like Sand, Gotta Jibboo and Night Speaks to a Woman.
For longtime TAB followers, one of the best parts of the tour has been the new horn arrangements. Moving down from a five-piece horn section in ’06 to the current three-piece variation led Trey to have longtime collaborator Don Hart “freshen up” the arrangements. Hart succeeded in a big way as songs like Drifting, Gotta Jibboo and First Tube have all benefited from these perky new horn lines.
Speaking of new arrangements, one of the highlights of the three shows I saw was this band’s version of Love Is Freedom that they dropped in Wallingford. They’ve taken elements of the rockin’ riff that propels Tweezer and added a vibrant horn arrangement that gives a whole new life to the tune’s passionate lyrics. Anastasio displayed some of his best playing during the Love Is Freedom jam which turned heads in favor of a song that didn’t get much love from the fanbase in the past.
At Phish shows in 2009, Big Red wasn’t very talkative, but he’s been chatty as hell over the first seven shows of this tour. Whether he’s introducing Natalie or explaining the story behind Strange Design or acknowledging the 21st Anniversary of his first date with his wife, Trey has been engaging the audience and speaking his mind at each show. You can probably make a great disc filled with all the banter by the end of the tour.
Trey’s sobriety has not only been great for his family and himself, but his fans have also benefited in a big way. With Classic TAB tearing it up and Phish finishing a banner year, it’s a great time to be a Trey Anastasio fan. We all know how quickly things can change, so let’s just enjoy it while we can. Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB continue their tour tomorrow night at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee.
Check out more of Adam Kaufman’s photos…
- YEMblog: Trey Anastasio Classic TAB Audio, Videos & Reviews
- Previously on HT: Charlottesville Photos, Stream The New Songs, 9:30 Club Setlist, Charlottesville Setlist, Philadelphia Setlist, Boston Setlist and Photos, Philadelphia Photos, Wallingford Setlist, Red Bank Setlist and Photos,
12 Responses
very well said scotty B. I hope things won’t be changin for a while. Also, the crowds at Trey shows have been great over the years in my experience and this tour has also been no exception. TAB really is, like a dirty-red secret. TAB/Trey phans have been respectful, enhtusiastic and seemingly all-around music lovers. It’s been nice to get off the kiddie rides for a while.
Dear Hiden Track/Glide Mag,
Quit jizzing in your pants over Trey, TAB, and Phish. Every other post is a review of one of those three. There are other noteworthy bands out there to cover.
Signed,
Former Reader
Good riddance former reader. Pitchfork is that way.
Scotty, you have one pic for best combo of show/source so far this tour?
Thanks, Oliver. Plenty of non-Phish posts, JSF3000, all these posts are generally in addition to our regular coverage.
Oliver, I’d start with Jesse Hurlbut’s tape of Wallingford:
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=532575
Best source I’ve heard thus far.
Fantastic work and assessment Scotty. Well done as always.
Okay, so what IS the story behind Strange Design?!