Trey Anastasio Band Unveils Special Lineup At Vertex Festival

On Sunday night Phish frontman Trey Anastasio headlined the inaugural Vertex Festival in Buena Vista, Colorado. A special version of the Trey Anastasio Band played two sets on the Princeton Garden stage at the first-ever Vertex.

With regular TAB saxophonist James Casey on tour with Meghan Trainor, Anastasio decided to go with a two-trombone attack. As such, he enlisted TAB alumnus (2006 – 2007) Jeff Cressman who also happens to be current TAB trombonist Natalie Cressman’s father. Trey also brought longtime TAB member Cyro Baptista back to play percussion. It is expected that the same lineup will perform at this weekend’s Peach Music Festival.

TAB opened with a pair of classics in “First Tube” and “Cayman Review” before performing a cover of Bob Marley’s “Soul Rebel.” Sunday’s first set continued on with another batch of songs from the projects early days, “Money Love & Change,” “Drifting” and “Burlap Sack & Pumps.” Natalie then led the group through Ana Tijoux’s “1977” ahead of the set-closing sequence of “Valentine,” “Dark & Down,” “Sand” and “Tuesday.”

“Curlew’s Call” kicked off Anastasio’s second set and followed with the expansive “Gotta Jibboo.” TAB then showed off their version of the Phish instrumental “Magilla.” While Phish didn’t play “Alaska” during their recent tour, the song did surface at Vertex. “Simple Twist Up Dave” and “Plasma” gave band members a chance to show off their skills ahead of “Shine.” Jennifer Hartswick then stepped into the spotlight to lead TAB’s cover of “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz before the set came to a close with “Push On Til The Day.” The Trey Anastasio Band ended their first show of 2016 with an encore of “Show Of Life” and “Dazed & Confused.” Next up for TAB is a Saturday night performance at The Peach Music Festival in Scranton.

An audience recording of the show has been posted here. Sample “Gotta Jibboo” from Sunday night:

Setlist

Set One: First Tube, Cayman Review, Soul Rebel, Money Love & Change, Drifting, Burlap Sack & Pumps, 1977, Valentine, Dark & Down, Sand, Tuesday

Set Two: Curlew’s Call, Gotta Jibboo, Magilla, Alaska, Simple Twist Up Dave, Plasma, Shine, Clint Eastwood, Push On Til The Day

Encore: Show Of Life, Dazed & Confused