Trey Anastasio Tells Hilarious Aerosmith & Steven Wright Stories At Solo Acoustic Concert In Boston

Trey Anastasio completed a two-city swing through Massachusetts to start his current solo acoustic tour with a concert on Sunday at Boston’s Wang Theatre at Boch Center. Anastasio worked tales of previous visits to Boston, three acoustic debuts, a solo bust out and multiple collaborations with keyboardist Jeff Tanski into the show.

The guitarist opened with Phish staple “Theme From The Bottom” in Boston and then looked to his 2020 LP Lonely Trip for “When The Words Go Away.” Next came Anastasio’s first solo performance of “What’s Going Through Your Mind,” a song debuted by Phish last summer.

Anastasio then welcomed fans and shared the story of his first performance at the venue. “A little known fact, I will tell you that I have played this venue before,” Trey said. “That was 11,659 days ago — that’s 31 years ago — I stood on this exact spot right here in front of the stage of the Wang Center, when Phish was here for the Boston Music Awards in 1993.”

Trey remembered that fateful night when he walked into the Wang. Phish decided to play “Rift” at the ceremony, which took place shortly after the album of the same name was released. “We came out to do our song and there were all these great bands,” Anastasio added. “And here we come and I looked down and in the front row, where this gentlemen is sitting in front of me right here, was the entire band Aerosmith.”

The guitarist recalled how nervous he was as all he could see was the front row. “We were basically playing ‘Rift’ for Aerosmith,” Trey added before noting the resulting performance was “horrible.” He also remembered how old Aerosmith looked to him at the time and now he’s so much older than they were in 1993. Anastasio dedicated the ensuing “Brian & Robert” to Boston Bruins great Cam Neely.

Watch Anastasio’s Aerosmith story and “Brian & Robert” performance below:

A run of Phish classics “Back On The Train,” “Waste,” “46 Days” and “My Friend, My Friend” followed. Anastasio went on to discuss another past Phish gig in Beantown. “We played Boston Garden in 1996,” Trey said and quizzed the audience on which special guest rang a fightbell in the middle of a “Scent Of A Mule” duel. “That person was Steven Wright.”

Trey then shared a story told to him by Tom Marshall as the Phish lyricist heard someone whistling “Piano Man” in the band’s bathroom at the December 30, 1996 concert. “Is that Billy Joel?” Marshall asked the man whom he couldn’t see. “And the guy said ‘I don’t know.’ And then Tom said, ‘No, I meant are you Billy Joel?’ And the guy goes, ‘I know what you meant.’ When he came out it was Steven Wright,” Anastasio recalled before starting “Summer Of ’89.”

From there, Anastasio performed “Blaze On” and offered the solo acoustic debut of “Valdese,” the one song from Phish’s latest studio album, 2024’s Evolve, the quartet has yet to play. Last night marked the first “Valdese” since Trey premiered the tune during his Trey Anastasio Trio run in June 2023 with bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Jon Fishman. It was then back to the Phish repertoire for “The Wedge,” “Turtle In The Clouds,” “Shade,” “More” and “Chalk Dust Torture.”

Jeff Tanski emerged for the end of Trey Anastasio’s main set in Boston as he did one night prior at the tour opener in Springfield. Tanski backed the guitarist on “Till We Meet Again,” “Taste,” “If I Could,” “Reba” and “Sand” to close the frame. “Taste” hadn’t been performed by Anastasio outside of Phish since May 19, 1999.

Anastasio returned to the stage alone to begin the encore with “6 1/2 Minutes” from his 2022 acoustic album Mercy. Tanski then came back out to accompany Trey on his first acoustic “Rift,” which he dedicated to Aerosmith in a throwback to his last performance at the venue, and the “Fluffhead” that punctuated the concert.

See more fan-shot video from Trey’s solo acoustic show in Boston below:

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set: Theme From the Bottom [1], When the Words Go Away[1], What’s Going Through Your Mind [2], Brian and Robert[1], Back on the Train[1], Waste[1], 46 Days[1], My Friend, My Friend [3], Summer of ’89[1], Blaze On[1], Valdese[2], The Wedge[1], Turtle in the Clouds[1], Shade[1], More[1], Chalk Dust Torture[1], Till We Meet Again [4], Taste[4], If I Could[4], Reba [5], Sand[4]

Encore: 6 1/2 Minutes [1], Rift [6], Fluffhead[4]

• [1] Trey solo acoustic.
• [2] Trey solo acoustic; first acoustic Trey performance.
• [3] Trey solo acoustic. No “Myfe” ending.
• [4] Trey acoustic and Jeff Tanksi on keys.
• [5] Trey acoustic and Jeff Tanksi on keys. No whistling.
• [6] Trey acoustic and Jeff Tanksi on keys; first acoustic Trey performance.

This entire show was performed by Trey solo acoustic except for Till We Meet Again through Sand and Rift and Fluffhead. This show featured the first Trey acoustic performances of What’s Going Through Your Mind, Valdese, and Rift. Brian and Robert was dedicated to Cam Neely. Rift (in a nod to Trey’s story from earlier in the evening about performing the song in front of Aerosmith on April 7, 1993 during the Boston Music Awards show) was dedicated to Aerosmith. My Friend My Friend did not contain the “Myfe” ending and was followed by Trey whistling part of Piano Man while telling a story. Taste was performed outside of Phish for the first time since May 19, 1999 (when it was also performed by Trey solo acoustic). Trey quoted Valdese in The Wedge. Reba did not contain whistling.