Trey Anastasio Band kicked off a two-night Colorado run at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail on Saturday following a late spring snowstorm in the Rockies. The Phish guitarist offered a number of classics and also told the story behind Phish rarity “Walfredo” during the encore.
TAB got the show underway with “I Never Needed You Like This Before” from Anastasio’s 2020 solo album Lonely Trip ahead of TAB classics “Mozambique” and “Cayman Review.” Trey dipped into the Phish catalog in the first set with “Steam” and “Undermind,” which were linked by “Curlew’s Call” and “Drifting.” “Money Love and Change” then proceeded “Rise/Come Together.” Anastasio wrapped up the first frame with Lonely Trip’s “…And Flew Away.”
Anastasio got the second set underway with the 2022 TAB debut of “Party Time” to get the Colorado crowd moving followed by another number from the Phish canon but also a TAB favorite, “Blaze On.” Trey Band classic “Burlap Sack And Pumps” came next followed by “Spin,” which appeared on Anastasio’s 2005 solo LP Shine. The jazzy Page McConnel-composed instrumental “Magilla” followed ahead of more Phish in the form of rocker “46 Days.” “Valentine” then prefaced a pairing of favorties “Plasma” and “Push On ‘Til The Day” to close out the second set.
Trey emerged solo acoustic to start the encore, offering “Theme From The Bottom.” Anastasio then told a story about Phish song “Wafredo” following “Theme.” “I gotta tell you this story, but I hope I don’t, in telling it, let you down at the very end of the story,” Trey said. “You’re gonna have to forgive me in advance, please forgive me in advance that I can’t do the payoff at the end.”
Trey then told the tale of the inspiration behind the “Walfredo” song and lines “Now when I think back on you, Walfredo/Those were times I’ll never forget/The snow fell in Vail Colorado/When Fish played the vacuum and ruined your set,” which is a true story about Phish and Santana — Walfredo is a reference to Santana drummer Walfredo Reys Jr. — that took place on that very stage at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in 1992.
The “payoff” Anastasio could not deliver was that he couldn’t play the song as it requires all four members of Phish swapping instruments. Trey did however sing a bit of the tune including the part that references Vail and the Santana show. TAB would return, with Trey introducing the band, to bring the evening to a close with a coupling of “Shine” and funky Phish favorite “Ghost.” Trey Anastasio Band heads to Red Rocks tonight.
Check out fan-shot clips from the Vail show below including a snippet of the “Walfredo” story:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3K1_Uubqk/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3O1r0JJxd/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd2XXnCLRB9/
Setlist via (Phish.net)
Set One: I Never Needed You Like This Before, Mozambique, Cayman Review, Steam, Curlew’s Call, Drifting, Undermind, Money, Love and Change, Rise/Come Together, …And Flew Away
Set Two: Party Time, Blaze On, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Spin, Magilla, 46 Days, Valentine, Plasma > Push On ‘Til the Day
Encore: Theme From the Bottom [1], Shine > Ghost
[1] Trey solo acoustic.
Theme From the Bottom was performed by Trey solo acoustic. Trey sang a part of Walfredo after Theme.
