2020/1/10 Trey Anastasio Band @ Capitol Theatre
Just ten days removed from of the best YEMSG runs in recent memory, Trey Anastasio and his band kicked off their fourteen show winter tour with a two night run in Port Chester’s storied Capitol Theatre. With visions of the suspended green platform etched firmly in everyone’s mind, and some still inexplicably insisting it was all part of the New Year’s gag, Trey’s first song since the improvisational “Rescue Squad” as he descended from Madison Square Garden’s rafters on NYE was a cover of The Beatles’ “I’m Down,” complete with alternate rescue squad lyrics. Not only did this song epitomize his “don’t take yourself too seriously” mantra, but it was clever and fun and sung through a giant smile that reached everyone in the soldout croom. “Rescue squad came to rescue me, in my mind you were laughing at me, well I’m down (he’s really down), down on the ground (he’s really down), how can you laugh when you know I’m down…” Brilliant. Played and sung in the manner of an upbeat Broadway show tune, this opener set the stage for a night of unbridled good times. Whereas with Phish provides the whole spectrum of feels, from ROY to G to BIV, TAB lives more on the red, orange, and yellow side of the rainbow – light and airy, jubilant and celebratory. In a way, TAB is far more universal, everyone’s favorite wedding band.
Trey’s approach to TAB seems somewhat looser, as well, to include his unstructured blazer (but not his stuffy black leather oxfords), and this attitude is reflected in every band member who joins him on stage. Cyro Baptista, perhaps more than anybody, embodies this spirit most. Everyone’s crazy uncle with all the best toys, his side of the stage is like a kid’s playroom, and he shakes/hits/taps/whistles/clicks/clucks with the same whim and attention span of a kid going from one toy to the next, picking up each toy with eye-opening wonder until his eye catches the next, causing him to forget and discard the last, in an endless loop. You kind of think to yourself, “I could do that,” but you can’t. He’s a magician of sorts, with a funny hat and a crazy smile, and somehow everything he does, both in appearance and sound, is exactly the right thing at exactly the right time, sometimes a tiny subtlety in the corner of the stage, others an arm waving shaman of percussion as he conjures happy spirits.
Speaking of happiness personified, I love Jennifer Hartswick, and so, too, does Trey. I’ve watched her light up numerous bands and musicians with her talent and her smile. She’s so patient, always knows when to step up or hang back, take a solo or let someone else shine. Her voice is lights out, her trumpet rocks my world, and her sparkly metallic silver mid length dress was spectacular. James Casey and Natalie Cressman, also wearing an eye catching metallic silver dress, rounded out the 3-piece horn section with saxophone and trombone, respectively. As my friend Matt commented last night, “horns are like bacon…they make everything better.” Indeed, good sir, indeed! Watching their interactions with both Trey and each other was another smile inducer, as Trey got down and ripped a couple patient power chords to accentuate a Casey solo, or just put his hands behind his back and danced during Hartswick’s.
The Soul Monde duo of Ray Paczkowski and Russ Lawton funkifies the whole experience, with Ray laying down French Quarter vibes on the B3 and clav while Russ provides Stanton-esque fills. TAB is clearly their happy place, too. Look no further than the first set’s “Camel Walk,” a Soul Monde meets Phish collaboration of epic Flintstones Meet Jetsons proportions. Interesting side note, last year on this same date, Trey sat in for Soul Monde’s entire set while James Casey and Cyro Baptista guested for a few songs each during a show at Symphony Space on New York’s UWS. Think these guys like each other?!?!
The crowd was in constant motion all night, lots of dancing and smiles and knowing glances and shared energy, as even the security guards were in on the fun, boogying and singing along (like every word to every song singing along). The first set was a fairly short (by historical standards) hour and six minutes. If there were a unifying theme, it would have to be being on solid ground as Trey had a lot of fun with his faulty platform and the rescue squad, not only in the aforementioned “I’m Down,” but also playing TAB original “Drifting” (I’m back where I belong, since you rescued me) and ad libbing the lyrics to “Blaze On” (you probably think I wasn’t really stuck up there, too).
“About to Run” was an early second set scorcher and has become a personal favorite, highlighted by the clean tones of Trey’s simplified rig and Cyro’s flourishing touches. Ray kicked off “Alaska” with a beautiful bluesy keys intro that, combined with the horns, conjured Beale St. vibes before a Trey solo with heavy effects kicked in, occasionally lightened with some short horn blasts. “Shade” was like a slow wedding song, you know, the one the band plays when they ask you to sit down and eat your dinner, which was fine, but made me verbalize my desire to start moving my ass again. “Gotta Jibboo” answered the call, a completely inspired and funked up version, immediately branded with a t-shirt worthy nickname, “Gotta Jibboogie!” (credit: Rose Roth). A super sultry “Clint Eastwood” followed, giving me even more reasons to love Jen Hartswick. A three song encore capped by a gorgeous “Show of Life” closed the hour and thirty-five minute set.
15,178 steps, my first of the year on the road to 1,000,000 — just 984,822 to go.
Also significant, GPS set the time to beat for my 74 mile drive home at 1:26 and I fucking crushed that in a personal best 1:09 in which I made every light, a record every bit as impressive as Wayne Gretzky’s 92 goal season. In other words, untouchable. See ya back there tonight.
SET 1: I’m Down [1], Set Your Soul Free, Sidewalks of San Francisco, Undermind, Drifting, Olivia, Blaze On, Camel Walk, Love Is What We Are[1], Money, Love and Change
SET 2: Sigma Oasis[1], Night Speaks to a Woman, About to Run, Valentine, Alaska, Shade, Gotta Jibboo, Clint Eastwood > Simple Twist Up Dave
ENCORE: Ether Sunday, Shine, Show of Life
[1] TAB debut.