Trey Anastasio Band headlined Saturday at SweetWater 420 Fest in Atlanta. The performance was the band’s first appearance of the group’s newly formed lineup.
In the middle of the first set, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio talked about the obstacles that hampered his solo band over the past two years. During that time, TAB co-founding bassist Tony Markelis died and Dezron Douglas was tapped to take his place in the band. TAB saxophonist James Casey was forced to sit out Douglas’ first shows with the group while Casey underwent treatment for colon cancer. Douglas’ first shows were also mared by various members of the band contracting COVID-19, which led to different TAB formations taking the stage, and ultimately Anastasio having to play a gig solo.
Tonight was fun. Im exhausted. See y’all in Boston.
— James Casey (@JamesCaseySax) May 1, 2022
Anastasio, Douglas and Casey and the rest of TAB – trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, trombonist Natalie Cressman, drummer Russ Lawton, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski and Cyro Baptista – kicked off the first set with “Money, Love And Change.” A run through “Olivia” was then followed by the first of several Phish tunes, “The Moma Dance,” which featured the backing vocals of Hartswick and Cressman. TAB favorites “Mozambique” and “Valentine” came next.
Trey then chose Phish’s “Blaze On,” altering the lyrics to mention SweetWater 420. Another TAB classic “Alive Again” kept the set rolling, which was followed by the aforementioned banter from Trey detailing the band’s past challenges. Trey then introduced the next song as one that was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, “I Never Need You Like This Before,” which appeared on his 2020 solo album Lonely Trip and crossed over to Phish’s repertoire.
A menacing “Dark And Down” teed up a set-closing pairing of “Night Speaks To A Woman” and the TAB/Phish groover “Sand.” After “Sand,” which was played during Phish’s visually stunning third set at Madison Square Garden on April 22, Trey told the festival audience that the band would return in about 10 minutes.
A half-hour an later, TAB returned to open the second set with “Set Your Soul Free,” one of several songs played in the set that appears in TAB and Phish setlists. The TAB staples “Simple Twist Up Dave” and “Caymen Review,” which surrounded a rendition of “No Men In No Man’s Land” were the only TAB-only songs played in set two. Filling in the set, Trey called up the sentimental “A Life Beyond The Dream,” which was balanced by a rocking “46 Days.”
Douglas’ contributions to the band’s sound were prevalent throughout the two sets, shining on back-to-back-to-back performances of a grooving “Everything’s Right,” a funky “Ghost” and a pulsating “First Tube.” The set ended with the uplifting biographical TAB standard “Push On ‘Til The Day.” Trey dipped into the Phish songbook one more time as a blistering blast of “Carini” capped the headlining performance.
Anastasio performs at SweetWater 420 Fest again today with Oysterhead featuring bassist Les Claypool and drummer Stewart Copeland. Watch Trey Anastasio Band’s headlining performance yesterday at SweetWater 420 Fest below:
Ian Rawn’s Photos
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdBghQdukmN/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdBiEgOutGv/
Setlist (via Phish.net)
Set One: Money, Love and Change, Olivia, The Moma Dance, Mozambique, Valentine, Blaze On, Alive Again, I Never Needed You Like This Before, Dark and Down, Night Speaks to a Woman > Sand
Set Two: Set Your Soul Free, Simple Twist Up Dave, No Men In No Man’s Land, Cayman Review, A Life Beyond The Dream, 46 Days, Everything’s Right, Ghost > First Tube, Push On ‘Til the Day
Encore: Carini
