Photos: Will Rice

Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB came to Chicago’s Riviera Theatre on Friday February 19, 2010. The guitarist and lead singer of famed jam band Phish has been touring with one of his many side projects in between Phish tours. A seemingly timid Anastasio walked on the stage grinning as he looked up to the crowd from behind his round glasses and shaggy red hair, as he waved to the crowd he flashed a smile that may not have left his face all night. All signs of timidness left as he slung his signature Paul Languedoc guitar around his neck and led the septet through the first few jams in a night of music lasting more than 3 hours. The seven members of TAB progressed through various Trey tunes while including a heavy dose of classic Phish songs, many that began as TAB creations before being adopted by Phish.

Trey spent much of the night orchestrating the band and the crowd. He used a number of hand signals, head nods or even just a smile to conduct the band and relied on his guitar to keep the audience moving. During “Alive Again” as he belted out the lyrics, “the time has come for you to be alive again!” the sold-out Riviera came alive. The audience screamed as they sang along, cheering and dancing in every corner of the theatre. At the end of the first set the other six members of the band left the stage and Trey treated the crowd to a four song acoustic set. It quickly turned in to a giant sing-along as he played the Phish songs, “Brian & Robert,” “Driver,” “Sample in a Jar” and ending with the entire theater screaming back and forth for “Wilson” as Trey played the song of that name.

Other than the acoustic set Trey spent most of the night bouncing left and right on the octagon shaped rug that has been touring with the band. His hair bounced as he hopped around grinning and making faces to the crowd. Anastasio gave all the members of the band their chance to jam but never missing a chance to join in and move the songs forward. This was never more prevalent than during “Mr. Completely,” which
featured solos from the different musicians playing the flute, keyboard, trombone, alto saxophone and ended when Trey began rocking out a very loud and long solo on the six-string. When he wasn’t singing, Anastasio stayed off of the mic and unlike a typical Phish show the band never wandered too far from the roots of the song during its jams.

The second set ended powerfully when trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick took the mic and belted out the familiar lyrics to Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” with Trey hammering away on his custom guitar. Hartswick’s voice filled the aging Riviera Theatre and reflected off the walls and ceiling as the crowd went crazy. When the band returned for its encore, it greeted the crowd with two more familiar songs: Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” and Phish’s “First Tube.”

Trey Anastasio Band
Trey Anastasio - Guitar, Vocals
Russ Lawton - Drums
Tony Markellis - Bass
Ray Paczowksi - Keyboards
Jennifer Hartswick - Trumpet, Vocals
Russell Remington - Saxophones, Vocals
Natalie Cressman - Trombone, Vocals

Setlist
Set 1: Shine, Cayman Review, Push on Til the Day, Sweet Dreams Melinda, Mozambique,
Alive Again, Gotta Jiboo, Small Axe, All That Almost Was, Alaska, Valentine,
Tuesday, Acoustic Portion: Brian & Robert, Driver, Sample in a Jar, Wilson
Set 2: Dragonfly, Night Speaks to a Woman, Sand, Let Me Lie, Mr. Completely, Plasma,
Birdwatcher, The Way I feel, Last Tube, Black Dog

Encore: Sultans of Swing, First Tube