Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio included “Ruby Waves” in Tuesday’s Trey Anastasio Band concert at Tobin Center For The Performing Arts in San Antonio. Anastasio’s first ever version of the song came during a TAB show on October 19, 2008 at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont and then “Ruby Waves” disappeared until it was included in Trey’s Ghosts Of The Forest suite and album in 2019. Last night marked the first TAB performance of the tune, which Phish added to their repertoire this past summer, since its debut.
Percussionist Cyro Baptista was back on hand after missing the past two gigs with the flu. “Blaze On” served as the opener in San Antonio and was followed by TAB staples “Mozambique” and “Alaska.” Anastasio then led the group through the recently debuted “The Silver Light” before a run of “Gotta Jibboo,” “Cayman Review,” “The Landlady” and “Set Your Soul Free.” Next, trombonist/vocalist Natalie Cressman fronted the group on a cover of Ana Tijoux’s “1977” and combined forces with Trey, James Casey and Jennifer Hartswick for an a capella “Over The Rainbow” — which has now been played at six shows in a row — and then “First Tube” ended the set.
TAB kicked off last night’s second set with “Sigma Oasis” and “Camel Walk.” Next, “Money Love & Change” was followed by a run of “Love Is What We Are,” “Magilla” and “Everything’s Right.” Then, the band dusted off “Ruby Waves” and threw in a short-but-sweet jam that showcased the horns and ended with a shredfest from Anastasio. San Antonio was treated to “Shine,” “Shade” and “46 Days” as the concert continued. The a capella “Brief Time” led into “Rise/Come Together” to close out the frame. “Heavy Things” opened the encore before the Trey Anastasio Band busted out a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Back In The U.S.A.” after Trey told the crowd, “I feel it, I mean every word” about the tune. While TAB hadn’t performed “Back In The U.S.A.” since November 1, 2017; Anastasio did cover the song during his October appearance on Live From Here. “A Life Beyond A Dream” brought the concert to its conclusion.
Fan-Shot Videos (Captured by Brian Towns)
Money Love & Change
Camel Walk
Shade
Setlist
Set One: Blaze On, Mozambique, Alaska, The Silver Light, Gotta Jibboo, Cayman Review, The Landlady, Set Your Soul Free, 1977, Over The Rainbow, First Tube
Set Two: Sigma Oasis, Camel Walk, Money Love & Change, Love Is What We Are, Magilla, Everything’s Right, Ruby Waves, Shine, Shade, 46 Days, Brief Time, Rise/Come Together
Encore: Heavy Things, Back In The U.S.A., A Life Beyond The Dream
