Trey Anastasio Band Goes ‘Blazing Down The Twisted Wire’ In Chicago

Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio concluded a two-night Trey Anastasio Band run at the Chicago Theatre on Saturday. TAB offered the live debut of Anastasio’s “Blazing Down The Twisted Wire” from his 2022 acoustic LP Mercy during Saturday’s encore.

Anastasio, drummer Russ Lawton, bassist Dezron Douglas, percussionist Cyro Baptista, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski, trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, trombonist Natalie Cressman and saxophonist James Casey opened their Windy City finale with an expansive “Blaze On” that stretched to the 13-minute mark thanks in part to solos from all three members of the horn section. Trey then led the troupe through “I Never Left Home” off his 2020 pandemic album Lonely Trip for the first time this year. Instrumental “Olivia” came next along with a fierce “Undermind.”

Saturday’s first set rolled on with Lonely Trip’s “…And Flew Away” before the band took it down a notch for the ballad “Shade.” From there, Douglas lit into the intro of a “Burlap Sack And Pumps” that starred James Casey. TAB then delivered an adventurous rendition of Phish classic “The Moma Dance” featuring stellar solos from Paczkowski and Anastasio. A ferocious “Push On ‘Til The Day” concluded the frame.

Trey Anastasio Band went with oldie “Drifting” to get Saturday’s closing stanza underway. It was back to Lonely Trip next for the group’s first “A Wave Of Hope” of 2022. While Phish often used the song as a jam vehicle this summer, TAB kept “A Wave Of Hope” concise in Chicago. A “Gotta Jibboo”/”Spin” pairing followed with each containing memorable Anastasio solos. Various Trey projects were represented over the remainder of the set, including Phish (“No Men In No Man’s Land”), Ghosts Of The Forest (“About To Run”/”A Life Beyond The Dream”) and TAB (“Simple Twist Up Dave”/”Rise/Come Together”/”Mr. Completely).

Anastasio came back for the encore with acoustic guitar in hand. He was accompanied on vocals by Hartswick, Casey and Cressman for the recently debuted “6 1/2 Minutes.” Studio versions of both “6 1/2 Minutes” and the “Blazing Down The Twisted Wire” that followed are featured on Mercy, Trey’s first acoustic album. “Blazing Down The Twisted Wire” was completely reinvented for the stage. The stripped-down studio version was expanded upon with a swirling organ line, stirring vocal harmonies and a rousing horn line from Jennifer, Natalie and James as well as a sturdy groove provided by Dezron and Russ. Cyro added percussive accents, while Hartswick and Casey each played bravura solos towards the end of “Blazing Down A Twisted Wire.” The band powered through beloved Phish staple “Carini” to end the night.

Watch pro-shot video of Saturday’s “Simple Twist Up Dave” below:

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set One: Blaze On, I Never Left Home, Olivia, Undermind, …And Flew Away, Shade, Burlap Sack and Pumps, The Moma Dance > Push On ‘Til the Day

Set Two: Drifting > A Wave of Hope > Gotta Jibboo, Spin, Valentine, No Men In No Man’s Land, About to Run, Simple Twist Up Dave, A Life Beyond The Dream, Rise/Come Together > Mr. Completely

Encore: 6 1/2 Minutes [1], Blazing Down the Twisted Wire [2], Carini

• [1] Trey on acoustic with Jennifer, Natalie, and James on additional vocals.
• [2] Debut.