Happy Birthday Russ Lawton: Performing Live With Trey Anastasio Band In Toronto 2013

Watch Russ on TAB classics like “Cayman Review,” “Alive Again,” “Push On ‘Til The Day” and more.

By Nate Todd Feb 7, 2022 9:56 am PST

Drummer Russ Lawton celebrates his birthday today. Hailing from Middlebury, Vermont by way of the Boston area, Russ is perhaps best known for being the founding drummer of the Trey Anastasio Band but is also one half of the stellar duo Soule Monde with TAB keyboardist Ray Paczkowski. Add Joe Russo’s Almost Dead guitarist Scott Metzger in the mix to form the super trio LaMP. Earlier in his career, Russ also toured with Afro-fusion band Zzebra, a group formed by Nigerian-born percussionist Lofty Amao of the band Osibisa.

But Lawton’s main gig has certainly been with TAB and he has been a member since the beginning dating back to the 8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes concert in 1998. A trio consisting of Lawton, Anastasio and late great bassist Tony Markellis embarked on a theater tour in Spring of 1999 which featured an acoustic set from Trey and an electric set from the trio.

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When Phish went on their first hiatus in 2000, Trey began rounding out his solo band with a horn section that included trumpeter/vocalist Jennifer Hartswick. Paczkowski joined in the Summer of 2001 and percussionist Cyro Baptista came aboard in 2002, the same year Trey released his self-titled solo album. While the band would see personnel changes over the next decade, mostly in the horn department, the aforementioned musicians remained key players in the band.

In 2010, trombonist Natalie Cressman, whose father Jeff Cressman had played in TAB, joined the group. Saxophonist James Casey came on in 2012 stepping in for longtime saxophonist Russell Remington. In 2013 Trey brought the lineup of Lawton, Markellis, Baptista, Hartswick, Cressman and Casey to Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall.

In celebration of Russ Lawton’s birthday, JamBase takes a look at the 2013 TAB Toronto show, which kicked off the classics “Cayman Review” and “Alive Again.” “The Land Of Nod,” off TAB’s latest album at the time, 2012’s Traveler, came next. Trey also included Traveler cuts “Scabbard” and “Valentine” as well as additional classics like “Burlap Sack And Pumps” and a “First Tube” first set closer.

While the second set in the video is incomplete it includes the Hartswick-led Gorillaz cover “Clint Eastwood” (which Anastasio included on Traveler) along with vintage TAB numbers like “Push On ‘Til The Day” and “At The Gazebo,” the latter kicking off the encore. Trey closes out with his cover of the Dire Straits classic “Sultans Of Swing.”

To celebrate Russ Lawton’s birthday, watch him perform with TAB from Toronto in 2013 below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRrd6080JZI

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set One: Cayman Review, Alive Again, The Land of Nod, O-o-h Child, Spin, Tube Top Flop, Last Tube, Frost, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Shine, Scabbard, Valentine, First Tube

Set Two: Money, Love and Change, Pigtail, Gotta Jibboo, Let Me Lie, Night Speaks to a Woman, Small Axe, Drifting, Goodbye Head, Architect, Sand, Clint Eastwood, Push On ‘Til the Day

Encore: At the Gazebo, Sultans of Swing

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