I think many in the jam world would start this piece with the ol’ “Never Miss A Sunday Show” cliche (and I guess I just did), but is every Sunday show an epic throwdown that you shouldn’t have missed? The short answer is “no” but it’s understandable that people want to feel like they were rewarded for going out on a Sunday night and catching a marathon performance. Trey Anastasio and his supremely talented band turned in nearly three hours of music on Sunday and, despite the early start time (ticket said 6:30, the band took the stage at 7), it was likely midnight before many in the capacity crowd made it home. No doubt that makes Monday morning staff meetings a little harder.
So, the question looms: was this a Sunday show that will go down in the annals of jam jore? Probably not. There were no guests, no massive bust-outs, and no out of left field covers that left jaws on the floors. Instead what we got was a standard TAB show and that’s pretty great in and of itself. Some could argue that the Saturday night show in Vail had some better setlist choices, but it’s really hard to complain about getting to see Trey and the band strut their stuff on whatever songs they choose.
The first set kicked off with a high energy “Set Your Soul Free” that got the place rockin’ before the horns took center stage on the bouncy “Olivia.” Both Jen Hartswick and Natalie Cressman took the opportunity to leave their typical spots, make their way out front, and engage Trey in a bit of back and forth jamming. “Camel Walk” is always a treat and Trey was all smiles as the band ripped, but it was “The Moma Dance” where the band really let go and allowed themselves to stretch out a bit. As the set was reaching it’s peak, Trey called on a pair of tunes from his self-titled 2002 album; “Alive Again” and a personal favorite of mine “Money, Love and Change” before “Sand” closed things out in grand fashion.
Darkness settled in during setbreak and “Everything’s Right” proved it’s worth as a monster jam vehicle with the band pushing it well past the 20 minute mark. At one point I found myself trying to identify where a particularly dirty, low-end, riff was coming from (Listen Here! – the riff emerges around the 12:15 mark). First I looked to Ray on the keys, nope, then to Dezron on the bass, again no, and finally I realized that it was Trey. The effects that he added to his rig last year are really adding another dimension to some of the jams, both with TAB and Phish and they are welcome.
“No Men In No Man’s Land” held down the two hole and again gave the band a canvas to go deep on for a bit before they opted for the Paper Wheels track “Liquid Time.” Only the second full band live rendition of “Roll Like a River” from Trey’s recent solo acoustic offering Mercy, allowed Jen, Natalie, and James Casey to sweeten the mix with their fabulous background vocals and a big cheer rose from the audience when Trey delivered the “now there’s snow up on the mountain” lyric.
After running through the experimental “Quantegy” the set really hit it’s stride with a run that included “Simple Twist Up Dave,” “Night Speaks to a Woman,” “Ether Sunday,” and finally a well jammed “Gotta Jibboo” to wrap up the second set. After a brief encore break, Trey and company returned with “A Life Beyond The Dream” and the expected “First Tube” that ended the show in true rockstar fashion. Trey weilded his guitar like a weapon as he coaxed feedback from it and eventually held it high above his head as the disco ball above the stage showered the venue in glittering light. Somehow that move never gets old.
When all was said and done, did you miss something truly unique and special if you did manage to miss this Sunday show? No, you missed a really solid TAB show, you probably slept better, woke up a little fresher to start your week, and maybe you banked a little cash for the next time Trey is in town at Dick’s in September.
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