Trey Anastasio Band At The Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL
Friday, February 19, 2010

Set 1: Shine, Cayman Review, Push On Til The Day, Sweet Dreams Melinda, Mozambique, Alive Again, Gotta Jibboo, Small Axe, All That Almost Was, Alaska, Valentine, Tuesday, Brian and Robert^, Driver^, Sample^, Wilson^,

Set 2: Dragonfly, Night Speaks to a Woman, Sand, Let Me Lie, Mr. Completely, Plasma, The Birdwatcher, The Way I Feel, Last Tube, Black Dog

Encore: Sultans of Swing, First Tube

^ Acoustic

It’s been awhile since I last saw Trey - relatively speaking, of course. My last show was Phish’s fall tour closer in Charlottesville last December. During 2009 it was obvious that Trey was working to get his tour legs underneath him again, often caught up a little too much in playing every single note perfectly rather than just unleashing with the improvisational fire fans have come to expect from him over the years. But as the year progressed, Trey became more comfortable playing in a band again full time, while finding the confidence that took him, Phish, and fans to incredible places over the past two decades.

After Friday night’s show at The Riv, it’s obvious that Trey is back in a major way, and 2009 was only the beginning. Over the course of the evening, fans were given a taste of everything in his solo cannon.  The best of his solo work was greeted with tight new treatments, while splashing in some tasteful Phish and even bringing a little something new to the table.

The show opened with Shine, the title track to Anastasio’s first post-Coventry album in 2005. It set a nice tone, but was quickly followed up with TAB staples Cayman Review and Push On Til The Day. The former’s lyrics seemed quite appropriate for a late winter/early spring tour: “Summer’s coming and I’d like a review.”  However, it was Push On that set the tone for the rest of the set, as the horn section set up the jam nicely before leaving the four-piece classic ensemble to get down to the dirty. Trey unleashed - on his guitar and physically with a series of jumps and leg kicks - which really brought the crowd into it. I was taking photos between the rail and stage at the time (special thanks to Red Light Management for the photo pass!) and shared a few words with Trey, who saw me dancing in front of him at the end of Push On.

Other first set highlights included the Mozambique - Alive Again - Gotta Jibboo segment, peaking with a dark, yet danceable Jibboo that was noticeably different than the Phish versions from fall ‘09. Perhaps the peak of the first set came with a surprisingly dirty version of Alaska.  Then again I’ve caught all but a handful of versions of this since Trey debuted it at Rothbury in 2008, and it’s quickly become a favorite among the Joy tunes.

The first set culminated in a strong Tuesday jam that found the rest of the band exiting the stage in favor of Trey playing Phish songs on his acoustic.  Sample In A Jar seemed to be the highlight for most of the crowd, although for me Wilson was a nice trip back to the sandy grass of Sunday’s acoustic set at Festival 8.

(video via Jmollico21)

Set two seemed very reminiscent of Anastasio’s setlists from Phish, with an emphasis on getting down to business quickly and focusing on dark, complex improv with well placed breaks (such as “Let Me Lie”). Night Speaks gave both Jen and newcomer Natalie Cressman a chance to shine, while Mr. Completely saw Trey tossing signals to the band, leaving room for others to push the direction, and opening up space for him to solo with ease.

Another TAB-turned-Phish tune stole the spotlight in the second set: Sand. While Phish treated fans with one of the song’s finest versions in Camden last summer, it saw little action elsewhere (only coming out in Miami). However, Sand is a Trey song that works best with a bigger band with more moving parts to shape and shift its jam. It’s a great example of how this group has been able to gel quickly and with purpose this time around. It’s also a good look at the new Trey Anastasio.

Since coming back to the spotlight Trey has shown patience, proven that one of his best skills as a musician is still his ear, and carefully chosen when he’s just another member of the group and when he’s leading the direction of the jams. This more versatile and group-oriented Trey has not only been more enjoyable to watch, but you can tell he’s into the music much more than a few years back. The result on Friday was an overly sold out crowd that left not just blown away, but almost exiting with a certain swagger and confidence that is simply a contagious side effect of Big Red’s renewed love for his craft.

View our entire photo gallery on flickr.

Download the show: Part I | Part II