Trey Anastasio Kicks Off Solo Acoustic Tour In Geneva

Trey Anastasio of Phish began a solo acoustic fall tour on Tuesday night at Smith Opera House in Geneva, New York. Anastasio fit in the first acoustic takes on two songs from his Ghosts Of The Forest project within the 27-song performance.

The guitarist opened with a run of “Back On The Train,” “Sample In A Jar” and “Snowflakes In The Sand” before serving up the acoustic debut of “About To Run.” After “Sample,” Trey asked the crowd how they were doing and then quipped he spent his 36-year career trying to avoid asking that question. He noted he was doing great in response to an audience member asking how he was doing. Trey went on to note that when he entered the venue he had a bit of deja vu which led him to look up Phish’s past performance at Smith Opera House. Anastasio explained the 1993 performance came one week after Rift came out. “It’s a miracle that we’re all here together as a group of people doing this,” Trey added.

“Heavy Things” came next and then Trey asked if anyone in the crowd had the plague in reference to last month’s Dick’s run. Anastasio went on to perform the Kasvot Växt tune “Turtle In The Clouds” and the Phish gem “Wolfman’s Brother.” The next story came after “Wolfman’s” and got the crowd to boo after he stated, “Once upon a time there was a magical, beautiful festival planned” in regards to the canceled Curveball festival. He then explained Phish bassist Mike Gordon usually keeps a list of names for potential events and such. Trey’s theory on Curveball’s demise was because it was the first festival that the four band members didn’t name. Anastasio shared a few names for the event band members tossed around including “Momball” in which Phish would invite attendees’ mothers to the festival. Trey also revealed Phish came up with an idea in which Curveball attendees would have two paths to get to their campsites. One way would be short but festivalgoers would have to go through a mimefield filled with mimes and the other would be a much longer journey. He quipped drummer Jon Fishman partied with the 50 mimes Phish hired after the festival was canceled.

Trey followed the lengthy Curveball story session with performances of “Mountains In The Mist,” “Strange Design,” “Driver” and “Sleep.” Next up was a sequence of “Water In The Sky,” “Brian & Robert” and “Theme From The Bottom.” Anastasio followed “Theme” by telling a story of performing at the Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts on the campus of Harvard and realizing none of the attendees actually went to school at Harvard. He then recalled a Phish show at Hobart University in the late-1980s and a “beer moat” he encountered. More career-spanning material followed including “Shade,” “We Are Come To Outlive Our Brains,” “Sand,” “The Inlaw Josie Wales” and “Limb By Limb.”

Towards the end of the set, Anastasio worked “Harry Hood” within “Chalk Dust Torture.” A pairing of “The Wedge” and “Bathtub Gin” concluded Trey’s main set. The guitarist went with Phish ballads “Waste” and “Lifeboy” to start the encore. Anastasio then unveiled the acoustic version of “Ghosts Of The Forest” before ending the night with “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”

Fan-Shot Videos

Curveball Story Captured by Jon Fuchs

Ghosts Of The Forest Captured by ChakaHahn

Back On The Train Captured by ChakaHahn

Wolfman’s Brother Captured by ChakaHahn

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set: Back on the Train [1], Sample in a Jar[1], Snowflakes in the Sand[1], About to Run [2], Heavy Things[1], Turtle in the Clouds[1], Wolfman’s Brother[1], Mountains in the Mist[1], Strange Design[1], Driver[1], Sleep[1], Water in the Sky[1], Brian and Robert[1], Theme From the Bottom[1], Shade[1], We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains[1], Sand[1] > The Inlaw Josie Wales[1], Limb By Limb[1] > Chalk Dust Torture[1] > Harry Hood[1] > Chalk Dust Torture[1] > The Wedge[1] > Bathtub Gin[1]

Encore: Waste[1], Lifeboy[1], Ghosts of the Forest[2], Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.[1]

• [1] Trey solo acoustic.
• [2] Trey solo acoustic; first acoustic performance by Trey.