Trey Anastasio Reveals Daughters Witnessed Another Stage Malfunction At Taylor Swift Concert

Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio‘s daughters Eliza and Bella must have had a strong feeling of déjà vu when they saw Taylor Swift get stuck on a riser while attending her Eras Tour concert in Dublin on June 29. Anastasio shared the story and its similarities to his experience being stranded on New Year's Eve 2019 at Madison Square Garden when he recently chatted with SiriusXM’s Phish Radio host Ari Fink.

Trey Anastasio sat down with Fink before Phish began their summer tour for the Summer Sessions With Trey Anastasio series on SiriusXM’s Phish Radio (Channel 29). The Swift anecdote was featured in the first segment, which first aired on Thursday. Anastasio also weighed in on collaborating with the National Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops last month. Additional installments consisting of more new, exclusive stories, insights and memories from throughout Trey’s career will air throughout August.

Anastasio’s Spinal Tap moment came during the third set of Phish’s December 31, 2019 show at MSG. All four members of the band climbed aboard moving platforms that were raised and lowered as clones of the musicians pulled off choreographed maneuvers and provided backing vocals. One of the four chains holding the platform up broke shortly after midnight. Anastasio decided to perform from the precarious position and was eventually saved by crew members. Trey made light of the situation by playing an impromptu song dubbed “Rescue Squad” to express his gratitude to those who assisted him.

Taylor Swift found herself involved in a stage malfunction at the second of her three recent concerts in Dublin. Eliza and Bella were in the house as Anastasio explained to Fink. “My daughters, 27 [Bella] and 29 [Eliza], saved all their money and went to Dublin to see Taylor [Swift]. And met another friend and had an Irish adventure,” Trey said. Ari Fink then commented on how it was cheaper to fly to the UK or Europe to see Swift than to obtain tickets for U.S. shows on the secondary market.

“That’s why they went. It was the only place you could get a ticket,” Anastasio added. “My daughter, my 27-year-old daughter wanted to get a Taylor ticket for my 29-year-old daughter. So she went online and put in for the lottery for every show on earth, as did another friend of hers. And they both only could get tickets in Dublin. Her and one of her best friends, independent of each other, so they ended up meeting there, both my two daughters.”

Anastasio went on to blow Fink’s mind by telling the tale of Swift’s stage mishap. “Taylor got stuck on a platform, they had to rescue her,” Trey said. “Is that a real fact? That’s a real true fact?” stated an incredulous Fink. “I said is that a coincidence that my daughters watched me on a platform, their dad, and Taylor.”

Listen to the clip from SiriusXM’s Phish Radio and watch Swift’s stage malfunction:

The Phish guitarist spoke about his June orchestral shows backed by the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap and The Boston Pops at Tanglewood. Anastasio noted performing with a symphony isn’t easy.

“It’s a very steep learning curve playing with an orchestra,” Trey said. “And you know, you find out the way the person in the first, the woman who was in the first chair at Tanglewood was a great, great player, and she earned that chair. The person sitting to the right of the conductor, to the right of the soloist, that’s called the first chair. They lead the orchestra. But you have to earn that. You have to be so good.”

“That’s Michael Jordan,” Fink responded.

“That’s the Michael Jordan, right. So you’ll hear her play phrases that, you know, or phrases that I wrote or that I normally play. Like we trade off on the ‘Do, do, do, do, do,’ and by listening to this masterful musician phrase the thing, you learn a lot about music,” the guitarist continued. “So then when you kind of come back to Phish, I think it’s a positive for Phish.

Hear Anastasio talk playing with symphonies below:

Tune in to SiriusXM’s Phish Radio all month long to hear more Summer Sessions With Trey Anastasio. Phish resumes their summer tour tonight, August 2 in Noblesville, Indiana. Watch livestreams of all remaining summer shows via LivePhish.com and head to JamBase’s Phish Skinny Hub for stats, recaps and more.