Trey Anastasio played the penultimate show of his solo acoustic run on Friday with the first of two performances at the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall in Boulder, Colorado. The Phish guitarist delivered a marathon concert that saw him unearth a pair of true rarities that haven’t seen the light of day since the 1990s, serving up “Snowflakes In The Sand” and “Glide II.” The New Jersey native also shared stories about early Phish shows in Colorado and apologized for spelling their band name wrong.
Anastasio reached into his bag of tricks right out of the gate by dusting off “Snowflakes In The Sand” for the first time in nearly 20 years in any format. The tune was originally debuted during Trey’s 1999 solo tour and played a total of nine times during that run. Last night marked the first time that the ballad had been played since May 17, 1999, at the Flynn Theater in Burlington. After a take on “Sleep,” Anastasio shared his first story of the night by proclaiming his love of the historic venue and stating he was “feeling kind of misty.” Trey then went into detail about how Phish played their first ever gigs outside of Vermont in Colorado before joking about being “the man who wouldn’t shut up,” a character from a 1950s horror movie.
Anastasio then talked about Warren Stickney, who had booked Phish for a week’s worth of shows in Colorado in 1988, but ultimately didn’t come through on that promise. He closed out the tale by revealing the band had run out of money and debated in front of a grocery store about the food they should buy for the trip back home to Vermont. Ultimately they ended up with a turkey ham because they thought it was two things in one.
A run of “Mountains In The Mist,” “Sample In A Jar,” Kasvot Växt track “Turtle In The Clouds” and “Free” followed. After an audience member yelled out turkey ham, Anastasio asked them if they liked kale. Last weekend during his show in Oakland he had proclaimed “fuck kale.” Last night he switched his stance on the leafy green, declaring “unfuck kale” after sharing he had eaten the best kale salad the previous night. He then joked that the slogan would make a good t-shirt for his next acoustic tour. The winding ramblings then took a left turn as he shared a hot take that Shawshank Redemption wasn’t the best movie of all time. He capped things off by declaring, “Oh my God, hold on I just realized we spelled Phish wrong. Fuck. I’m so sorry. I’m settling all family business tonight. We officially apologize for that mistake. I think it’s spelled wrong.” Trey went on to fit just the third “If I Could” of the tour into the set.
After a take on “The Lizards,” the guitarist paused to say “I love listening to you guys sing so much, normally I can’t hear you so well cause that damn band is making so much noise.” Next, Anastasio served up an extended “Set Your Soul Free,” the second acoustic rendition ever. Trey then dug in with a long stretch of songs that included takes on “Frost,” “Sand,” “Get Back On The Train,” “Ghost,” “Waste” and “Strange Design.” The guitarist once again mentioned playing in Colorado was bringing back a lot of memories. Trey then delivered the biggest surprise of
the night as he busted out “Glide II.” The obscurity had been played publicly just one time prior during Phish’s debut-filled Voter’s For Choice benefit gig on May 16, 1995 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Trey rounded out his lengthy main set with “Blaze On,” “Backwards Down The Number Line” and a “Chalk Dust Torture” that featured a jam on “Harry Hood” in its midst.
Last night’s extended four-song encore opened with “Shade” and “Water In The Sky.” Trey then shared one last story of the evening as he went into detail about his earlier comment regarding Shawshank Redemption and how he looks at lists online for movies to watch on the tour bus. Anastasio discussed a recent fil he had watched was Still Alice, the 2014 drama starring Julianne Moore about a woman diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. The odd bit of banter came ahead of the final two songs of the night as Trey closed things out with “Pebbles & Marbles” and “Bathtub Gin.” Listen to audio of “Snowflakes In The Sand” and “Glide II” taped by Scott Schneider, along with fan-shot video below:
Glide II Captured by Steve Rose
Pebbles & Marbles Captured by Gregory MarcusSay It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. Captured by Gregory MarcusSetlist
Setlist
Set: Snowflakes In The Sand, Sleep, Mountains In The Mist, Sample In A Jar, Turtle In The Clouds, Free, Brian & Robert, If I Could, The Lizards, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Set Your Soul Free, Frost, Sand, Back On The Train, Ghost, Till We Meet Again, Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S., Waste, Strange Design, Bouncing Around The Room, Glide II, Blaze On, Backwards Down The Number Line, Chalk Dust Torture > Harry Hood Jam > Chalk Dust Torture
Encore: Shade, Water In The Sky, Pebbles & Marbles, Bathtub Gin
