Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio delivered another Rubber Jungle Live performance for SiriusXM’s Phish Radio on Friday. While his first Rubber Jungle Live play was solo, Trey welcomed frequent collaborator and pianist Jeff Tanski for his second Rubber Jungle Live journey.
Anastasio and Tanski kicked off the set with the title track from Trey’s 2020 solo album, Lonely Trip, which he conceived and largely recorded during quarantine in his home studio dubbed the Rubber Jungle. Anastasio played electric guitar which floated over well-placed piano from Tanski before the duo found their way into “Sand” which saw Trey reeling off fiery licks on electric to close out the song. Tanski then jumped right into the carnival-esque intro to “Esther.” The Rubber Jungle rendition marked the first-ever acoustic performance of the Phish classic, as per Phish.net.
Trey then riffed on a Rubber Jungle jam which saw him getting into some looping and contained a “Welcome To The Jungle” quote before he and Tanski delivered “Frost” from Trey’s 2012 album Traveler. The song has also found its way into the Phish repertoire although it’s only been played six times by the Vermont quartet. Next up, however, came a Phish staple in “Stash.” Tanski and Anastasio performed the song together during the Beacon Jams in a similar format save for Cyro Baptista on handclaps. “Pebbles And Marbles” would follow ahead of another Rubber Jungle jam.
The duo then tackled the wordy Phish magnum opus “Reba,” with Trey changing up one of the “butcher” lyrics to “sell it to Joey in the store” in reference to his cat, Joey. Trey and Tanski blended well and nailed the song’s composed sections with Trey delivering some hot licks on the jam culminating in a nice crescendo punctuated by Jeff. No whistling was involved, however. Trey Anastasio and Jeff Tanski would close out the performance with “A Life Beyond The Dream.”
Setlist (via Phish.net)
Set: Lonely Trip [1] > Sand[1], Esther [2], Jam [3], Frost[1], Stash[1], Pebbles and Marbles[1], Jam, Reba [4], A Life Beyond The Dream[1]
Notes:
- [1] Jeff Tanski on piano.
- [2] Trey on acoustic guitar; Jeff Tanski on piano. First acoustic performance.
- [3] Trey on acoustic guitar; with Welcome to the Jungle quote.
- [4] Jeff Tanski on piano; lyrics changed to “sell it to Joey in the store.” No whistling ending.
This performance, was presented as Rubber Jungle LIVE and aired on Sirius’s Phish Radio. All songs except for the jams featured Jeff Tanski on piano. This performance marked the acoustic debut of Esther. The first jam also featured Trey on acoustic guitar and contained a Welcome to the Jungle quote. Reba’s lyrics were changed to “Sell it to Joey in the store.” Reba did not contain the whistling ending.
