Trey Anastasio Band @ The Jefferson, Charlottesville VA - 02.08.10

Setlist
Set I: Shine, Cayman Review, Tuesday, Liquid Time*, Drifting, Let Me Lie, All That Almost Was*, Alaska, Mozambique, A Case of Ice And Snow, Last Tube
Set II: Curlew’s Call, Sand, Valentine, Goodbye Head, Mr. Completely, Windora Bug, Night Speaks to a Woman, Push On Til The Day
E1: Small Axe, Birdwatcher*, Show Of Life*
E2: At The Gazebo, First Tube

* First Time Played

Complete Photo Album on Flickr

I was one of 750 lucky individuals to catch the TAB winter tour opener at the brand new Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia on Monday. The venue re-opened the week that Trey’s main gig, Phish, played John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville last December. The Jefferson opened in 1912 as a venue for vaudeville acts and silent movies. It’s hosted such acts as Harry Houdini and The Three Stooges. But, before last November, the Jefferson had been closed for awhile. I moved here in 2001, and don’t believe it has been open the whole time I’ve been living in Charlottesville.

The venue inside is tall. There are 4 levels. You enter on the main level, which has a bar and tables on a raised floor in the back and then the main floor up front that actually slopes downward to the stage. This is a great subtle feature that enables all fans on the floor to have a good view of the stage. Below the main floor is another bar with tables, kind of a little hideaway from the main action. Then, there are two more floors above the stage. The floor above the stage is all seats, and the floor above that is standing room only. All in all, it’s a pretty sweet venue that sits right on Charlottesville’s downtown mall, which is also the location of the Charlottesville Pavilion, the main outdoor venue in town that holds about 3500.

It was no surprise to me that Trey played the Jefferson since his management’s offices are about 2 blocks down from the venue. Supposedly, I had lunch at the same place he did on Monday, but missed him by an hour. Grrr.

The show was fantastic. I’ve listened to it yesterday, and my opinion hasn’t changed. For a tour opener, the band really did impress me. While I’ve seen Phish a lot over the years, this was only the second time I have seen TAB live and the first time in almost 8 years. Shine was a great opener to introduce the horn section and new trombone player Natalie Cressman, who was a crowd favorite all night. The show moved along nicely in the beginning, but I didn’t think it really picked up until Alaska and Mozambique. Last Tube delivered as a solid set one closer as well, leaving everyone wanting more of the same in set two.

The second set matched the performance and energy of the end of the first with crowd favorites, Sand, Windora Bug, Night Speaks To A Woman, and Push On Til The Day. Valentine and Mr. Completely were my favorites from the second set.

The show consisted of two encores. The first encore ended with my favorite new song of the night, Show Of Life. It really has a JGB feel to it. In general, all of the new songs were unique sounding, which made them really stand out. I look forward to seeing them evolve this tour and beyond.

The second encore began with Trey saying a few words about his sister, Kristine, who would have turned 47 on Monday. The show was a benefit concert for the Kristine Anastasio Manning Memorial Fund, and Trey’s family was in attendance to witness the event. After At The Gazebo, which was dedicated to Kristine and anyone who has had to deal with cancer, TAB ended the show predictably with a rocking First Tube.

Overall, it was clear the band had put in a lot of practice for the opener. It was also evident that they were having a good time. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the show as much if it wasn’t for the small venue. The last time I saw TAB was in a basketball arena with the horns and it just didn’t have the same vibe. I hope he can continue to play small clubs and theaters so all fans can experience the band up close. If you have a chance to see TAB on this tour, I encourage you to check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Finally, we did take some video from the evening, but our batteries ran out of juice. Thus, all we ended up with were small clips from several points during the show. I figure something is better than nothing, so the result is below.

Trey Anastasio Band @ The Jefferson, 2/8/2010 from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

Check out all of our coverage of the TAB show from The Jefferson Theater on February 8, 2010.