Trey Anastasio, photo by Erik Kabik
Trey Anastasio took the stage at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on Saturday, Nov. 15, to follow up on the kickoff performance for his highly anticipated November tour with the Trey Anastasio Band. The Phish frontman and his storied backing sextet began their first tour since 2023 on Friday night by bolstering expansive reinventions of classic tracks with two live debuts, “Real You” and “Mindless Mood.” On night two, they boosted expectations even further with another previously unheard song.
Anastasio and TAB – featuring Russ Lawton, Ray Paczkowski, Dezron Douglas, Cyro Baptista, Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick – set off their second show in Denver with the Farmhouse staple “First Tube,” then continued with their first treatment of “Pigtail” since 2023. Other entries from the 12-song first frame that they hadn’t taken to the stage in two years included “Money, Love and Change,” from Anastasio’s 2002 self-titled album, and “Curlew’s Call,” from 2003’s “Plasma,” the latter of which preceded a version of “Push On ‘Til The Day” that led into the set-break.
While no song in the Trey Anastasio Band’s first set wound past the 10-minute mark, the septet went bigger for the evening’s second act, beginning with a combined 22-minute medley of “Gotta Jibboo” and “Set Your Soul Free.” The upbeat locomotion of “Back on the Train” charged the band through a sprint that included their first performances of “Liquid Time” and “Tuesday” since 2022.
After wrapping the main portion of their performance with a funky, electrifying 10-minute “Ghost,” the band returned to introduce the new original “Simeon.” TAB’s first public performance of fan-favorite “The Lizards” (following a streamed debut during The Beacon Jams on October 23, 2020) spirited them through to a fiery grand finale of “Carini.”
The Trey Anastasio Band will perform again tonight at La Vista, Nev.’s The Astro Theater, then deliver six further dates through Nov. 5. From Nov. 28-30, Anastasio will return to New York’s Beacon Theatre to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his unforgettable Beacon Jams with a special three-night run; in keeping with the collaborative experimentalism of the peak pandemic livestream series, he’ll perform in a variety of formations, including TAB and the return of The Rescue Squad Strings. Proceeds from the residency will support the Divided Sky Foundation. Find tickets and more information at trey.com.
Stream Saturday’s show at livephish.com.
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