“I have a few friends here tonight,” said Phish frontman Trey Anastasio at the Palace Theater in Albany last Saturday night. If by “few” he meant close to 3,000, he was right on. Smoke is still visible from the smoldering crater where the Palace once stood, thanks to Trey, along with his 7-piece band (collectively known as TAB, for the Trey Anastasio Band). They razed the venue to the ground on Saturday night, enthralling the sold-out crowd first with an acoustic set comprised of nearly all Phish songs, and then an electric set that was, well – electrifying.
Trey made a couple of references to being “home,” (he did spend some time in Albany during his drug court appearances and community service tasks in 2008) and if home is where the heart is, it sure rang true on Saturday. Trey looked truly excited and grateful to be playing a relatively intimate show with his die-hard fans, pumping his fists and smiling ear to ear after every song.
The crowd sang along jubilantly during the first set, with the opener “Free” setting the tone, and groovy acoustic versions of Phish songs like “The Wedge,” “Prince Caspian,” and “Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan” followed. But the most poignant moment of the entire show, for me anyway, came during “Backwards Down the Number Line,” which as a Phish song features prominent backing vocals. During Trey’s acoustic version, which he introduced by saying he wrote it during his stay in Albany, the audience provided the backing vocals (with perfect timing, I might add). In essence, 3,000 crazed Phish-heads weren’t just singing along with Trey – we were jamming with him. He sang his part, we sang the backing part. It created this amazing feeling of intimacy, of connection to the artist. And it continued with the next song “Limb By Limb,” which featured a couple of back-and-forth vocal verses between Trey and the crowd; again, it was an incredible thing to be a part of. The most interesting reworking of all the Phish songs Trey performed that night was Guelah Papyrus, a weird little jazzy tune. Trey changed up the timing and structure of the song for his acoustic version; sometimes in the grand scheme of Phish, Trey’s individual ability gets criticized because his songwriting now isn’t anything like it was 20 years ago. But to rearrange an older song like Guelah into something fresh and interesting is a testament to how talented the man really is. The last four songs of the set saw other members of TAB filter on to the stage. Vocalists/horn players Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick joined Trey for the sappy but beautiful Wading in a Velvet Sea, which Trey dedicated to his longtime songwriting partner Tom Marshall, seated in the crowd; then keyboardist extraordinaire Ray Paczkowski joined the others for the older Trey solo song Black; and for the last two songs the rest of the band appeared – Tony Markellis on bass, Russ Lawton on drums and Russ Remington on sax and flute. They did a great version of the relatively new Valentine, and then closed the first set with an amazingly different version of The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Trey introduced the song as a “klezmer blues” song, referring to that fast-tempo music usually heard at Jewish celebrations. It was unclear what he meant until the song began – the fiddle part in the original song was covered by the horn section, and it truly did sound like klezmer music (see the video at the bottom). The crowd went crazy and we were all pumped for the electric set after the intermission.
And that set began with a bang – the grand horn-driven funk of Money, Love and Change whipped the crowd into a frenzy of dancing, as Trey and the band jammed it out for a good 10 minutes. After the straight-up blues of Done Did It, the band presented a rearrangement of the Phish tune Ocelot; it was an interesting version with the added horns, but overall it didn’t add much to the original version. Then TAB pulled a crazy cover out of their bag of tricks, taking on the Gorillaz’ Clint Eastwood. The band played it perfectly, with Hartswick easily handling the rap portions – the crowd went bananas. A scorching Night Speaks to a Woman followed that, with another extended funk-rock jam that pushed the energy level to the limit. The Toots and the Maytals song Sweet and Dandy came next, a cool reggae tune that was fun to hear, followed by the Five Stairsteps’ Ooh Child, a somewhat boring version of a somewhat boring song. Going back to the reggae sound, TAB played the very rare Trey/Phish song Windora Bug, a quirky treat to hear. The other two highlights of the set were Sand and Push On Til the Day; TAB laid down a great groove for Sand and jammed it out extensively, while Push On brought the energy level to a new high, reaching a huge climax at the end of the long jam segment and sending the crowd into apoplexy.
The encore was Cayman Review, a solid funky tune that ended the show with the same enthusiasm as it began. All in all it was a fantastic show, and TAB seemed to be having a ton of fun, reflected by the singing and dancing of the audience. It’s the vibe of a Phish show in a much smaller setting, creating a whole new experience.
This show gets 4.5 out of 5 stars!
Posts Tagged ‘phish
No Trey for You!
At this time it can be officially said that Trey Anastasio and Classic Tab’s show at The Palace is SOLD OUT! Sweet for us ticket holders, sucky for you lame-o’s who waited until the last minute. Luckily, I’m sure you can scalp a ticket for around $120 the night of the show, ouch!
Last I checked there were only two shows (oddly both in Pennsylvania) that were still available for tickets, but all others are sold out as well. I’m very excited for this Saturday’s show, I’m sure it will be well worth the wait.
Check back on monday for a full review of the show.
We got our tickets before it sells out, you might want to as well! (Read below)
A limited number of tickets for all shows will be available through a real-time ticket presale beginning Friday January 14th at 10:00 AM EST and ending Thursday January 20th at 5:00 PM EST through Trey’s online ticketing system at http://treytickets.rlc.net . For complete venue and general public onsale information please visit http://trey.com/tours/
TREY ANASTASIO BAND ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC WINTER
2/18 – State Theatre – Portland, ME
2/19 – Palace Theatre – Albany, NY
2/20 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
2/22 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY
2/23 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
2/25 – StageAE – Pittsburgh, PA
2/26 – Lifestyle Pavilion – Columbus, OH
2/27 – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL
3/01 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
3/02 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
3/04 – The Music Box – Los Angeles, CA
3/05 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
Trey Anastasio Band in Albany!
Fresh off Phish’s majestic New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden, guitarist Trey Anastasio is not taking a break. He has reassembled his 7-piece band (known as “Classic TAB”) and is hitting the road next month, which includes a stop at Albany’s Palace Theater on February 19th. The lineup will once again feature Natalie Cressman (trombone and vocals), Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet and vocals), Russ Lawton (drums), Tony Markellis (bass and vocals), Ray Paczkowski (keyboards) and Russell Remington (tenor saxophone and flute). The shows will also feature a full solo acoustic set from Trey along with a full electric set, marking the first time that Trey has toured in this format since 1999.
For those not familar with this band, the sound can best be described as a mix of funk, rock and jazz with Latin and African rhythmic elements. It’s mainly up-tempo, with many songs allowing room for improvised jamming. Jennifer Hartswick is a fantastic vocalist, belting out solo tunes and duets with Trey. All the musicians are stellar in their own right, making for a wonderful congolmeration of talent. Here’s a taste of what you can expect:
As for Trey’s acoustic work, right now you can download a FREE mp3 here of his recent show in Princeton, NJ featuring Trey with a string quartet performing his songs along with some classic Phish tunes.
You can see all the info including other tour dates here. Hope to see you there!
I’ve never been one to be obsessed about live concerts about my favorite musicians; often I have made the point not to buy anything live since it seems like a marketing ploy or filler album for the artist; buying them time since to release anything of substance at a later date.
Recently, and in my old age, I’ve come to appreciate the art of the live concert and what gems they can provide with enlightening the listener with new perpectives and opinions about the artist. Last month I posted my new discovery of the live music repository Nugs.net and the incredible vast assortment of live material recorded free to the masses; better yet is that the recordings were made directly off the soundboards, so the quality is near perfect!
This might be where my disdain for live shows may have root; the quality. Back in high school the only live recordings you could get of shows were either the ones the artist released or some bootleg recording made with a hand held tape recorder (yes, I’m that old!). I recall one trip to NYC in the West Village there was actaully a store (I think on MacDougall) that sold bootleg concert tapes; I think I picked up some random Rush and Van Halen shows and dreaded my purchase all the way home; that was the first and last time I invested in live material.
Yes, there have been the random quality live releases such as Rush’s first live album, 1976′s ”All The Worlds A Stage” and Peter Frampton “Frampton Comes Alive” (but to be honest “Do You Feel Like I Do” and “Show Me The Way” are the only two songs that anyone really remembers, the remainder of the album is not very impressive). But really I cannot recall any live shows that really were worth the investment long term. Of course, my new found interest in Phish has changed much of my opinion; Phish’s “A Live One” and “Hampton Comes Alive” are great examples of incredible live material, but then with technology changing and also Phish taking true “pride in ownership” about their sound, they have redefined why live shows have merit and provide lasting listening pleasure. The catalog of live Phish that LivePhish.net offers is astounding; and 99.9% is recorded directly off the boards; each show is a quality listening experience.
Although there are many incredible shows available on Nugs.net (I believe a sister site of LivePhish.net), the one I have been listening to non-stop has been the Dave Matthews and Friends show at the FleetCenter in Boston 2003. Of course having lived in Boston for over a decade, the old Boston Garden has taken on too many names due to greedy corporate sponsorship, I think today it is called the “TD Banknorth Boston Garden North Station Thingy” or something like that, ugh.
The show is a culmination of various artists joining Dave on stage as he released his first solo album entitled Some Devil. The biggest hit off of this album was “Grave Digger”, but during the concert he plays a plethora of both old and new material; some new solo work and classics from his well known band. One of the highlights are the songs he plays with longtime friend Tim Reynolds; songs like “Dancing Nancies” and “Typical Situation” are just so well done that you find yourself listening to them over and over. Matthews is accompanied by the legendary Emmy Lou Harris on songs like “Save Me” and “Oh Sister and the meloncoly sounds of both artists create a tempo that compliments both artists styles. Trey from Phish accompanies Matthews on classics such as The Bands ”Down on Cripple Creek” and Billy Preston’s classic ”Will It Go Round In Circles”. It is a gem of a show and the sound quality is second to none.
You can download the show for free on Nugs.net (look at the top right of the home page “Free Stash” and scroll down to Dave Matthews and Friends) it is a two-set download and well worth your time, trust me.
We here at HiFi Central are curious on what you think about this show and about Nugs.net; have you found a show that is your favorite?
A Phishy New Year to You
Phish is legendary for their New Year’s shows, and this year’s may have topped them all. Here’s what went down at Madison Square Garden leading up to 12:00AM, and the celebration thereafter. Enjoy.
I wanted to inform the HiFi reading audience of a gem of a website that offers legitimate free downloads and high quality streaming audio of some of the best bands on the planet.
Nugs.net is also (I think) closely releated to the people at LivePhish.com, however, the variety of music that is offered on Nugs.net is just unbelievable. The array of artists featured is quite extensive, although most of the music would fall under a similiar genre being that of “Jam Band” or “free form improvisational” with bands like Phish, Widespread Panic, Bruce Hornsby, Ratdog, Robert Randolph and The Family Band, Jack Johnson, MMW, and many others featured.
You can download quite a large array of free shows from these artists, but if you would rather simply stream the show it is very easy (I use Windows Media Player) and the quality is fantastic so far from what I have listened to at this time. As I type this blog entry I’m listening to a Yonder Mountain String Band show from a 2000 show at The Mystic Theater in Petaluma, CA, incredible!
If you visit the site look to the top right and you will see a link for “free stash”, from there you can browse an assortement of artists and shows in their entirety that you can download complete free from being prosecuted, cuz’ it’s totally legit and on the up and up!
If you love good music and either want to add to your collection or discover these artists beyond the studio albums please click here and enjoy!
Let us know here at HiFi Central what you think of this site and our suggestions.
Live Phish Vol.3 Free download
LivePhish.com has released another incredible free album download on thier website this morning; this is the third installment of the Live Bait series (Live Bait. Vol.3). Last week I made HiFi readers aware that Volume 2 was available for download and then voila! Another installment for the greedy masses looking for some fresh Phish to satisfy their auditory appetite.
The songs featured are from shows in 1991, 1993, and 1997. All songs featured on this release, are from Worcester, MA shows, 4 of them from the Worcester Centrum and the 91′ show from the Worcester Memorial Auditorium. I was lucky to find an image of a ticket on Google from the 12/31/93 show for this entry, since 3 of the songs are from that very night, cool.
Songs featured on this free live album download:
Countdown/Auld Lang Syne >
(1993-12-31 Worcester Centrum - Worcester, MA)
Down With Disease Jam >
(1993-12-31 Worcester Centrum - Worcester, MA)
Split Open And Melt
(1993-12-31 Worcester Centrum – Worcester, MA)
Runaway Jim
(1997-11-29 Worcester Centrum – Worcester, MA)
Llama
(1991-12-31 Worcester Memorial Auditorium “The New Aud” - Worcester, MA)
If you have not had a chance to check out LivePhish.com it is well worth the click; although this album is free and a few others are as well, for the diehard Phish fan looking for a specific concert and year the archives is rather substantial and you can find your exact show for a small fee depending on what format you choose to order (digital download or CD). I was in Boston this past Thanksgiving weekend and stopped by my favorite music store (Newbury Comics); I was surprised with the assortment of LivePhish concert CD’s that were available, however I think it is far more economical to simply pay $12.00 for a digital download than $17.99 for a store bought CD.
Check out LivePhish.com and get your free download today and let us know what you think.
Yes, I’m on a bit of Phish tear here at HiFi Central this past week (god, it’s become far too addictive than I realized) and I’ve really spent too many hours catching up with this band and the music they have created.
I’m not sure what the reason was for my disdian for the band and it’s music, clearly more ignorance rather than solid reasoning. For years I assumed they were simply a wanna-be-Greatful Dead covery act thing, but after learning (and listening) to a combination of albums and live shows, I’m incredible hooked and impressed.
I informed readers yesterday about a great website called Crunchy Phish Nuggets and the generous collection of shows available for legit download on his site; the response from readers has been very appreciated. Well, here’s another and one surely not to dissapoint the Phish fan or newbie to the Phish world. The website is LivePhish.com and it appears to be far more official than Crunchy Phish Nuggets (although, no more impressive, Crunchy Phish Nuggets is well worth the click, trust me!)
It would appear that LivePhish.com offers a larger assortment of live shows and perhaps better quality as well. There are past shows for sale, including the recent Halloween show; however, there is a nice FREE album download called Phish: Live Bait Vol.2 that is well worth the taking if you do not have it already. The download was very easy and straight forward; simply create an account in about 3 minutes and viola!
The tracks are from shows in Berkely, CA, Alpine Valley, WI, and Wantaugh, NY, and Noblesville, IN this past August; the sound quality is right on and crystal clear for the most part.
Check out this great website if you do not know about it already and happy downloading.
With the recent launch of HiFi Radio we have received several inquiries about the live Phish materials available on the player. Well, to be quite honest, we are at the mercy of what Playlist.com has available to chose from and so, we really know about as much as you do when and where the shows were recorded.
One of the highlights is the live version of “Gotta Jiboo”; it is one of my personal favorite live versions and I was at a loss of when and where this was recorded. I did concede to my fellow HiFi reviewer Ericstraus but he provided a moment of clarity by responded “dude, it could be from anywhere! Do you know how many versions of that song live exist…there are some diehards who may know, but not me that’s for sure”.
I was bummed and troubled, however, I was determined to find out. A cool thing about Playlist.com and the music they offer you to build your personal player with also provides a link to where the song was uploaded from; many times it appears to be blogs that once offered the song for free download and then took them off for one reason or another.
Luckily, the version of “Gotta Jiboo” was uploaded by a very cool Phish fan who has a rather cool website where he has made many recordings available, including the live version of “Gotta Jiboo” that we feature on our player…thank god! The website can be accessed by clicking here and besides Phish, if you are a Phil Lesh fan you are in luck since it appears there is also Lesh material for the taking. It’s all legit and on the up and up, so I do not think some record label will slap you with a summons to pay $1,000,000 for 3 songs. These are all live recordings of shows and free for the taking, very, very cool indeed!
Sadly, versions of “Suzi Greenberg” and “Boogie On Reggae Woman” take you to websites where the songs appear to be no longer offered for downloading, pity. If you know when and where these versions are from please pass the information along. Of course we would be even more grateful if you could contact us and send us a burned copy to HiFi Central if possible (comment with an email and we will contact you!).
Check out Crunchy Phish Nuggets and I’m sure you will find something new and exciting. The FAQ page he provides about how to convert MP3 to .wav files is very helpful.
Check out the page and let us know what you think and if you discovered anything fun and new!
