Happy Birthday Trey Anastasio: Big Red On Fire Part III

Today marks Phish front man Trey Anastasio‘s 51st birthday as he was born in Fort Worth, Texas on September 30, 1964. Anastasio has had a fantastic year thus far which has included his show- stealing performances at Fare Thee Well with members of the Grateful Dead and arguably the best Phish summer tour in years. On October 30 Trey will issue his latest solo album, Paper Wheels, shortly after embarking upon a tour with the Trey Anastasio Band. The guitarist will end 2015 and begin 2016 by regrouping with Phish for a four-show New Year’s Run at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In 2013 we celebrated Trey’s birthday by compiling five fantastic clips displaying Big Red On Fire and we did the same last year in honor of Anastasio turning 50. Here’s five more clips showing Big Red at his more ferocious:

Let’s start with one of Anastasio’s highlights from Fare Thee Well – the insane “Scarlet Begonias”/”Fire On The Mountain” that took place at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 3 via LazyLightning55’s “TreyCam”:

On October 31, 1998 Phish donned the musical costume of The Velvet Underground for a set featuring the quartet’s cover of Loaded in its entirety. Anastasio had many strong moments over the course of the set and show, but he unleashed a ridiculous solo towards the end of “Sweet Jane”:

One of the best versions of “Possum” in Phish history took place on the campus of Union College in Schenectady, New York on May 17, 1992. Trey showed off his “machine gun” rapid-fire approach throughout a take on the Jeff Holdsworth-penned classic that includes a bevy of classic rock teases (“Rocky Mountain Way,” “L.A. Woman” and “China Grove”) and secret language signals (Simpsons, All Fall Down, Aw Fuck! and Random Note). After all the antics take place in the intro, Anastasio delivers a torrent of riffs as part of his powerful solo. Listen:

On May 31, 2003 the Trey Anastasio Band was joined by the legendary Carlos Santana for most of the evening at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre. On that night Anastasio stood toe-to-toe with Carlos for most of the night unlike some of the other times Trey shared the stage with an additional guitarist. The show was filled with highlights, but the call-and-response sequence between the two guitarists that took place within “The Way I Feel” stands out from the pack:

While the entirety of the Prague ’98 “Ghost” is must-listen material, we bring your attention to the 10:45 mark. Anastasio kicks into a new gear as he tears into an unbelievable solo. Trey can’t help but jump up and down as he goes to town on the incredibly rocking “Ghost.” This “fifth gear” lasts for over three minutes as the guitarist just doesn’t relent and continues to show his emotion. Enjoy:

As a bonus, let’s end with the “Reba” from the American Theatre in St. Louis on August 16, 1993. The quartet connects on a blissful sequence that takes them a bit a stray from typical “Reba” territory, but when they come back Trey lets loose with what seems a hundred notes in a minute to bring the top tier version to a close. Take a listen: