Trey Anastasio Band & Goose Kick Off Highly Anticipated Tour In Portland, Maine: Review, Setlists & Videos

The highly anticipated co-headlining tour featuring Goose and the Trey Anastasio Band kicked off on November 9 at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine, and before the bands even took the stage the pairing immediately showed dividends. It’s unlikely that either band could come close to filling such a room in Maine on their own (Goose will get there soon enough, but the Trey Anastasio Band seems to have plateaued at a level of popularity that Trey is happy with), yet the building was packed to the rafters.

Part of the anticipation was for the bands themselves, of course, but a large part was a curiosity for the alchemy between them — the mixing and matching of players, the sit-ins, and the surprises. On that front, the evening was no let-down. We’ll get to that.

Goose took the stage first, and seemed initially to be dipping their toes in the arena atmosphere, testing the waters with “Turbulence & The Night Rays” and “Atlas Dogs.” A 12-minute “Time to Flee” had them spreading their wings a bit with a robust jam and brilliant light show, and from there, the set took off brilliantly.

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Their cover of Eddy Grant’s 1982 classic “Electric Avenue” won over whatever fans were mostly there to see Trey. The rhythm section provided a powerful bounce that had people dancing all the way back in the farthest seats, and the band pushed the song to its outer limits with a psychedelic jam and live-wire guitar playing that was sometimes reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s old covers of “Dancing in the Streets.” And has anyone ever reflected on how note-perfect Goose guitarist Rick Mitarotonda‘s vocals are on that cover?

If that song piqued the curiosity of those who were unfamiliar with Goose, then the following take on their original song “Tumble” sealed the deal. The song’s weaving rhythms, shuffling organ, and Middle Eastern-influenced guitar parts went down nicely. The song’s propulsive jam initially felt a bit like Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” before shifting gears and exploding into numerous euphoric peaks. They followed this song with “A Western Sun” before getting to the part that everyone was there for.

Trey Anastasio came onstage to rousing applause for “All I Need,” and seemed happy backing the band up for the composed part of the song. When the jam came around, he and Rick began passing lead and rhythm guitar duties back and forth, inching the improvisation into deeper and deeper exploratory terrain. It’s unclear how much they rehearsed for this tour (both bands had been in Maine for at least a few days), but there was palpable chemistry between Trey and Goose as they chased each other’s leads and prompts through swampy rock and into funk detours and eventually a bold climax that Rick may have ripcorded a tad by returning to the vocals early. See how it feels, Trey?

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Goose audio taped by Matt Coffey

Official Goose audio

https://goosetheband.bandcamp.com/album/2022-11-09-cross-insurance-arena-portland-me

Joking aside, for stretches it seemed like Trey was living out his early two-guitar vision for Phish and loving every second of it. And for fans, it was everything we imagined back when the tour was first announced — the evening’s clear highlight. They then closed the set together with “Pancakes,” which included some vocal turns by Trey. This song was abbreviated compared to “All I Need” but still stretched over 10 minutes and featured some blistering interplay between the guitarists and Peter Anspach on piano.

After a set break in which the setup was swiftly turned over, the Trey Anastasio Band took the stage. Initially, they seemed a bit anti-climatic after the massive peaks that closed out the Goose set. There are a few reasons for that: several TAB songs don’t feel “big” enough for a room of that size, and indeed, it seems clear that part of TAB’s entire purpose is to play festival sets and smaller venues that Phish has outgrown. But it wasn’t helped by some of the more mellow setlist choices, such as “Love Is What We Are” and “Roll Like a River,” or the brief, revue-style romps like “Mozambique” and “Magilla” that felt out of place with everything else the evening brought.

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When they were on, though, they were cooking with gas. One can never tire of hearing bassist Dezron Douglas (a week before the release of his latest solo album) work his way around “The Moma Dance” bassline, even if he sometimes feels drowned in the mix. Can a “people for a louder Dezron” movement be far behind? And likewise, it’s always a treat to hear drummer Russ Lawton and percussionist Cyro Baptista play the infectious rhythms of “Curlew’s Call.” Trey himself showed off his casual experience in owning a large room, and also his joy for playing in Maine (notably, he also teamed with local promoters State Theatre Presents to launch the Dezron era of TAB as well as his Ghosts Of The Forest project here in Portland).

The high points of the set, prior to the arrival of the guests from Goose, were what you might expect. “Sand” would be a high point of any concert, and it didn’t disappoint here. The masterwork riff of late TAB bassist Tony Markellis is forever a study in the meditative power of a drone-like dance groove. Whenever the band performs it with such heavy intensity it feels like a tribute to him. “Everything’s Right” is a song that is strengthened by the additional musicians and backing vocals, while Phish has taken the song on several journeys since its inception, the “song” part of the song always feels like a TAB composition when they play it. Consistent with how Phish treats it, Trey used “Everything’s Right” for some of his most creative playing in the TAB set, washing the rhythm in dissonant guitar splashes.

The set closed with Mitarotonda and Anspach joining the band for “Wolfman’s Brother.” The song sounded sensational with Douglas’ playing and the horn section adding some muscle by replicating the studio version. The play by the Goose members was lost somewhere in the mix — it seems likely that Trey will be joining Goose for some “Type II” jam excursions on this tour, while Goose will be joining Trey as part of these big, loud, celebratory numbers. The “Wolfman’s Brother” jam didn’t go anywhere unusual but instead barrelled forward, gathering momentum and making leaps in tempo as it went. It was terrific.

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The entirety of both bands took the stage for the encore. The slow version of Phish’s “Llama” was a bit of a curveball choice —aside from the obligatory changing of the lyric “taboot” to “TaBoose” — but the full crowd onstage served the arrangement well. Compared to that choice, the show closing “First Tube” was inevitable, if always welcome. Trey loves to close triumphant shows with that particular exclamation point, and this concert marked the start of what could be a special little tour. Who knows where it will go?

Setlists

Trey Anastasio Band (via Phish.net)

Set: Set Your Soul Free, Love Is What We Are, Mozambique, The Moma Dance, Alive Again, Curlew’s Call, Magilla, Everything’s Right, Roll Like a River, Sand, Valentine, Wolfman’s Brother [1]

Encore: Llama [2], First Tube [3]

Notes:

• [1] With Peter Anspach on keys and Rick Mitarotonda on guitar.
• [2] TAB debut. With Peter Anspach on keys, Rick Mitarotonda on guitar, and Jeff Arevalo and Ben Atkind on percussion; performed in an alternate arrangement. Final lyric changed to “Taboose.”
• [3] With Peter Anspach on keys, Rick Mitarotonda on guitar, Trevor Weekz on bass, and Jeff Arevalo and Ben Atkind on percussion.

Goose (via ElGoose.net)

Set: Turbulence & The Night Rays, Atlas Dogs, Time to Flee, Electric Avenue, Tumble, A Western Sun, All I Need[1], Pancakes[2]

Notes:

• [1] With Trey Anastasio on guitar.
• [2] With Trey Anastasio on guitar and vocals.

Source: JamBase.com