2021/10/2-3, Trey Anastasio Band @ Radio City Music Hall
New York City is the most wonderful place in the world, an anonymous maze of doors, one after another after another after another, stacked as far and as wide and as high as the eye can see … seemingly infinite, but quite obviously not. If you happen to hold a key to one of those, then you’re one of the lucky ones. For the rest of us, an invitation, a ticket, or sometimes just a little ground level info letting us know which ones to walk through is all it takes to unlock the doors behind which the magic of New York awaits, but I’m not talking magic of the pull-a-quarter-from-behind-your-ear sleight of hand variety, I’m talking downright sorcery.
Sometimes the secrets to the City That Never Sleeps are well kept; other times, they’re open to everyone. This past weekend was the latter. No exclusivity, just tickets, and plenty for everyone. Options abound, and if you didn’t make the same choices I did, I bet you still won. We all did. That’s the magic of New York, very much alive after a brief and involuntary slumber.
Having been given a key to a door this past weekend and feeling very much like “real” New Yorkers, Diana and I slept in Union Square and walked every inch of this fair city, our choices taking us to Radio City Music Hall (x2) and The Walter Kerr Theatre for the Trey Anastasio Band and Hadestown, respectively. It was our first Broadway show since the before times, and it felt so good to be back enjoying the arts. Given the sustained and heartfelt applause that both opened and closed the show, we weren’t alone in feeling that way. Long story short, if musicals are your thing – and maybe even if they aren’t – put Hadestown on your short list.
I was lucky enough to catch TAB proper a few weeks back at The Met Philly with a full complement of horns and my thoughts on that are pretty well documented. And then the shape-shifting (which had already begun before the tour even started when Dezron Douglas replaced the dearly departed Tony Markellis and Cochemea Gastelum was called to fill in for an ailing James Casey) really began in earnest when Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, and Russ Lawton came down with COVID in short order. Next thing you know, the Trey Anastastio Band was hornless and drummerless and their fearless leader was forced to take the stage solo, turning in an emotional performance in Columbus, OH. Questions abound about how the tour would finish, answered at once by Jon Fishman who joined the band in Pittsburgh, PA, and rounded out the (hopefully not) once-in-a-lifetime lineup that would complete the tour along with Trey, Dezron Douglas, Ray Paczkowski, and Cyro Batista.
Trey Anastasio Band a.k.a. Jon Fishman’s Almost Trey Anastasio Band a.k.a. Trey Anastasio’s Almost Phish a.k.a. Most Of The Forest
TL;DR: “Dezron is better than Tony and Fish is better than Russ. That’s the story.” Perhaps there’s some controversy behind those words, but also a shit-ton of truth. The quote belongs to a friend, but since he said it to me and now I’m saying it to you, it may as well be mine.
Radio City Music Hall was the perfect room for this band. The 6,000-person cap was slightly too big which led to a bunch of empty seats and made it really easy to move around the room at will. It basically felt like Trey threw a private party for me and my friends within the gilded confines of one of New York’s most storied rooms. Everything was Right except the drink lines.
Keep what’s important and know who’s your friend.
The music was ethereal. Period. Stop. Otherworldly Trey jams nestled into my favorite rhythm section in recent memory resulted in highly danceable sonic exploration of the highest order. Jon Fishman on drums alongside the indefatigable Cyro Batista – perhaps the most unique and spirited percussionist of all time – were the ingredients in the stew that really created some of the most distinctive hijinks in the memory of these songs. Throw in the happy growl of Dezron Douglas’ unique tone and an increased volume of bass notes (compared with previous iterations of TAB), and this quintet stirred up an attention grabbing potion that re-interpreted a familiar catalog in the very best way. Quite simply, these were once in a lifetime jams of the do-not-miss variety.
Of particular note were the reinvention of horn-heavy songs like “Cayman Review” and an interwoven “Party Time” > “Ghost” > “Mr. Completely” (!) > “Party Time” > “Mr. Completely” that was just bonkers. Having my wife along to share in the beauty that was “Shade” was a moment of both personal and marital significance. A few solo acoustic songs followed by the ever favorite “Theme From the Bottom” and the always reliable “First Tube” and night one was all but a sweet memory. Lest we not forget “In Rounds” cuz, well, Baker.
The never-miss-a-Sunday-show edition of night two that closed the book on this tour but hopefully not this quintet was more of the same. Memorable versions of “Moma Dance”, “Ocelot” and “Dark And Down” marked the first set while a highly predictable yet still stunning thirty-plus minute “Everything’s Right” highlighted the second, the private party feeling from the previous night still very much alive as seemingly everyone I knew magically met in the aisles in a dance party that’ll carry me halfway through the week.
Can I bring a few companions on this ride?
Returning to the stage solo, Trey told the tale that brought the shape-shifting band to this point and dedicated a gorgeous duo of acoustic encores, “Strange Design” and “Backwards Down The Number Line”, to Jen, Natalie, Russ, and Chemy. What came next were three songs, eighteen minutes between them, that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
“I am so excited to bring out my very dear friend, Mr. James Casey.” Still recovering from colon cancer, James made an emotional return to the stage for a gorgeous “Evolve”, exponentially enhanced not just by the beauty of his soprano saxophone but also by the significance of his presence. An I-won’t-listen-to-dissenting-opinions best-ever “Rise/Come Together” followed, James at one point getting so choked up singing these poignant lyrics that his buddy Trey had to take over. “A Life Beyond The Dream” followed, Casey sharing lead vocal duties in a version that stands up – at least emotionally – to the all-timer with Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks from Lockn’ 2019. There quite literally wasn’t a dry eye in the house and as I’ve listened to these songs at least ten times since that night, they still bring a tear to my eye while raising the hair on my arms. Sorcery.
Every day is a gift. Every show is a gift. That’s never lost on me. Here’s wishing a speedy recovery to Mr. Casey and continued good health for us all as we Rise/Come Together. Stay safe!
From high above we’re all the same down here
Without a map, the lines all disappear
We’re so tired of our senseless fight
The one thing we can all do right
Is come together, come together, come together, come together
We’re all looking for a little more love
To shine a light and lift us up
When you hold me heartbeat to heartbeat
I’m a part of you and you’re a part of me
