Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB returned to New York’s Brooklyn Steel on Wednesday for their second of three weekday shows in Anastasio’s adopted home town.
While night one leaned more heavily into the road-tested Phish portion of Anastasio’s decades-long repertoire, Wednesday night’s setlist was comprised largely of songs debuted in the last few years—and, in some cases, the last few weeks—with a handful of well-placed staples mixed in.
Of course, the current status quo for Trey’s songwriting seems to take a cue from Kasvot Växt: everything’s overlapping. Whether you classify his ever-growing cache of post-pandemic material as Trey songs (Trey Songz?), Phish songs, or somewhere-in-between songs, there’s no denying that these songs have become an increasingly significant part of every Anastasio project.
With many of them, it’s already hard to tell which is which—or even which is still “new.” A tune like “Oblivion” was one of ten new songs debuted last June in Denver by Trey Anastasio Trio (Trey, Fishman, Dezron), and Phish just released a studio version of the song as its new single earlier this week, but it’s now been performed live more than 20 times between Phish and TAB. On Wednesday, it was just one of the seven songs played that had been debuted by Phish and/or Trey within the last 12 months (and, for my money, easily the strongest). [On a related note, anyone else notice how they all seem to be about some combination of dreams, souls, the sky, light, and water?]
Don’t be alarmed by the novelty, though. Much like night one, Tuesday’s show came off like a high-intensity workout for the Phish guitarist and his offseason sparring partners, drummer Russ Lawton, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski, and bassist Dezron Douglas. Recent debuts from this tour like “The Endless Dream”, “Mists of the Past”, “What’s Going Through Your Mind”, and “Outside The Lines” may not have been recognizeable to the gathered Brooklyn crowd, but the way Trey and Dezron instantly locked in on each one was reliably thrilling to anyone who’s been following this formation.
The sprinkling of TAB staples (a hot “Cayman Review”, a gloomy “Dark and Down”, a wet, funky “The Way I Feel”) and Phish/TAB crossover favorites (“Undermind” during set one, “Prince Caspian” and “Sand” bookending set two, a late-show “Ocelot”, a “Carini” encore) were as hair-raising as ever, helping place the newer segments of the show in satisfying context. The songs on the setlist may not look as familiar these days, but whatever songs they’re playing, this band is worth your while.
Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB return to Brooklyn Steel on Thursday night to round out their three-show run. For ticketing information and a full list of upcoming tour dates, head here.
Below, read the full setlist, check out a selection of fan-shot videos, and view a gallery of photos via Joey Lugo from the second of three Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB shows at Brooklyn Steel. Listen to a full audio recording of this show and the rest of the ongoing Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB tour via LivePhish here. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Purchasing a download or ordering your LivePhish+ subscription via the links on this page helps support our work covering Trey, Phish, and the world of live music as a whole. Thanks for reading!]
Setlist [via phish.net]: Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB | Brooklyn Steel | Brooklyn, NY | 5/22/24
Set One: Shaking Someone’s Outstretched Hand, The Way I Feel, Undermind, Cayman Review, The Endless Dream, Mists of the Past, hey stranger, What’s Going Through Your Mind
Set Two: Prince Caspian > Oblivion > Dark And Down, Outside the Lines, Ocelot > Life Saving Gun, Sand
Encore: Snowflakes in the Sand [1], Carini
Notes: [1] Trey on acoustic.
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Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB – “The Endless Dream” – 5/22/24
[Video: Blanks&Postage]
Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB – “hey stranger” – 5/22/24
[Video: Blanks&Postage]
Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB – “Prince Caspian” – 5/22/24
[Video: Like You Were There]
Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB – “Sand” – 5/22/24
[Video: Like You Were There]
Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB – “Carini” – 5/22/24
[Video: Like You Were There]
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